Sea of steps
Sea of Steps – a visit to Wells cathedral
How lenses have changed since F.H. Evans’ time
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Chapter house steps at Wells Cathedral, England
I’m not producing a travel blog this year – however I am touring bits of the southwest of England and will no doubt get some interesting photos on the way (yes I do take holiday snaps).
Many years ago, one of the architectural images that inspired my photography was “Sea of Steps” – taken by Frederick H. Evans in 1903 at Wells Cathedral.
He used a camera with movements, but the 17mm lens I’m using was beyond manufacturing capabilities until relatively recently.
When I’m back in Leicester, I’m looking forward to creating a large print from the RAW file I used to make the B&W image below.
The steps leading up to the chapter house at Wells
I’ve an interesting collection of images from the cathedral, taken with a variety of lenses including the TS-E17 tilt/shift lens (used above at f/8) and our new 8-15mm fisheye.
Note (2017): The TS-E17mm (info) has become a mainstay of my architectural work since this article (2011)
Here are a few more images from when I returned.
Scissor arches, Wells
Chapel at Wells cathedral
The chapel shot is actually two 17mm images combined, with one shifted upward and one down, these are then combined in Photoshop. I do have a special lens mount [PPL TSE adapter review] that can help with this, although with up/down stitches I’ve often just used my normal tripod.
The roof of the Chapterhouse is a great opportunity for using the EF8-15mm [review] at its full 180 degree field of view (laying down on the floor – looking up)
Chapterhouse roof, Wells
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