Tag: st David’s

Series of Four #1 – Symmetry in Composition

Series of Four

This is the first Blog I will be putting up on a Series of Four images.  Each blog will focus on a different aspect of photography, either technical or creative.  This first series is on symmetry in composition.  To see the full set of “Series of Four” blogs, click here.

Symmetry in Composition

Using symmetry in composition is very powerful but needs to be used sparingly and with care.  Here are four images taken in very different situations but all of which use symmetry as their main compositional strength.  Vertical symmetry usually brings a sense of calm and balance to an image.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The images are (clockwise from top left):

  • An historic home in Florida, USA;
  • St David’s Cathedral, Wales;
  • A construction site, South London;
  • A holiday cottage in Devon, England

7 more Cathedrals Photographed

Northern England

During Half-Term (20-26 February 2011) Karen and I traveled to northern England to photograph 6 more cathedrals:  Ripon, Bradford, York Minster Cathedral, Durham, and Newcastle in the east, and Carlisle in the west.  We braved a range of weather with one brief glimpse of the sun.  This makes 42 of the 43 English Cathedrals now photographed – I photograph the last English Cathedral on 3 March – Peel Cathedral on the Isle of Man.

Carlisle Cathedral was a challenge as when I arrived I was told that I could not use a tripod.  As I shoot at a low ISO value with typical exposures of 20 – 30 seconds, I had to do some creative thinking.  Carlisle is the only cathedral out of the 43 in England which had this restriction but no doubt for good reason as they said images of the cathedral had been used inappropriately – if I had known this before hand I could probably have made an arrangement.

Ripon Cathedral
Bradford Cathedral
York Minster Cathedral
Durham Cathedral
Newcastle Cathedral
Carlisle Cathedral

Wales

We visited St David’s Cathedral in west Wales which is the first Welsh cathedral I have photographed.  St David’s is the smallest city in the UK because of the cathedral.  There are 6 cathedrals in Wales altogether: St David’s : Llandaff : Bangor : Newport : St Asaph : Brecon.  This now makes for a new target – the Cathedrals of England and Wales!

St David's Cathedral, Wales