Norfolk | alan frost photography

Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk

Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk

We are very fortunate in England to have the opportunity to visit some truly wonderful historic buildings, many of which are in the care of The National Trust. One such property is Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk, a 15th Century moated Manor House, built by the Bedingfield family and still occupied by the same family to this very day. As this magnificent building is surrounded by water there are some fine reflections to be enjoyed which always appeal to me from a photographic point of view. In the grounds of the Hall, there is also the Chapel of St Margaret and Our Lady, which dates from the 1830’s and inside there is a very fine framed altarpiece or retable. The Antwerp Triptych is constructed from 16th Century resources and dominates the small chapel and would not look out of place in a much grander Catholic Church or Cathedral.

Displayed below are a selection of images taken during our visit.

Blakeney to Morston…..along The Peddars Way or Norfolk Coast Path

Blakeney Harbour

For a variety of reasons we didn’t go on holiday this year until the middle of October, so when we finally got around to deciding where to go, we thought we would visit a part of the UK which was not known to us. We chose the North Norfolk Coast and stayed in a pretty village of Weybourne which we were reliably told by the locals was pronounced ‘Weben’. A short drive from here is the small harbour town of Blakeney and one of our favourite walks started by the jetty and followed the Peddars Way footpath to Morston.

For this entry I have chosen to include a selection of images taken over a number of days, which hopefully capture something of the essence of this rather beautiful part of the UK coastline.

Cley Windmill – decisions, decisions.

I recently uploaded this photo of Cley Windmill to Flickr. A traditional view and treatment of this much photographed and prominent building on the North Norfolk Coast. A relatively pleasing image, well composed I think, but is there anything more to say about it, or just as importantly, could I do more with it in post processing?

When I looked at it again a few days later, I wondered whether or not I should have processed it in another way and that got me thinking. What if I came up with three more versions of the same image using only Silver Efex Pro2, promising myself that I would take no more than five minutes on each version. My plan was to start with one of the many pre-sets and then make some minor adjustments until I finished with an image I liked but had a very different look to the first attempt. What would I learn from this quick experiment? Would I prefer any of the ‘new’ pictures? ….. and finally how would all these photographs compare to the original RAW file from the Leica M Monchrom. Just how flexible are the files it produces?

The fisherman’s hut

Fisherman’s trailer hut

This hut on a trailer is not the most attractive, in fact from a purely aesthetic point of view some might describe it as plain ugly or just a shed on wheels. However from a photographic perspective I was drawn to the subject. I asked myself what it might be used for and did it ever move from its isolated position on the shingle beach at Weybourne on the North Norfolk coast.

When I took the shot It was a beautiful autumn day, with clear blue skies almost devoid of any interest but for the small cluster of clouds immediately above the hut and a couple of gulls as they flew above the shoreline. For me both the clouds and the gulls make the image. Without them the hut on its own would not be so interesting.

Thanks to everyone who has started following my blog recently.

Last light on Salthouse Church

St Nicholas, Salthouse
Taken late in the afternoon as the sun was setting. This must be one of the finest locations of any church in the UK.

In my last post, I wrote about the wonderful light to be found inside churches. One of the churches I mentioned was St Nicholas in Salthouse on the North Norfolk coast. A large church for such a small parish, records state that it was completed in 1503. It occupies a wonderful position on rising ground at the top of the village, overlooking the salt marshes and the sea.

The photograph was taken at the end of the day just as the sun was setting. My wife and I had been walking our dog that afternoon and as we drove back towards Weybourne, I took a detour in the hope that we might find a good viewpoint of the church. We found the right road, pulled over, and I grabbed my camera. The light on the church could not have been better, with a glorious cloudscape to match. The opportunity to take this shot lasted just a few minutes as the sun soon disappeared behind low clouds in the West. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

This view would not have changed for five centuries, but now wind turbines can be seen on the far horizon.