The Artful Engineer

One afternoon in London we had plans to meet friends for a tour of the Tower. My son and I spent most of the morning exploring Southwark before crossing over London Bridge. After visiting the tourist-trap-esque Clink Museum (morbid curiosity and proximity won the day) we went to the wonderful—and nearly deserted—Southwark Cathedral.

I love Gothic architecture (and Gothic novels, too, but that’s another topic). Gothic cathedrals, in particular, are basically photographic playgrounds. Unlike typical (i.e., well-lit) building interiors, there are patches of light and an abundance of deep shadows, not to mention lots of textures, ornate stonework, and repeating shapes aplenty. The image above is an example. At a different time of day or time of year the windows would illuminate different parts of the interior, completely changing the photographic raw material. Southwark Cathedral is a long way from home, but revisiting on a future trip to London would definitely be worthwhile.

Elaborate vaulted ceilings abound:

Stained-glass windows are another fun subject in cathedrals. Here the golden angel in the bottom left balances the windows in the upper right.

Having the bright windows in the frame gives this next image a rather extreme dynamic range. From a technical perspective, pulling this image off takes careful exposure, careful processing, and a camera with a very good sensor. (There isn’t anything to see out the right hand windows, but the left windows show blue sky and the building exterior, which is pretty remarkable.) Between the central placement, the strong symmetry, and the bright sheen on each pipe, the organ is able to hold the viewer’s attention as the main subject despite the bright windows above.

This next image is all about symmetry that converges on the distant stained-glass window. I wish I had noticed while I was there the little faces at the bases of the arch; they are a nice detail and I don’t have any images that feature them.

There’s a lot of symmetry in most cathedrals. Symmetric compositions can be powerful, but it is good to mix things up to avoid becoming repetitive. Here is a diagonal view through an interior arch of obviously symmetrical, repeating windows.

This next image is a bit of a strange composition, with the kneeling figures in the foreground looking away to the left and the distant golden figure looking away to the right. Regardless, the bright shield is a wonderful focus point here. The key for this type of image is to first position yourself where the sheen reflects brightly and then see if you can frame a decent composition; ideally you can get both at the same time, but it isn’t always possible. This image has a lot of depth, some mystery, and a narrow color palette where everything ranges from rich brown to bright gold.

I hope you enjoyed these images of an undervisited cathedral in London. It’s worth exploring, plus it lacks the hordes of visitors that Westminster and St. Paul’s attract.

I’ll have more images from London next week. Thanks for visiting and if you have a friend who would enjoy my photographic adventures, please let them know about this blog. Thank you!