Songs from the Musicals with Budd & Saunders

A charitable concert was staged at our local church in Fishbourne last week, featuring Budd and Saunders who are a very talented musical duet. Kenton Budd sang the vocals and Nic Saunders accompanied him on the electric piano, whilst also performing some solo keyboard works for the first time, all inspired by the Weald and Downland Museum which lies in the small village of Singleton, just north of Chichester.

They principally performed well known songs from famous stage Musicals both past and present. The acoustics in the church were superb and the late evening summer sun shone through the leaded light windows. It acted like a floodlight on Kenton as he sang with passion and feeling for the story being told by the lyrics.

I was using my trusted Olympus EM1 and 75mm f1.8 lens. Shooting mainly at f2 at ISO 2000, this gave me enough speed to freeze the action and capture some sharp images. I used Lightroom for some basic processing before converting to black and white in Silver Efx Pro2 starting with the Fine Art preset.

An excellent creative evening both musically and from my point of view, photographically speaking as well.

Sherborne Abbey - Interior details

In the previous entry I wrote about Sherborne Abbey in Dorset and illustrated the post with a number of shots depicting some of the main interior features or views of this wonderful building.

As I walked around the Abbey, as well as the 'wider' view, there were many fine details to be seen and I thought these were also worth recording and would justify an entry of their own.

As I said in the first post about Sherborne Abbey, it is a place I would like to revisit at some point in the future. I shall be armed with my tripod, take my time, observe and make careful compositions before making sure the exposure settings are just right. That's not to say I am in anyway disappointed with the results so far, but what they have done is to inspire me to return, to explore and really do justice to this place of worship. The place which is fondly called the 'Cathedral of Dorset'.

Light on the Leweston Tomb Memorial

Wood carving on the Pulpit

Another carving on the Pulpit

Pulpit steps

Choir candles

Reflections in a mirror of the Fan Vault on the main Nave

The wonderful symmetry of the Fan Vaulting in the main nave

The hands of St Aldhem

The feet of St Aldhelm

Sherborne Abbey in Dorset

There is no question that I, like many others, am drawn to Cathedrals and Churches. Ecclesiastical buildings which can be quite magnificent both for their splendid architecture but also for their spiritual atmosphere; the peace and quiet, together with the light as it shines through stained glass windows. Carefully positioned artificial light also adds to the splendour of these wonderful places of worship which have stood for centuries. I will always be in awe as to just how these structures were ever built in the first place. Several generations will have been involved, so the craftsmen who laid the foundations and constructed the first walls, will not have lived to see the building finished.

These thoughts were ever present when I visited Sherborne Abbey in Dorset earlier this month. It was the first time my wife and I had been inside the Abbey and we were immediately struck by its beauty. By way of a brief history I shall simply quote from the home page of their website.

"Founded by St. Aldhelm in AD 705, the Abbey has developed from Saxon cathedral to the worshipping heart of the monastic community, and finally, to on of the most beautiful of England's parish churches. For many it is still the 'cathedral of Dorset', and our Benedictine heritage lives in in the daily offering of prayer and praise."

Whilst I had not planned our visit to be for photography purposes, I spent over an hour very happily taking a variety of images - and here are a selection.

All were shot with my Olympus OMD EM5 and Panasonic 12-35 f2.8 lens - it really is a great combination. I raised the ISO to 800 and shot hand held, as I did not have a tripod with me. I would like to revisit this Abbey, and given more time, carefully compose, expose and take more shots as there was so much to photograph.

 The Organ in the North Transcept originally installed in 1858 

The Nave looking down towards the High Alter

Fan vaulting in the Nave

The High Altar and Reredos in the North Choir

Archway in the North Aisle looking through in the Choir

This first entry has concentrated on some of the main features of Sherborne Abbey. My next post will highlight some of the lovely details to be found, seen and captured.

Jazz in the Church

The local village church which I attend is trying to raise sufficient funds to build a new hall on land immediately joining the church. There have been many events to date in aid of The St Peter Project and yesterday we staged a jazz concert in the church itself. Somewhat unusual for a very traditional Anglican Church but it was a great event, good fun with really enjoyable music. It was played by three excellent musicians, using a variety of instruments all accompanied by a solo singer providing the vocals - or as they are called the Kenton Budd Jazz Quartet.

It was a good opportunity to take some shots in available light as I didn't want to use flash. I asked permission of the band first, which I am sure is only courteous, as it could be off putting to the performers to have someone moving around with a lens pointing in their direction. I used the Panasonic f2.8 35 to 100mm lens at f2.8 on the Olympus OMD EM5. I pushed the ISO to 3200  and converted the images to black and white; so whilst they have some grain, this quite suits the style of photography. I manually focused in aperture priority which meant that the camera would select the shutter speed. In most cases this turned out between 1/25 and 1/30 of a second. Just fast enough to capture the image without too much blur.

The images are shown below and I hope they capture something of the atmosphere of the event given the venue.

The Saxophonist

The Keyboard Player

Kenton Budd provided the vocals to some true jazz classics

The Drummer

The Saxophonist, although I doubt he was playing a tune which would have suited Psalm 46!

A deft touch on the 'old' ivories

The Saxophonist turned electric guitarist

Do I detect a little emotion in the eyes whilst singing this particular song?

Still blowing.......

.....and with music, a glass of wine. The pew shelf is not just for the hymn book.

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Easter inside Fishbourne Church

In a departure from recent entries, I could not miss the opportunity to record the glorious interior of our local parish church at Fishbourne near Chichester in West Sussex, which was decorated with some quite stunningly beautiful flower arrangements this Easter. I wanted to photograph the work of many wonderful and gifted volunteers, as well as having a few images which could be published in the next edition of our Parish Magazine.

All the photographs were taken using the Olympus EM5 and Panasonic f2.8 12-35mm zoom lens, mounted on a Gitzo tripod and ball head.

The east window behind the altar of Fishbourne Church

All the pillars were decorated with flowers and Easter chicks!

Crosses and primroses beneath the altar

A floral decoration on the font

.....and just because I can't resist the temptation, I have converted a similar image to the first photo in this entry to mono. Although the beautiful colours have been removed there is still something about the black and white version.

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Churches in the landscape - South Stoke

In my last post (Idsworth Church) I touched on the topic of choosing a suitable subject which would inspire me for my panel of images for the 'ARPS Distinction with the Royal Photographic Society. The choice is proving to be quite a challenge in its own right and this is before I start taking any photographs worthy of a submission. Fortunately I am not up against the clock and I will take my time. It's a bit like a driving test and I would like to pass first time, so it will pay me to prepare properly and take as much time as I need before I apply for an assessment date. Between now and then there is likely to be long gap. The selection of a subject or theme is only the starting point. I will need to undertake a lot of research into my chosen topic, particularly if this involves travelling from one location to another, either at home or abroad. I am sure it will involve being outdoors and therefore I am also in the hands of weather and the changing seasons, which could very well determine the success or otherwise of each photographic session. In total the panel is made up of 15 images, which is quite a number when you consider they all need to be of the same high standard; work as a cohesive panel and all conform to the original brief. I will also seek the guidance and critical encouragement (hopefully!) from a suitable mentor or mentors.

Given that I have not yet jumped the first hurdle (the one called subject matter) for the moment its a question of exploring different ideas and seeing what may or may not work. I think I will know when I find a theme which inspires me; for without the passion and enthusiasm for the subject, how can I expect to produce a strong set images? In truth I can't, so until that day comes the thinking and the search goes on.

One possibility is 'churches in the landscape' and with this in mind I thought I would head off for a tiny hamlet called South Stoke, which is to the north of Arundel in West Sussex and sits alongside the River Arun. I had never been to South Stoke before, although it is clearly visible from the train between London Victoria from the South Coast.

It was a typical winter's day, the recent snow having been replaced by milder, grey and wet conditions. The church is very pretty but the image I had in mind when I studied the map, was of a church alongside the river, did not materialise. The church steeple was visible from the other side of the river bank, but other buildings and trees prevented a clear view of the church itself. However I was not going to leave the location without any images so here are a selection depicting the church and its immediate surroundings.

Winter light on the Arun

South Stoke Church

Trees by the Arun

Candelabra inside the Church

There was one bonus while I was there - a barn owl. I switched lenses and on its maximum focal length I took a shot. Frankly it was awful and not even worthy of an appearance on this blog. It did make me think how skilled and patient nature photographers have to be, to capture these beautiful birds in flight.



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