alan frost photography

Churches Project no.4 – St Botolph’s, Hardham, West Sussex

St Botolph’s Church in the hamlet of Hardham, near Pulborough, West Sussex is a true gem in the Arun Valley. As regular readers of this blog will know I visited this church a few weeks ago and I was thwarted by the flower arrangers. You can read about this earlier visit here.

I made a point of returning as I knew this 11th Century Church offered some rich photographic pickings. The church has some of the finest wall paintings in the county and they are worthy of a separate post in their own right but for this entry I wanted to capture the feeling of history in a building which can hardly of changed for many, many generations. This for me is the very essence of a beautiful church. Not grand but simple and unspoilt. Not shouting to the world, look at me in all my glory, but quietly saying I can offer you a place of quiet serenity in a very humble way. For those who would like to read more about the history of St Botolphs, do click here.

For me the images speak a thousand words, so I shall say no more and let the photographs speak for themselves.

The Pulpit

Book of Lamentations, III

Font and candle

The Bishop’s chair

The Lectern

Christ on the Cross

Hardham Church Interior

St Botolphs, Hardham

Do click on any of the images to view a larger version in a new window or visit the West Sussex Gallery page for other churches in the county.

For more information about my ongoing Churches Project do click here.

Sandymouth Bay – a broader view

In a recent post ‘Coastal abstractions at Sandymouth Bay’, I showed a series of images which were simply abstracts of the granite rocks to be found at this picturesque bay along the coastline of North Cornwall. In this post I am showing a broader view, all taken at low tide. The cliffs and rock formations are a great sight and stretch for many miles to the north and to the south. In fact the South West Coast Path is a National Trail covering some 630 miles, taking in the four counties of Dorset, Devon, Cornwall and Somerset. It starts in Poole Harbour in Dorset and finishes in Minehead in Somerset. For more information about this Trail click here.

Sandymouth Sands

Sandymouth Rocks

To view a larger version in a new window please click on any of the images, including the thumbnail below of the featured image.

Sandymouth Bay

The Archangel Gabriel – Sanctuary and tranquility in South Harting Church

The Archangel Gabriel

A few weeks ago I started a new photographic project on Churches. Whilst I would document whatever I found and liked on my travels, my intention was always to apply my own interpretation and in so doing, try and express the feelings I had for the subject in the resulting image.

Quite recently I was delighted to find this sculpture of The Archangel Gabriel in the North transept of the Church of St Mary and St Gabriel in South Harting, West Sussex. Commissioned by an anonymous benefactor, the sculpture was created by the renowned sculptor Philip Jackson and was unveiled by the Bishop of Chichester in 2009.

The dynamic range was challenging and my first attempt to process the image was not to my liking. I left it a couple of days and returned to the original RAW negative and started again. In the intervening period I thought about what went ‘wrong’ the first time, and applied some alternative techniques to make the picture.

For me there is an ethereal and spiritual feeling to the finished image, combined with one of sanctuary and tranquility. Whilst the Angel is a very recent addition to the church, the picture also has a timeless quality to it and this was an important factor to keep in mind when processing the negative.

You might be interested to know that on closer inspection of the sculpture, which is suspended by almost invisible wires, there is a carved inscription down the side of the Angel’s robe. It reads – ‘AVE MARIA GRATIA PLENA DOMINUS TECUM. Although I was taught Latin at school by a blind teacher many years ago, there was no way I was going to be able translate this phrase without some help. I typed the words into Google Translate and in an instant the phrase was given to me in English. It reads – ‘HAIL MARY, FULL OF GRACE, THE LORD IS WITH THEE.’

I will return to this church as there are other elements which I would like to capture for my Churches Project, but I felt this image was deserving of an entry in its own right.

To fully appreciate the photograph you might like to view a larger version. if so, then do click on the image which will open in a new window.

Thank you for looking and reading.

Coastal abstractions at Sandymouth Bay

Sandymouth Bay is a spectacular location on the north Cornwall coast near the town of Bude. Approached along a fairly steep path through a ravine in the cliffs, the granite rock formations are intriguing and well worth exploring. It’s a fine location for rock pooling as well as some photography.

I am always happy to experiment with my photography, making images that challenge my skills, my vision and my mind. The results in this entry are a series of abstract pictures which for me capture something of the variety and visual wonder of this coastline.

To view a larger version please click on the image which will open in a new window.

M. O’Donnell & Sons – Yesterday’s superstore today

M. O’Donnell & Sons

During our recent stay on the west coast of Devon, close to the borders of Cornwall, we visited the village of Hartland. It’s a rather quaint little place and for the most part unspoilt, which I rather liked.

It had very few shops but one which did attract my eye was ‘M. O’Donnell & Sons’. In the left hand window there was a small selection of fruit and veg, whilst to the right there were some woollen hats, a knitted scarf, a few buttons and other items of haberdashery for sale. The notices in the door were up to date – Not to be missed, the ‘Strawberry Tea’ which was coming up on the 1st July. There was no state of the art spotlighting, just a couple of bare light bulbs and a small fluorescent tube to illuminate the interior of this double fronted shop. The bay windows were in a poor state of repair, and everything including the sign above the door needed a fresh lick of paint. Had it been in pristine condition it would not have had the character or the appeal which enticed me to take a photograph in the first place.

It made me think that in its time it would have been the ‘local superstore’ of its day, selling a variety of things which you probably couldn’t easily buy elsewhere in the village. Local residents would have been eternally grateful to the O’Donnell family, as this little shop would have prevented a long journey into the nearest main town. I don’t know, but perhaps the present community feel the same way and continue to support the shop, after all it would be rather sad to see it close, wouldn’t it?

Do click on the image to see a larger version, only then will you be able to see some of the items for sale in the windows.