Post your church shots

[Bolampau]

In the abbey church of Tournus in Burgundy, an amazing “monster” capital. Early Romanesque sculptors used those to instill fear of sin into parishioners. I'm sure this one worked just fine —heck, it scared me as I was shooting it!

Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 50mm, ƒ/1.8 S lens. Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head. Single exposure, natural light.

View attachment 410030

Great photo, works well in B&W !

 

[Bolampau]

I recently went back to St. Botolph's Church in Boston, Lincolnshire referred to as "The Boston Stump". The church has one of the tallest medieval towers in the country, with a height of approximately 266 feet 9 inches (81.31m).

Nikon Z8, Z Nikkors 24-120mm & 14-30mm.
The interior shot is made up of three bracketed photos to cover the dynamic range.

 

[Blue439]

I recently went back to St. Botolph's Church in Boston, Lincolnshire referred to as "The Boston Stump". The church has one of the tallest medieval towers in the country, with a height of approximately 266 feet 9 inches (81.31m).

Is the tower naturally leaning?

 

[Blue439]

A very old stone altar in a humble village church (2021)...

Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 50mm, ƒ/1.8 S lens, handheld.

 

[Bolampau]

Is the tower naturally leaning?

Lol, no, it's just that I didn't correct the converging verticals!
These photos were taken before I bought the Laowa 15mm shift lens.

 

[Blue439]

The top of the Gour Noir rock in Auvergne (central France) was a place where druidic ceremonies were conducted. Around Year 900, Benedictine monks searching for a locale to establish a priory, selected this place, both because it offered some degree of natural protection against assailants (those were the times of Norman invasions, coming up the Dordogne river), and because the region was still largely pagan and needed some significant reinforcement of the Christian faith.

It was seriously fortified, one of the important priories of the region, yet it was taken in 1379 during the Hundred Years War by French mercenaries paid by the English, and only retaken in 1391, whereupon all fortifications were destroyed, so that history would not repeat itself. Only the Saint Pantaleon chapel was left, with religious outbuildings. The chapel is all that is left today. It stands in silence in this place, heavy with memories of centuries and millenia gone by...

Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 14–30mm, ƒ/4 S lens. Handheld.

 

[Blue439]

Thank you guys for your appreciation!

Here is the small and squat Saint Peter church of Extravache in the French Alps, a pre-Romanesque church built in the 900s. It is partly in ruin and is said to have succeeded another church which existed here since the 1st century and was built by disciples Élie and Milet. This is only tradition though, with no historical confirmation.

Nikon Z7, Micro-Nikkor Z MC 105mm, ƒ/2.8 S macro lens. Handheld.

 

[Blue439]

A 5th century basilica... and a museum... and a warehouse.

Imagine something that’s passed off as a lapidary museum, but in practice looks more like an abandoned warehouse with tons of Roman and early Mediæval statues, capitals, columns, inscribed stones, etc., piled up haphazardly with the occasional old and washed out label trying to tell you what you’re looking at... Now, imagine that the warehouse in question is not at all a warehouse, but a formidable and admirable basilica from the late Antiquity, built in the late 400s, just as the Middle Ages were about to begin...

You are in Vienne, the one in France, just south of Lyon, not Vienna in Austria, and that basilica is one of the oldest churches still standing, having been converted from its previous use by the last Gallo-Romans into a church dedicated to the saints Peter and Paul around Year 500.

In spite of all the rubble and piled up chaos that prevent from enjoying the full extent of the perspectives, it is clear that this vast and high church with three naves and an impressive semi-circular apse was designed and built with an amazing sense of proportions. It is a Roman building of course, but when looking at it in general and in detail, one can understand how Romanesque will, one day, emerge and use this type of architecture as a base —with, of course Byzantine and Oriental influences, as people did travel in the Middle Ages, and a lot more than one may think.

Just look at how thin and high those walls are, how slender those arches... standing there, almost untouched and unrestored, since the late 400s... Mind boggling.

 

[Blue439]

Learning to photograph smaller objects (and even very small ones, like signet rings or belt buckles) is part of the lover of old stones’ toil.

Grézieu-la-Varenne is an unremarkable town in the suburbs of Lyon (southeastern France), with an utterly unremarkable church built in the late 1870s. Thanks to my Lyonnais et Savoie romans book by Zodiaque, I was alerted to the presence in that church of a sculpted basin, probably a stoup, that was worth seeing. So, I drove over one day and discovered this splendid piece of soft white stone (like a sort of alabaster), coming from the previous church that was razed in 1870 to make way for the ugliness we have to behold today.

Several errors have been made about this piece. First, it is described locally (and on the web) as “a baptismal font, originally”, which is obviously wrong: because during the Middle Ages, baptism was a major affair that often implied full (or substantial) immersion of the body, and because that sacrament was not generally bestowed upon infants, that sculpted basin wouldn’t have fitted the body of any being but an infant. It is simply too small to have been used for baptism in those distant times. My opinion is that it was designed for the use that’s been its own through the centuries: as a stoup!

Second, it is in general dated from the beginning of the 11th century. However, the manner in which it is sculpted (in particular the shape of the hands and the length of the fingers), as well as the themes developed, lead me to believe it is a lot older than Year 1000, and more typical of Carolingian sculpture. I would vouch it was made around 850.

It is a truly beautiful piece, which is, of course, set in a very dark church where it suffers from ugly, impossible lighting. I should have brought flashes, had I known, because I cannot show all the aspects of the object: one side was decidedly too dark to be photographed. Maybe, one day, I will go back with a couple of speedlights to properly light and photograph this unique piece.

Nikon Z7, Micro-Nikkor 45mm, ƒ/2.8 PC-E tilt-shift lens. Hitzo tripod, Benro geared head. Natural light.

 

[Blue439]

Among the organizations I work for as either as pro bono or a paid photographer, the Sauvegarde de l’Art Français foundation is the oldest. This private charity has been around for more than a century, financing restoration works exclusively on churches older than the 19th century and not otherwise helped by public funds. One of my great-aunts, Aliette de Rohan, marchioness of Maillé, was its Chairwoman for several decades in the mid-20th century, when I was still a little boy, and when she died, she made a very large donation that still keeps the foundation going to this day. I have fond memories of her and will, one of these days, upload more content relating to her in this “Post your church shots” section.

Anyway, when on commission to shoot village churches for “La Sauvegarde”, as it is known for short, I sometimes stumble upon lovely Romanesque little jewels. It was the case in the village of Buellas, just north of Lyons, where the Saint Martin church (this dedication is generally a sign of old age) offered a delightful ambiance and some interesting photo opportunities.

Nikon Z7 II, Micro-Nikkor 85mm, ƒ/2.8 PC-E tilt-shift lens, manual focus, FTZ II adapter. Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head. Natural light, single exposure. Some tilt to the right (no clue how much, I’d say between 2 and 4 degrees) to increase depth of field.

 

[Blue439]

I hope I haven’t posted that one before. Boring you with my long stories is one thing, doing it again with repeat postings shall not be tolerated. If anyone has spotted this one already, do let me know and I will take it down at once!

That being said, on with the boring story.

When one sees an enormous church like this one in a small Burgundy village (Bonnay, barely more than 300 inhabitants), with three naves and tall, forbidding, keep-like crenelations, not to mention sheer defensive mass, one wonders how come such an apparently oversized temple was built here, and whence the monies came. The usual answer is: monastery. In Romanesque days (for this is clearly a Romanesque church: notice the bandes lombardes decoration on what used to be the bell tower?), only abbeys had the financial resources, plus access to the technical and artistic resources, to undertake such a project. And indeed, it is none other than the abbey of Cluny, the largest and most powerful ever in Christendom, that undertook the construction of this church, dedicated to Saint Hippolyte, and of the adjacent priory outbuildings of which almost nothing remains.

The church was then fortified around 1200, one of the very first of the kind in Burgundy, and contrary to what will happen in most cases elsewhere, the fortifying was not carried out by the local populace as a refuge against danger, but by the monks themselves.

Saint-Hippolyte was listed as a Historic Landmark in 1913. There are still people who come to pray before the altar; in fact, I had to wait for a small group of those to finish their devotions before I could take this photo; I had ample time to set up the 25-second exposure using an ND1000 (i.e., 10-stop) filter in order to have the clouds “fly away”.

Nikon Z7, Nikkor 19mm, ƒ/4 PC-E tilt-shift lens, manual focus, FTZ adapter. Gitzo GT2530 Mountaineer tripod, Benro GD3WH geared head. NiSi V7 filter holder, WCC Blackstone 10-stop ND filter.

 

[Blue439]

Saint-Paulien in Auvergne (central France) is a bourg: too large to be a village, too small to be a town, it sits in-between with about 2,400 inhabitants. Bourgs almost always have a church, as they were, for times immemorial, the place where the seat of the parish was located. Those churches, which may occasionally be very old and extremely lovely to behold and visit, are always proportionate to the size of the congregation and its financial means; i.e., relatively small —unless, that is, you start talking monastery, and then, as we have seen above, all stops are pulled.

That is not the case in Saint-Paulien. The bourg is modest, yet the church is enormous and features a unique characteristic that sets it entirely apart from all other French churches. No one truly knows how come such a giant church was ever built, nor who had the financial means, not only to erect it, but to commission the genius architect and masons who brought it into existence. Dedicated to Saint George, it was built during the 1100s and most of it is typical Auvergnat Romanesque style. It is when you step inside that you are likely to fall back onto your rear end out of amazement: this gigantic, cavernous, single-nave church is absolutely pillar-less and features an enormously heavy barrel vault of dark, solid basalt stone that spans a whopping 16 meters without any kind of support, along the whole length of the nave...!

There is not one single column in sight to obstruct the view nor the elevation of the mind through meditation. Look at the length of those pews...!

Think that the main nave of Cluny III, the largest church in all Christendom before Saint Peter’s of Rome was rebuilt in 1506–1626 , only spanned 14 meters... Saint Peter's span is bigger but it is Renaissance church, and it is segmented... Saint-Paulien is not. Granted, Cluny III was a lot wider overall, but it had two aisles on each side of the main nave, each with their own vault and support system (columns and arches). The central nave was narrower than the single nave of the Saint George church in the humble bourg of Saint-Paulien.

This is a UNESCO World Heritage-caliber achievement, yet you rarely see more than a couple of tourists around, and very often you have it all to yourself! It is almost scary to be in there.

And Needa, if you remember your question about the basilica of Aime and the filled archways along the side walls, well you see the exact same arches here, with enormous square pillars, and for the exact same reason: to provide support for the vault’s weight.

You will also notice that the choir and apse are off-center with respect to the axis of the nave: they lean to the left. You see that in some churches, and of course it is not a mistake, here even less than anywhere else, given the level of expertise we see at work; in fact, tradition holds that since the choir and apse are meant to symbolize the head of Christ, the nonalignment imitates the way Jesus’s head was leaning to one side as he died on the Cross.

Nikon Z7, Nikkor 19mm, ƒ/4 PC-E tilt-shift lens, Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head. Natural light, single exposure.

 

[Bolampau]

St. Nicholas' church, Stretton in Rutland.
This small village church was built from 1086. There is no tower but a bell-cote instead - the rest of the church was built in the 13th century.

Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 24-120mm F4, with Kase CPL.

 

[Blue439]

I see the perpendicular hit that one too, alas!

There seems to be a definite greenish-yellowish cast, do you think the filter induced that, or was it an exceptionally “Italian” day in the UK that day?

 

[Bolampau]

Not sure I agree with your perpendicular comment, I straightened it in LR before posting though.
If I get a chance I will try and retake the shot with my Cambo Actus view camera & Hasselblad back.

 

[Blue439]

Traces of Romanesque in a Gothic cathedral

Dedicated to Saint John, the cathedral of Lyon is one of the most prominent churches of France. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. Indeed, the archbishop of Lyon has borne the title of “Primate of the Gauls” since the 2nd century, as Lyon was the first bishopric ever created in the “three Gauls”, as the provinces of Lyon and the Alps, the Aquitaine, and Belgium, were known during the times of the Roman Empire. Lyon was then the capital of all those vast territories. This “primacy” conferred to the archbishop of Lyon authority over all other bishops, even that of Paris, the secular capital of more recent times. The title remains to this day and is largely honorific.

The Saint-Jean Cathedral is mostly a Gothic church, and as such of limited interest to me. However, having been built over the span of three centuries, from 1175 to 1480, it was begun as a Romanesque church and there are indeed small parts and details that remain from that period, albeit few and far between. I have visited that church several times, but I went again on the Saturday before Easter 2022 to try and locate a few of those parts and details.

It was also a good opportunity to test the “travel photo kit configuration” I was putting together for the first time in anticipation of a week-long family trip to Brittany: forget the bulky and heavy tilt-shifts, I would bring only my then-new 24–120mm ƒ/4 S lens, with the 14–30mm ƒ/4 in case of need, and my very small and light Gitzo Series 0 Traveler tripod. That gear worked very satisfactorily that day in the cathedral, with the 24-120 proving to be an exceptional performer —better than the F-mount 24-70 of old. Of course, the tripod is a lot shorter than my usual one (not to mention my big one!), but one has to make do when one must travel light.

The altar in the southern apsidal chapel of the cathedral. A very fine piece of Romanesque sculpture, it features Jesus Christ surrounded by archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel, as well as Saint Maurice on the left of the photo.

Nikon Z7 II, Nikkor Z 24-120mm, ƒ/4 S lens. Gitzo tripod and ball-head. Natural light, single exposure.

 

[Blue439]

Not sure I agree with your perpendicular comment, I straightened it in LR before posting though.
If I get a chance I will try and retake the shot with my Cambo Actus view camera & Hasselblad back.

No, no, I was talking about the perpendicular style of architecture (see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpendicular_Gothic), nothing to do with the verticals in your photo...

That said, I am interested in the camera combination you mention. I am currently in the market for an Actus but rather looking at Phase One backs. What made you choose the Hassy, and which model do you use?

 

[Bolampau]

As I already had a Hasselblad 553ELX and CF lenses, from 40mm up to 350mm, it was a no-brainer to buy the Hassy 907X body with the CFV II 50C digital back. I then got the Cambo Actus DB2 view camera for architecture and studio photography.
I can switch the digital back between the Actus, the 553ELX and the 907X body (with XCD lenses). The Hassy CFV II back works brilliantly with all three camera bodies.
N.B. I have got a few lens panels for the Actus: ACB-HVSA Hassy, a V lens panel and Mamiya RZ lens panel.
Hope this helps.

 

[Blue439]

Thanks, Paul!

A fortified priory (2021)

If you think this looks more like a castle than a church, I can’t fault you. This is the village of Champdieu (literally, “God’s Field”) in the small province of Forez, on the eastern edge of Auvergne (all of that is more or less in the center of France, roughly). In 970, the local lord donated the parish church, as well as some lands around it, to the abbey of Manglieu in neighboring Auvergne. The Carolingian church was, unfortunately, completely razed and the Benedictine monks erected the church we can still see today around Year 1000, and turned the place into a priory, which was a kind of “subsidiary”, if you will, to an abbey (the “parent company”). The priory was fortified as a defense during the Hundred Years War —and that was, roughly again, between 1350 and 1450.

Nikon Z7, Nikkor 19mm, ƒ/4 PC-E tilt-shift lens, manual focus, FTZ adapter. Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head.

 

[Blue439]

If the Flavigny aniseed sweets have been quite well known in France for generations (King Louis XIV himself was a regular customer back in the 1600s), the small Burgundy village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, where they are made, is much less known. Even less known are the remains of the Benedictine abbey founded in the early 700s. Precious little remains or is known about the abbey church itself. From scattered writings, we know that the abbey was very active and powerful during the late Merovingian and Carolingian times. It housed the relics of several famous saints, but very little remains today of the abbey buildings above ground.

Below ground, however, is another story, and we can still see today an extensive and magnificent Merovingian/Carolingian crypt, which was first excavated after World War II by a young student from Yale, Fred Guggenheim.

This photo shows a view of one of the side chapels with three amazing monolithic columns and splendid sculpted capitals from the 700–800s. The one to the left with the human face is quite striking. Notice the archaic vaulting, typical of this early period of the Middle Ages.

What an amazing monument this was —and blissfully ignored by tourist guides and buses...!

We visited this on our way to Brittany for a week-long family trip, so I only had my light travel photo kit with me. This is why it was shot with a zoom lens on my smallest tripod.

Nikon Z7 II, Nikkor Z 14–30mm, ƒ/4 S lens. Gitzo Traveler GT0545T, Gitzo ball head.