Harris Manchester College Chapel – revisited
My initial visit to The Chapel of Harris Manchester College saw the East Window shrouded in protective covers while cleaning work was taking place outside. The chapel is not typically oriented, so the east window, in this instance, is located at the rear of the chapel.
Harris Manchester is undoubtedly the most welcoming college – I am always greeted like a long-lost friend by the Porter’s Lodge, and have been accommodated without any problem, allowed to get on with my work in the most beautiful surroundings.
While I endeavour to restrict myself to just a single stained-glass window (or light) from each chapel, I keep finding myself drawn back to this chapel, which is filled with stunning work by William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones.
The east window was undoubtedly worth my revisit… it is impressively large, and stunning! Sadly, and in keeping with many chapels and churches, the five main lights are all backed by protective mesh, which although subtle and almost unnoticeable to the casual observer, creates an obvious and detracting element to any photograph, even when reduced to a thumbnail…
The quick edit of the entire east window, above, provides just a hint of the stunning colours and design. However, for the development of this project, I focussed most of my efforts on the top third of the window, lavishly illustrated with angels and devoid of protective mesh.
Teaching the Ignorant (BJ237 Edward Burne-Jones, 1896) The Chapel of Harris Manchester College
It is always a pleasure, when working on roses, not to have to remove support bars! As a result, the editing time was quick by comparison. The image was shot at 349mm, using the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens, at an aperture of f/8.0 and exposure times ranging from 1/30 s to 1/2 s. However, I am unsure whether this image is best presented square or circular. I committed to a square print of the west window, but rather like the appearance of this one cropped as a circle…
