On yesterday afternoon's walk I popped in the village church again to take some closer shots of the stained glass windows. I took the usual +1 0 -1 EV series of shots to use with Photomatrix Pro 3 but was disappointed with the results so I tried using the ReDynaMix plugin in Paintshop Pro using only the darkest photo from each batch. That worked very well most of the time as it picks out detail from the dark section and enhances them., at the same time it tones down the bright parts.
The first view is looking East along the nave. The end window is plain glass. .
Facing east to the side of the main aisle is this window which is dated 1908
Facing west is another window dated 1898
This visit the porch window had lost the box of plants. The window here is undated. It is the most difficult to photograph and bring out the surrounding stonework as it is so very dark in that part of the church. Maybe I will try added flash another time though I quite like the 'heavenly glow' effect.
There is one other stained glass window but unfortunately it is behind a what appears to be a chamber organ so impossible to get at.
You did well there John. The colours show beautifully. It looks like a very peaceful place.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jan. I expect it helps when the light through them isn't too strong. It is little used so, yes, I would describe it as peaceful.
ReplyDeleteBTW. Funny you should ask about Tree Sparrows the other day - one turned up today so maybe they will return for the winter.
Do you think Bobby would mind not being on your Christmas cards this year? or perhaps you could sneak him into the Church for a little cameo appearance! Lovely photos.
ReplyDeleteMy home church in Belfast had that lovely quiet bejewelled look of the church on your post. It still gives me a sense of peace.Thankyou.
ReplyDeleteJohn these are good but what I have decided is for bomb proof results, Spot meter the darkest bit you see spot meter the lightest and then shooting manually in Raw go from one to the other in 2EV steps , do not touch focus or aperture. Case of do as I say. I rarely do unless it's a commercial job. I should take the time every time.............Idle should be my middle name.
ReplyDeleteI think the last photo in particular is effective, with that beautiful blue and heavenly glow. Since you can't take a photo of the other window, perhaps a photo of the organ. The process you used worked well, once again :)
ReplyDeleteOr even a bit of jiggery pokery on the computer Matron ;)
ReplyDeleteHello Gerry. There is an inner peace in most old churches. Modern church building don't have that, not for me anyway.
ReplyDeleteSounds like hard work Adrian. At least I have the excuse that the Lumix doesn't have most of those facilities ;)
ReplyDeleteHello Glo. Not much to look at as far as chamber organs go. They tend to be totally enclosed in wood with a wooden Venetian blind effect for the swell (volume). Some years ago my father and I moved such an organ from a disused church to another nearby - and it still worked! It took ages to number all the pipes as they were removed and as many had a high percentage of lead they were rather delicate.
ReplyDelete