Faith and Photography

There is something about a religious building that I just feel a kinship with. Old churches, ruins etc just seem to have an air of peace about them. I guess that is why I like Fountains Abbey so much. The Cellarium is just so peaceful, I can almost breathe it in.

For most Mormons, the temple is the most significant building of our faith and it is a place I love to visit when passing, simply to soak up the atmosphere. The Preston Temple is actually located in Chorley, roughly 10 miles south of Preston in Lancashire. It’s a simple, bold and somewhat plain building when compared to some of the other temples the church has built, but the design suits the grim and beautiful countryside that is Lancashire.

Photographing the temple has always been problematic. To get the whole building into shot, you need an ultra wide angle lens, and with the landscaping of the grounds, there are only a few angles you can capture. certainly none that are unique. It may have been done before, and it may have been done better, but I hadn’t taken a good shot of it before, so it was my turn.

The light wasn’t great and although the sky was clear, there was a dull edge to it. (Ironically, as I was passing earlier that morning, there was fantastic, bright and crisp light, but I was on my way to a meeting and running late, so had to wait until my way home. Typical!) I bracketed my exposures and combined them in Picturenaut, thus creating my very first HDR pic. Probably should have added a couple more to extend the range, but it worked out. Certainly something I want to try again.

Having shot the typical, I walked around and started looking for the detail that might offer something unique. The lights of the courtyard in front of the temple offer a nice composition, but as I walked around, suddenly the sun started to let loose and the side of the building reflected the surrounding trees. I love this shot and black & white suits it perfectly.

My favourite image of the day was one of the first ones I took, which is of the gate. I love the colours on this; the soft sand colours of the plants behind the metallic effects of the gate. The plants are just blurred enough that it’s almost like looking through a window.

I managed about 45 minutes before the freezing cold started to bite, but it was well worth it. I came away feeling refreshed from a little time where my faith and photography came together. I like it when that happens.

Let it Snow…

After all the threats, it finally snowed, which meant I had to get up before the kids to see what pictures I could take before they wrecked the garden. I was hoping for some animal tracks, and sure enough, one of the neighborhood cats didn’t disappoint.

Thankfully the cars weren’t snowed in. unlike this one…

Leeds Central Library

I hate the office I work in. It’s one of those typical open plan offices; you know, the ones that have bad air conditioning, are never at the right temperature, have carpets decorated in duck tape and that slowly suck all the life, energy and soul out of you. I tend to go wandering mid-morning to get some fresh air and re-vitalize my brain cells. every now and then, I take pencil and paper and go to the quiet room at Leeds Central Library to plan and write stuff without the phones distracting me.

The library is a fantastic building with some very interesting architecture inside, and being a council run building has a mixture of original fittings and typical council type touches.

These tiled patterns are all over the building, but on the top floor, there is this little section surrounded by white paint. I’m sure there is a rational explanation, but it does look a bit odd.

For black and white, the building is superb. There are so many different shapes, textures tones and details all over the building.

There are so many little details, one of the strangest has to be a pair of dogs, (Though one of them looks like a lion to me!!) Both look like they could use a good meal.

I didn’t spend too long taking pictures on this occasion, but it begs for another visit with a camera.