Tag Archives: Oxford

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Mansfield College Chapel

Mansfield - Johannes Balliolo (vlr).jpgIt is only now, five weeks after visiting Mansfield College Chapel, that I have had the chance to review the images.  With limited time available this weekend, I selected the only east wall stained glass window that could be photographed.

A batch of twenty images covered adequately the dynamic range.  The postproduction work was fairly straightforward, with just two support bars to remove.  However, the window was dark and very dirty for something less than 125 years old, resulting in an image that underwhelms.

Perhaps unusually, this window celebrates the founder of Balliol College: John de Balliol and his wife Dervorguilla of Galloway.

Inscription: John de Balliol; Dervorguilla of Galloway, Mistress of Balliol, Founders around 1269

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University College Chapel

Best known for its windows by Dutch artist Abraham van Linge, it seems somewhat ironic that today’s visit saw me photograph none of those.  Sadly the lighting was too bright and harsh to capture any of the south windows and as a result of this, the north windows were too brightly lit internally by the other windows.

Univ - Chapel (low res)Univ - Chapel 02 (low res)

This only left me with the ‘new’ east window.  For the first time, I opted to capture all five of the main lights within the window as they tell the story of the crucifixion in its entirety.  In addition to this, and in keeping with most of my visits this Module, I photographed a number of the angels that make up the reticulated tracery at the top of the window.

Univ - Rose - Left Angel (low res)Univ - East Windows - Centre Angels (Low Res)Univ - Rose - Right Angel (low res)

Scenes from the Passion – Angles (Arthur & Michael O’Connor, 1864) University College Chapel

These images were shot at 400mm 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 1/50 s to 1/2 s.  Currently I have yet to start editing the main lights, but will post an update once it is complete.

I plan to return to photograph other windows within the chapel when the light is more favourable, although am inclined to capture the Adoration of the Magi (Clayton & Bell, 1866) rather than one of the van Linge’s, since this will tie in with my plan to generate a supplemental portfolio of image appropriate for use in the production of a collection of Christmas cards.

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University College Chapel – East Window

My first stab at (almost) an entire window warrants a before and after look.  I was ambivalent about the support bars, and despite there being only two or three per light, I opted to leave them in as they do not detract (much) from the image.  Now, as I type this, I find myself questioning that decision.  Perhaps at a later date I might re-edit the image, but for the time being they remain.

Univ - East Window - Scenes from the Passion (low res) BEFOREUniv - East Window - Scenes from the Passion (low res)

Scenes from the Passion (Arthur & Michael O’Connor, 1864) University College Chapel

This blog does not do the five lights sufficient justice, so below is the window split into three, running from left to right:

Univ - East Window - Scenes from the Passion (low res Left)Univ - East Window - Scenes from the Passion (low res Centre)Univ - East Window - Scenes from the Passion (low res Right)

I am surprised by the lack of support bars – based upon previous experiences, I would have anticipated four or five per light, but instead there are two or perhaps three, with an extensive area of unsupported glass in the middle.  Perhaps this is a feature of Arthur & Michael O’Connor lights – as these are the first that I have (knowingly) seen, it is hard to tell without further research.

The presence of two candelabras necessitated the photograph to be taken from an off-centre position to the left of the window, leaving the candelabra chain running between the fourth and fifth light.  The existence of raised pews and high kneelers at the west end facilitated a pleasingly high tripod location, some 4m off the ground.  As a result, there was only minimal post-production perspective control required, with a minor amount of converging verticals and not too much horizontal convergence, with the degradation in image quality being difficult to notice.

A total of 18 images were shot at 148mm 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 1/50 s to 1s.

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Worcester College Chapel – Planning Visit

Perhaps stretching the truth a little: today I was singing evensong at Worcester College with the school choir, which cancelled out much of my half day, precluding my ability to work creatively on my project.  However, having sung here several times before, and already knowing the Chaplain, it did afford me the chance for some planning and a verbal request to photograph the windows.

Sadly, being an evensong in the winter months, it was dark by the time of my arrival in chapel, so my iPhone battled to drag any suggestion of light from the windows.  However, all is not lost…

Worcester_College_Chapel,_Oxford,_UK_-_Diliff (low res)

David Iliff (2015) Worcester College Chapel

The lavish appearance of the current chapel is thanks extensive renovation and redecoration work by William Burge, that started in 1863.  Its stained glass windows were to have been designed by John Everett Millais, but Burges rejected his designs and entrusted the work to Henry Holiday.

Surely that has to be a story in itself!  The fact that Burges rejected the designs himself would suggest, sadly, that they did not even get as far as the College, who would likely have archived them.  My penchant for Holiday’s work is no secret, but I am fascinated to know what might have been had Millais’ work been used.

Millais was no fool where Pre-Raphaelite art is concerned, perhaps best known for his oil-painting on canvas Ophelia, he became friendly with William Holman Hunt, whose famous work The Light of the World (painted at the same time as Ophelia), hangs in the Side Chapel of Keble College, Oxford.

N01506_10 (Ophelia) (low res)

John Everett Millais (1851-2) Ophelia ©Tate, London 2014

A moderate level of research reveals surprisingly sparse reference to Millais’ stained glass work, besides another oil painting Mariana, which features the stained glass of Merton College Chapel, Oxford.

T07553_10 Mariana (low res)

John Everett Millais (1851) Mariana ©Tate, London 1999

Stories within stories.  Definitely worth of further investigation, but not right now at the expense of my current research.

The chapel is unusually wide, which might afford some good photography of the windows that adorn the north and south walls – despite their height.  As is increasingly the case, the east window will prove most straightforward to photograph, with an uninterrupted view along the nave.

Worcester_College_Chapel,_Oxford,_UK_-_Diliff 02 (low res)

David Iliff (2015) Worcester College Chapel (tight crop)

With the support bars being an integral part of every window, it may prove sensible to preclude any removal from this location… the idea of editing out eight horizontal and two vertical bars is horrific!

After the service, the Chaplain kindly granted me open access to photograph the chapel windows whenever suits me, so I suspect that this will be one of my first visits in the New Year.

Looking at the exquisite image by David Iliff makes me realise that I should be recording a quality locational shot on each visit.  While this is something that I have been doing, for the most part, it has been a little half-hearted thus far.

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Guide book – sample page

Sample Page (low res)I remain confident the most appropriate way to promote my work within Oxford is through an exhibition (beyond Oxford is a separate consideration).  While I am a long way from coming close to finalising the appearance of an exhibition, it has always been my intention to publish a supporting guide book, which could also to stand alone as more of a ‘tourist guide’.

It makes some sense to begin putting this together as I visit each location, rather than leaving all until the end of the project – that way I can ensure that I have sufficient information available while it is still fresh in my mind (and while my work is fresh in the minds of the College Bursary, etc.).

My first stab at a layout (click image above for a PDF) is perhaps less than useful as I have only produced one page, but I will augment it is due course.  In the past I have spent days on the design and layout, so this will be one of my projects to work on over the Christmas break.

It is my deliberate intention to provide both historical and photographic information within the guide.  In addition to a separate page on each location, the guide would contain an appropriate map, glossary, bibliography, profile on each of the artists featured as well as an illustrated explanation of the photographic and post-production processes.

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Wycliffe Hall Chapel – Planning Visit

Wycliffe Hall is the nearest college to my home, although the one mile walk seemed rather further in the cold, wet and dark conditions that befell today.  It was a unique pleasure to be greeted and given a tour by the Principal, Revd Dr Michael Lloyd.  In correspondence he was hugely complementary of my work and hoped that I might be able to create an image appropriate for a condolences card from one of the panels within the east window and also wondered whether the angles adorning the top of the window might be able to be used in Christmas cards.  With such a warm welcome, it amused me to discover that he was the former chaplain at The Queen’s College, who are currently being so awkward about granting me access to their chapel!

Wycliffe Hall is a Church of England theological college and a Permanent Private Hall (an educational institution) within the Oxford University.  It is named after John Wycliffe, who was master of Balliol College, Oxford in the 14th century.  The chapel was added in 1896, designed by architect George Wallace.  As yet, I am unsure of stained glass window artist.

It is going to be a pleasure photographing the east window as there is an organ loft at the perfect height to eliminate the need for any post-production perspective control.

IMG_3741 e (low res)IMG_3740 ce (low res)

IMG_3739 (low res)

The west end features a plain glass window that houses one stained glass light, featuring John Wycliffe.  This will present a host of minor difficulties, not least the minimal available space – it will only be possible to photograph with a wide angle lens.   Clearly this window could only be photographed in the winter months, when the numerous trees are devoid of leaves.  By choice, I would prefer to remove the outside features visible through the window.  I will have to experiment with smaller apertures than usual in an effort to throw the background out of focus – not easy with wide angle work.  It may prove to be simplest to address this problem in post-production.

It is my intention to revisit the College in the New Year – I suspect the photography will need two visits in order to ensure appropriate illumination of both the east and west windows.

It was reassuring to hear such enthusiasm for my work during this visit.  Dr Lloyd was adamant that a book cataloguing the chapels through one or two of their windows, would be very well received in Oxford.  With an anticipated exhibition date of late 2019, my suggestion that I might also produce a series of Christmas cards based upon the numerous nativity scenes and angels that feature in these windows, was also met by tremendous enthusiasm… I suspect I have one potential buyer at the very least.

T.E. Lawrence

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T.E. Lawrence’s bespoke camera

A brief break from routine provided the time for me to call in on the rebranded History of Science Museum, a department of the University of Oxford.  Among the vast array of scientific artefacts is a small collection of cameras, including the large format rosewood camera of Charles Dodgson, better know as author Lewis Caroll and more notably, for someone who considers Lawrence of Arabia to be a hero, T.E. Lawrence’s camera.

My recent research into large format photographers suggests that this camera could be ideally suited to the my practice, with the range of lenses be ideally suited for individual windows (I believe that quarter plate 135mm lens is ‘equivalent’ to a 50mm lens on a full frame DSLR).

Before his military career, T.E. Lawrence worked for the British Museum at Carchemish in Syria from 1910-1914 as an archaeologist.  For this work a camera was vital so he commissioned J.H. Dallmayer to build him a quarter plate camera.  Dallmayer were lens specialist known for the quality of their ‘stigmatic’ lenses.

Even in 1910, archaeological photograph necessitated a very specific set of less than usual extras, so Lawrence’s camera set included a reflex view finder on base-board and a ball-bearing Dallmeyer levelling device with metal plumb line. The lenses associated with the camera include a bronze telephoto attachment, a Dallymeyer rectilinear lens, and an aluminium Dallmeyer ADON eye-piece magnifier.

To maintain flexibility there were two different styles of film backs: a set of four mahogany book-form double dark-slides for 3¼” × 4¼” (83mm × 108mm) plates and a pair of mahogany double dark-slides for cut-film. Together with the obligatory dark cloth the kit was housed in a sturdy leather case.

The markings on the kit seem not as clear-cut as todays photographic equipment.  While the leather case is clearly stamped J.H. DALLMAYER / OPTICIAN / LONDON and then further marked in handwriting: Property of T.E. Lawrence, Pole Hill, Chingford, Essex, the lenses are not quite so comprehensible where aperture is concerned.  However, the Dallmayer lens are marked as follows:

  • No 2. SER. II DALLMEYER STIGMATIC F/6 PATENT
  • F=5.3 135mm. J.H. Dallmeyer. LONDON.
  • F=1=11 275mm. No 75237
  • F=2-=8.5 210 mm

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te lawrence camera 02 editeed

T.E. Lawrence’s folding quarter-plate camera by J.D. Dallmeyer, London, 1910

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Wycliffe Hall Chapel

My planned photo shoot visit to Wycliff Hall fell on a pleasingly good day where weather was concerned, with cloud cover and bright light.  However, I was worried by the limited amount of daylight I would have on winter afternoon.  I need not have worried: no more than a handful of photographs into the session, the Chaplain and a number of students arrived to prepare for the chapel service that was about to commence – something that required internal lighting.  I was left with no choice but to pack up and head home.  Before I had even reached my house I was emailed the offer of five future dates on which I could work, uninterrupted in the chapel.

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Wycliffe Hall Chapel – Revisited

In the climatographical lottery that I play every time I confirm a date for a chapel visit, today appeared so poor that I was tempted to cancel and rearrange: temperature 11°C higher than the historical average and a brilliant blue, cloudless sky.  Experience told me that this would likely result in harsh shadows on the glass in addition to unfavourably bright interior light.  However, it was going to be a lovely walk to the location…

For this visit I was afforded a slot from 3pm until 4:30pm, so on arrival, bright sunlight was pouring in through the mostly plain glass west window.  To my surprise though, with the ambient light being so bright, the east window was lit very well by diffused, reflected daylight – producing near-perfect conditions for photography (so long as the bright beams of light from other windows remained clear of the window).

DCP_9236 ce (low res).jpgWith the Hall Principal being so keen to utilise an image of part of one of the lights for a condolences card and me ever keen to photograph any Nativity scenes, I opted to capture six views: the entire window and then the bottom half of each light, depicting scenes from the life of Christ.

The window east was installed in 1927 to mark the Hall’s Golden Jubilee and is believed to have been designed by the same artist as the John Wycliffe window.   However, the hall is  unsure of any further details. These were photographed from the organ loft at the perfect height to avoid any distortion.  A total of 103 images were shot at 117 mm for the entire window and 400mm for the close-ups, using the Canon EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens, at an aperture of f/8.0 and exposure times ranging from 1/15 s to 5 s.  To date, I have edited the five lower panels and suspect that I will not work on the entire window.

DCP_9134 (low res)Despite the bright sunlight radiating through the west window, I investigated its photography: irrespective of focal length or aperture, from the organ loft there was no viable solution to avoiding the buildings and vegetation outside.  However, from behind the altar at the east end of the building, there was an uninterrupted view mostly devoid of detraction.  While the viewing angle necessitated correction of perspective and the very bright backlighting presented some difficulties with glare, the results were very pleasing.  A total of 17 images were shot at 321 mm using the Canon EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens, at an aperture of f/8.0 and exposure times ranging from 1/60 s to 0.6 s.

Wycliffe Hall - John Wycliffe (low res)

Dominic Price (2019) John Wycliffe [Artist Unknown, 1896 – Wycliffe Hall Chapel]

 I have a final visit lined up in mid-March which will allow me to compare the colour and saturation of my images with the two windows.

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Christ Church Cathedral – Planning Visit

Christ Church Cathedral is the College Chapel of Christ Church College and is comfortably Oxford’s busiest chapel.  Following a comparatively brief series of communications, today’s visit allowed me to meet the Operations Manager who conducted me around the site for the best part of an hour, showing me some of the hidden gems within the building.  Currently the cathedral is undergoing considerable conservation work and upgrades to the lights.  As a result, the entire Nave and Ante-Chapel are occupied by scaffolding.  To my surprise and delight, I have been granted access to this in my future visits, which will enable me an uninterrupted and level view of the East Rose Window, normally partially hidden when viewed from the ground.  Additionally, I will be able to photograph from a number of other raised locations typically closed to the public, eliminating the quality loss that comes from the need to correct converging verticals in post production.  Furthermore I have been granted access to a large collection of fragments of van Linge stained glass fragments found within the cathedral grounds together with the Cathedral’s large light box.

My return visit will see me having private access to the site, which is rather an honour and makes me a little nervous about being sure to do a good job!  My plan has always been to capture just one window within each chapel, but (as I feared) I suspect I will end up photographing much more than that.

Christ Church

Peter Marlow (2010) Christ Church Cathedral