08/09/2017
During my visit to Oxford, England last year, my son and I visited the University Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, on the sprawling University of Oxford campus. It is a beautiful example of English Gothic architecture. It is lovingly maintained and still used for services. According to the church's 2016 parish profile, the church was adopted as the first building of Oxford University and a congregation met there from at least 1252. A church was established on this site in Anglo-Saxon times, but the oldest part of the present church structure is the tower, which dates from around 1280 and whose spire was completed around 1320. The present chancel was completed in the late 1400's.
This photo is of the steps leading from the balcony at the rear of the sanctuary down to the main, ground-level sanctuary. I like how the lines of the banister leads the eye. The biggest challenge for me to get usable shots in this dimly lit church was my handheld crop senor camera and kit lens. I had to max out the aperture, up the ISO, slow my shutter speed, and still spend some time in Lightroom and NIK to clean up the picture and reduce the noise. In the end, I could have captured a (technically) better shot with better equipment, but I like the composition and overall results.
🔩 Equipment and Settings 🔩
📷 Camera: Canon T5i/700D
📍Lens: Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM
📍ISO: 400
📍Focal Length: 18mm
📍Aperture: f/3.6
📍Shutter: 1/20 sec.
📍Format: RAW/Manual
📍 Tripod: N/A
💻 Software: Lightroom 6/NIK
📅 Taken: Nov. 2, 2016
