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St Albans Cathedral – a quick visit

South Aisle of Nave, St Albans Cathedral

Vaulted ceiling of the South Aisle of Nave

A couple of weeks ago I needed to make a round day trip to Chelmsford in Essex, a journey which is almost impossible to do from my home without joining the M25 at some point or an other. On the way up from the south coast I headed east knowing that I would have to wait in a long queue of traffic to go through the Dartford tunnel. True to form the cars moved at a snails pace, but the queue coming back the other way looked even worse, so my return journey would take me along the northern section round the M25 in a westerly direction and through Hertfordshire. A longer route home but hopefully I would keep moving.

Journey sorted, I took a detour to the rather attractive town of St Albans, specifically to look round the Cathedral and take some photographs. Most cathedrals offer a wealth of photographic opportunities. Architectural features are plentiful and the light can be very special. St Albans is no exception. It has a very long history and is thought to be the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in Britain. According to the official website the cathedral stands in a place where Alban, the first martyr, was buried after giving his life for his faith over 1700 years ago – more than 200 years before St Augustine arrived in Canterbury.

I have never visited St Albans before, so I was looking forward to visiting another of this country’s wonderful Cathedrals. Limited for time before driving home, I was able to take a number of images which I hope show the splendour of this great building.

Lady Chapel

High Altar Screen

Chantry

Presbytery Door

Looking towards The Lady Chapel

One of the three West Doors of St Albans Cathedral

I very much enjoyed my brief visit to St Albans Cathedral. Sadly there wasn’t time to explore the town itself but if I find myself in the area again then St Albans will definitely be on the list of places to explore and to photograph of course!

All the photographs in this entry were taken with my recently acquired Leica M Monochrom and 50mm Summilux and 28mm Elmarit lenses.

Leica M Monochrom – first outing in Kingley Vale

Into the woods

Ever since my photographic style turned away from colour and into black and white, I have been curious to know more about a camera which only takes monochrome images – that camera is the Leica M Monochrom and was announced in May 2012. Ever since its release I have read numerous reviews and downloaded some DNG files just to see what all the fuss was about.

As my appreciation for black and white photography has grown, together with my knowledge of this particular art form, my understanding of the Monochrom and what it might offer has also expanded. So earlier this year I went up to the Leica Akademie in Mayfair for a ‘test drive’ of both the M240 and the M Mononchrom. You can read about my experience and first thoughts here.

After many weeks of agonising; should I or shouldn’t I?…..my mind was made up when I came across a second hand Monochrom in virtually mint condition being sold by Red Dot Cameras, a specialist Leica dealer situated in Old Street, London. It only had 1,100 actuations and the saving in cost over a new one was quite considerable. I travelled up to the City and returned later in the day with the camera and two lenses – a Leica 50mm Summilux f1.4 ASPH – M (6 bit) and a 28mm Elmarit F2.8 ASPH (6 bit). I also bought a spare battery and a second hand ‘Thumbs Up’ grip which already had a lovely patina.

Having read so much about the M Monochrom I am already aware that this rangefinder camera and its manual focus lenses will take time to master, but with patience and much practice, coupled with my desire to improve my photography, the learning experience should prove worthwhile. Only time will tell.

I took a few test shots in and around the house but last weekend I finally had the opportunity to go out with the camera to see how I would get on. The late afternoon light was excellent so I drove to Kingley Vale Nature Reserve which forms part of the South Downs National Park.

I decided to restrict myself to the use of just one lens – the 50mm Summilux. I did though take a 3 stop ND filter, which would allow me to shoot wide open in the bright light. I also set the exposure compensation to -2/3rds, in the hope that this would prevent any blown highlights, particularly given the lighting conditions.

Here are a selection of the images taken that afternoon. They have all been processed in Lightroom 5 and some have been further worked in Silver Efex Pro2. They may not be the best shots I have ever taken but for a first try I am delighted with the results. Already I am convinced my decision to buy the Leica M Monochrom was the right one. I just ask myself why I took so long to make up my mind?

Light on the crop

Fence post

Evening sun

Summer grasses

Trunk and ivy

Woodland path

This is definitely not a review but I will just say that the files it produces are astounding in their detail and tonality. They are very malleable in post processing and I guess are everything I expected them to be from all the reviews I had read, only more so.

The Leica M Monochrom is a very niche and specialist camera – and my photographic journey in black and white continues!

Down on the farm

We have recently acquired a cocker spaniel puppy called ‘Watson’ who is now 15 weeks old. We are taking him to training classes in a barn on a farm near to where we live. On a previous visit I noticed a couple of possible images worth taking, so at the last session I took my camera with me and took a few photos before we left. I must admit I got some strange looks from some of the other dog owners but photographers are known for taking shots of subjects which most people would simply pass by without a second look.

The Hay Trailer

For those of you who read this blog regularly you will know that I very much enjoy and admire the work of Chris Tancock, who describes himself as a rural documentary photographer. Like him, I too am drawn to farms, their buildings, the machinery, the livestock and in many cases to the dereliction, where all manner of things both large and small are left lying round, probably for months if not for years. Whether or not these two images document ‘life on the farm’ I don’t know but in my opinion they do begin to tell a story.

Dog Barn Parking

The two images in this entry were both processed using Silver Efex Pro2. In fact I created a custom preset after processing the first image which I then applied to the second shot, to give some consistency to the appearance of the two photographs. I have saved the preset as I think it works well for this type of image and I shall certainly be taking some more shots of this type in the future. They might not be to everyones taste but they appeal to me and I think that’s what really matters.

A dog named Marley

Marley

A few weeks ago I was approached by a couple who wanted me to take a photographic portrait of their pet dog. Never one to say to no to something new, I made arrangements to visit their home and take a few shots. I had never met the dog before, I simply had been told he was a black labrador cross.

On arrival I was greeted by the owners of Marley who turned out to be a very well trained and handsome dog. Having decided to use the natural light in their conservatory Marley was told to sit. As he looked up to his owner, who was clutching a biscuit to draw his attention, I pressed the shutter. Fortunately I had taken a large sheet of grey card with me to make sure I had a plain background. This worked a treat and the finished portrait after a little processing in Lightroom and Photoshop is shown above.

Having always been told never to work with children or animals, on this occasion taking photographs of Marley was a joy. He did all he was told and seemed to know how to pose for the camera – he had obviously done it before or was it just that he would do anything for another biscuit?!

Always grab the opportunity

Across Loch Eil

There are occasions when a quickly taken shot can make for a pleasing image even if there is virtually no time taken to adjust the camera settings and compose the picture.

This photograph of Loch Eil in Scotland is a case in point. Back in 2011, I was travelling by train from Glasgow to Mallaig on the west coast. Having left the town of Fort William the train continues it’s journey taking in some spectacular countryside along the way. In fact this route is considered to be one of the finest railway journeys in the world. As the track passed alongside the Loch, the cloudscape and light across the water just had to be captured. I really only had time to turn the camera on, swiftly compose the shot through the window of my carriage and press the shutter. Although the train was not moving that fast, if I had taken the time to check or alter any of the settings on the camera, the opportunity to take press the shutter would have been lost several hundred yards back down the track, as this view soon disappeared behind a line of trees along the shoreline.

The image straight out of the camera was pretty poor. In particular the horizon was far from level and the exposure was definitely out. Fortunately I was able to straighten and crop the image and improve the overall tone in Lightroom. I think the final image is very pleasing. It may not be prefect and I know that had I been standing by the loch, with a tripod and time to move around, I would have composed and exposed the photograph differently. Nevertheless as a quick opportunistic shot taken through the window of a moving train, it still works for me, and I would rather have the image in my collection than nothing at all.