church | alan frost photography

Posts tagged ‘church’

Churches Project no 21 – Idsworth, a church in a field.

Idsworth Church-4

St Hubert’s Church at Idsworth in Hampshire enjoys a beautiful and isolated position not far from Rowlands Castle. Sited near the top of a slope in a field the origins of church dates back to the 11th century. Nothing remains of the village and community it once served, deserted in the 14th century probably as a consequence of the plague.

The interior is charming and I have included a few images which I hope capture something of the spirit and essence of this rural place of worship, which I am pleased to say is still in regular use.

Idsworth Church

Idsworth Church-2

Idsworth Church-3

After photographing some interior details I stepped outside and was presented with a most wonderful cloud formation. It had been a beautiful late Spring afternoon and I could hardly believe my good fortune when capturing the scene at the top of this post.

Churches Project no 20 – St Cuthbert’s Old Church, Oborne

St Cuthberts's Old Church-3

This tiny church in Dorset was built in 1533 and has historical and religious connections with Sherborne Abbey, which lies to the west. The name Oborne derives from the Old English words, woh and burna, and means a crooked stream. Although the above photograph would suggest a tranquil rural setting, the church is actually sited alongside the A30, a fairly busy road between Yeovil and Shaftesbury.

St Cuthberts's Old Church

The rustic simplicity of the church and the lovely light appealed to me, which resulted in these two internal pictures.

St Cuthberts's Old Church-2

I am particularly drawn to the light but also to studies of one aspect of a church interior. I don’t wish to record or capture everything in the one frame, and for this reason the image above of the light coming in through the open door and illuminating the altar rail and step appeals to me.

Like so many of these small, rural churches it is no longer used for regular parish worship and is cared for by The Churches Conservation Trust.

‘Drawing with light’ – church interiors

The word ‘photograph’ is derived from two words in Greek. ‘Phōtós’, genitive of ‘phōs’ meaning light and ‘graphé’ meaning representation by lines or drawing. In other words a photograph is ‘drawing with light’.

Piscina of light

This image is of a piscina, which is a small bowl used to dispose of water in services. It is often set in a wall, as it is here. In flat light I doubt I would have even considered taking a photograph, but lit by the sun coming through a window on the opposite side of the church, this simple architectural feature is transformed. The shape and texture are revealed and there is a depth to the picture which without the light would not be evident.

I am always looking for these brief moments when natural light is at play inside a place of worship. Here are a few more examples.

Shadows and the Cross

Hymn Books

Chancel Step

Three Windows and a Pulpit

Candlelight in The Priory

Light and Shadow in the Nave

I have quite a collection of this type of image, made over a number of years, so some you may have seen before. Whenever I revisit these photographs, which have been ‘drawn by light’ I am always inspired to make even more.

The Shepherd’s Altar, Didling

Shepherd's Altar

The Church of St Andrew at Didling in West Sussex is tiny and wholly lit by candles. It is affectionately known as ‘The Shepherd’s Church’. Tucked away in a field beneath the South Downs at the end of a track off Bugshill Lane, it is well hidden by a large yew tree which must be many hundreds of years old. This simple country church is Norman in origin and dates back to the early 13th Century. In times gone by it would have served a much larger community until the village virtually disappeared after the ravages of the plague.

It’s been quite a while since I have made any ‘church images’ so when I visited Didling yesterday as part of my ‘new project’ I was pleased to find the church open. I was even more pleased to find that the light shining through one small south facing window was coming in at just the right angle. The sun illuminated the beautifully simple altar table and the cross in particular. Adorned with two vases of fresh tulips, thankfully this church is still very well cared for but completely unspoilt.

Delightful.

‘The tide is high’ at Bosham

I have been wanting to make the above image for some time. The view is across the harbour from Chidham towards the village of Bosham with its instantly recognisable Church and spire reaching to the sky.

I often return to this particular spot when out walking but to get the result I was looking for, the height of the tide had to be at a certain level. Too low and there is too much vegetation…..too high and the posts are disappearing into the water. I do have the ‘Tides Planner’ App for my iPhone which tells me the height of the tide, so today I headed out with time to spare to watch and wait as the tide started to come in. I had also been cotemplating that a long exposure would enhance the scene and this of course would require a tripod, ND filters etc. Not the sort of stuff I usually carry with me when out walking. I am normally a spontaneous photographer but this shot was planned and thought about in advance.

Although a fairly bright day there was no direct sunlight which is exactly what I wanted. Too much contrast would have made life more difficult, so a little bit of good fortune was on my side. Welly boots on, tripod securely standing in the silt, camera set up with a 28mm lens, composition decided, hyper-focal distance set and after 12 seconds at f11, the image was exposed to the sensor. I checked the histogram which showed me no blown highlights and in truth a balanced tonal range. Ideal for post processing.

I sometimes wait a few days or even longer before I process my images but on this occasion I couldn’t wait, so earlier this afternoon I sat down at my Mac, fired up Lightroom and overall I am pleased the result.

Here is another image taken at the same time. I thought about placing the posts in the centre of the frame but I rather like the fact they are offset to the left and lie on ‘the rule of thirds’. Placing them in the centre was a little too obvious.

And lastly another image of Bosham taken yesterday from a different position on the shoreline. This time at low tide.

All of these photographs are being added to my ‘Chichester Harbour’ project portfolio and when I get the time I will upload a gallery to this site.

Do click on an image to view a larger version.