England II - From Ely Cathedral to Lincoln Cathedral

Digital original, 19 frame exposure blend, 2 frame stitch

Ely Cathedral has its origins in AD 672 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church. The present building dates back to 1083. Architecturally it is outstanding both for its scale and stylistic details. Above all, from a photographic perspective, the central tower, which has a painted wooden ceiling, was just fabulous to photograph. By this time, a year after my major project on Gothic Religious buildings, I had all the kinks worked out of the process, but still, it was just awe inspiring to photograph.

Digital original, 14 frame exposure blend, 2 frame stitch

Although the heart of my work with architecture focuses on symmetry, I do try, when I can find the time, to make asymmetrical compositions; in this case, I took advantage of the two-frame stitch to ensure that all four corners of the image were used to maximum effect.

Digital original

After a couple of hour drive from Ely to Lincoln, I spent the evening wandering around the outside of Lincoln Cathedral. Construction on Lincoln Cathedral was started in 1088 and continued in several phases throughout the medieval period. It was the tallest building in the world for 238 years (1311–1549), and the first building to hold that title after the Great Pyramid of Giza.  The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt.

Digital original

One of the most beautiful features of the cathedral was the large Romanesque doors, and their carved borders. I pushed my ultra-wide lens as far as I could with this one, and nary a line in the image is straight or level as a result.