Sy Mary's Church, Greywell

[Pete Askew]

An unusually straight shot from me today. This is St Mary's Church in Greywell, Hampshire. It was founded in 1076 and still has its Norman tower. It was extended in the 18th century, which you can just see the behind the Yew tree to the left (flint knapped wall). It is not an easy building to photograph as there is really only a very narrow area from which it can be viewed clearly. Also, it is only lit satisfactorily for a short period of the day and it is shadowed from the nicest, early morning light by the large Yew. Today was overcast but with the odd shaft of sun and it had to do as this is an image to be used for the new postcards for the village. I will go back this afternoon and shoot the interior if the light is good (at mid afternoon the sun streams through the windows on the far side). It was shot 5x4 (native aspect ratio of the back) and cropped to match the format used for the cards.

Hasselblad 503CW + 60mm Zeiss Distagon f1:3.5 CFi onto a PhaseOne P45 back. PP in LR, PS and Nik ColorFX 4.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Well, it does the job, and will make an attractive post card. Shame about the sky. You could always steal one of Julian's epic skyscapes!

 

[Pete Askew]

I could ramp it up but I'm not sure it is appropriate for a village postcard.

 

[Pete Askew]

There you go Rob, just for you!

 

[Brian Moore]

Lovely Pete. The soft brownish tones of the church are off-set very nicely by the grass. I like the 2nd version better. The definition in the sky is worth keeping in my opinion.

 

[Pete Askew]

I think you are probably right Brian. The thing that annoyed me about the sky was that there was a brighter area behind the tower and that made it look like a processing halo. So I cloned a bit of cloud in. I'm still hopeful that a better sky will present itself tomorrow (it's only a two minute walk!). I have a couple more images of the church that I'll post in this thread later. If the sun comes back out the interior is very nice.

 

[Hamish Gill]

I like the one withy he sky too... Maybe somewhere between the two?

 

[Pete Askew]

That's possible as I have the layers intact.

 

[Beth Anthony]

love the pp, almost looks like a painting.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

The PP version works well Pete - will make a super card I think

I was once told that churches in England have Yew trees in the grounds so that the locals could quickly knock-up a longbow if they came under attack.

But may of the Yews are older than the churches, so they were probably originally Druids' sacred groves around religious locations, which later became Christian sites.

We have Yews that may be over 4,000 years old in the UK - quite amazing

 

[Pete Askew]

Here are the others. Again, with postcards in mind.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

I think the first is the best overall comp, but I do like the others too - the path and the detail in the door.

 

[Pete Askew]

I agree, I just shot the others as the camera was set up and I was there (the last one is OK, but not much use as a postcard I don't think). It really isn't an easy building to get images of. The Yews are in the way and then a fence and the bank to the right of the path obscure the door so you only have one viewpoint that works. I might try a shot from a distance tomorrow from the middle of the field with a medium telephoto lens and include the oak fence. And, the interior if the light is right - it wasn't this afternoon. I may end up having to use some lights anyway, we'll see.

 

[Brian Moore]

I like #2 very much, and I like #3 as well. I think I like #2 better than #1 in some ways. However, for a postcard, I think it has to be #1 Pete.

 

[Nihat Iyriboz]

A fascinating image and history, Pete, and a wonderful composition in colours. Thank you.
I am stuck somewhere between the 2nd and the 3rd image. I like the warmer clouds of the 2nd and more defined clouds of the 3rd.

 

[Allan Batchelor]

Oh what a crackin auld kirk Pete....my fav theme at moment (ive got a few doozies from N Yorkshire I need to PP)

 

[Glenn Clabo]

Flipping and flopping between 1 and 2 for a while now. Actually...I like 1...but 2 just keeps making me come back. So...you can send them both.

 

[Brian Moore]

Pete,...one of the things I like about these foties--and I still think #1 is the one for the postie, although my comment applies to all three--is the soft, muted color saturation you have imparted on the images. I've seen it in other images of yours and I like it so much.

 

[Hamish Gill]

I actually think the last shot is the most successful. Simple but pretty