208 T1 Built Environment - Eccleshall Church

27th September 2011

Holy Trinity Church Eccleshall

13th and 15th century architecture

  

Research and influences

This church is close to where I live so I knew that it was a very good example of 15th century architecture with a 13th century chancel but it is also listed in two reference books that I have: England's Thousand Best Churches by Simon Jenkins and Betjeman's Best British Churches updated by Richard Surman. 

I was influenced by the work of Lance Wittenberg, Richard Southall and Paul Thetford Professional Photographers whose work is shown elsewhere in this blog.

Assignment planning and choice of equipment

I have visited this church many times and know that the churchyard is large and the building is elevated from the road. I decided to take my longest telephoto lens to be able to take images of detailed parts of the building from a distance. A tripod was also taken on the assignment to be able to take sharp images on the long telephoto lens. 

Log of image capture, safe equipment operation and health and safety considerations

The general views of the church were taken with a 18 to 50 mm wide to short telephoto zoom lens on a tripod from the churchyard. As a tripod was used a wide aperture was possible with a low shutter speed. The close up images of some of the detailed carvings around the doorway were taken with a telephoto lens and a larger aperture to keep the shutter speed high. This was because it was not possible to use a tripod so close to the main door as there were workmen taking equipment in and out for a new sound system. A tripod in this situation would have been a problem from a health and safety point of view. It was not possible to take any photographs inside the church because of the work being undertaken.

Choice of final images selected 

The 5 images below were chosen from the 52 taken on the assignment to best convey the age and style of the building and show some of the detailed stone carvings.

View of the perpendicular tower with pinnacles.

Focal length 31 mm, set on manual exposure, ISO 100, 1/100 sec, f/11

View of the tower, nave and porch.

Focal length 20mm, set on manual exposure, ISO 100, 1/200 sec, f/13

Vaulted porch

Focal length 38 mm, set on manual exposure, ISO 100, 1/250 sec, f/8

 

 Gargoyle above the porch

 Focal length 149mm, set on manual exposure, ISO 100, 1/500 sec, f/6.3

Carving on the porch

Focal length 149 mm, set on manual exposure, ISO 100, 1/400 sec, f/6.3