Project 5: interacting subjects

For this project I decided to visit Walesby of the edge of the eastern scarp slope of the Lincolnshire Wolds. I thought that the, now largely disused, All Saints Church would make an ideal subject as it sits on the hill above the village and can be seen from various distant vantage points as well as close to. The church dates back to the 1290s but was abandoned in favour of the newly built St Mary's which is situated in the village itself. The old church was renovated in the 1930s and became a meeting place for various local groups including the ramblers. It became known as the 'Ramblers Church' and a stained glass window depicting walkers and cyclists, was donated by local ramblers in 1951. The Viking Way long distance footpath now passes through the churchyard. I used my 17-85mm zoom lens set at 35mm. I selected this focal length as I felt that I could use it for more distant shots with the building appearing too small yet it would be a wide enough angle to use close to. There was still good snow cover when I completed this project so I was careful to dial in some positive exposure compensation. I also used a polarising filter to enhance the blue of the sky and help saturate the colours.

I took this shot as I drove down the hill into the village. It is a good vantage point for the church which is perched on the hillside above the village. Unfortunately I laft home too late in the morning and the sun was really too high in the sky even in February. I was shooting into the light here and have nearly finished up with a silhouette. I carefully placed the church on intersecting thirds but feel that the foreground lacks interest.
Here I am approaching the church by the Viking Way footpath which ascends the hill via an attractive sunken lane. This is the first view of the church as one approaches it. I was still working into the light here.
Now I have reached the church gates and the positioning is better for the light. I like the gates in the foreground but am sure sure about the tower being masked by the tree branches. In retrospect it may have improved the picture if I had slightly opened the gates to invite the viewr to 'walk through'.
Here I have slightly moved my position to avoid the branches obscuring the tower.
I have moved into the churchyard and photographed the tower from the side. The light is better here, although more or less behind me. In these last three close up shots the angle makes the tower appear to be leaning away.

I much prefer the two images above. It is a more sympathetic view of the church and it is now pleasantly lit from the left.
Using the same focal length I have moved in close to the porch and the same time have included some of the view over the valley. Framing is complete with the tree on the left.

The church is open and I thought that the interactive aspect of the project would be enhanced by including these two shots of the 'Ramblers Window'. Again I kept to the same focal length.
Now the Viking Way leads us out of the churchyard again.
This perhaps my favourite view although I think it may ave been improved by positoning myself slightly closer (or zooming in or cropping) so that the sapling on the right and the large tree to the left were right on the edge of the frame. I'm not sure bout the footprints - they do lead the eye to the church.

For these two shots I have moved further round to my right. I like the last one where the church is framed by the tree, although on another shot I zoomed out slightly and this improves the image.

This was an interesting and challenging project. It is a reminder of how challenging using one focal length is and I have not always positioned my self in the best spot. I am not happy with the plain blue sky - the images would have been better with some interesting clouds. They would also have been improved with the sun lower in the sky. Fortunaely this location is only half an hour away from home so I shall be returning.