Pure as the Driven Snow

As you may have gathered by now we love good architecture and this certainly qualifies.  The (deceptively) warm glow of the building makes it a place one would like to enter.  Really like the trees to the left which gives a very nice finish. Also the tower to the right.  Lots to see and enjoy ! 

Once upon a time, first thing in the morning, I used to enjoy three cups of tea (what is called here "English Breakfast tea").  However age has caught up with me and now I struggle with two cups of Red Bush (a softer South African tea).  English Breakfast is reserved, and much enjoyed, at lunchtime.

Cheers, Jim

ZSOLT

Many thanks for your visit and positive feedback, much appreciated!

Kind Regards

Alf  

MICHEL

Sincere thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.

Best Wishes to you and your family for the coming year

Alf

HAMID

Many thanks for your visit and positive feedback, much appreciated! The lights that are illuminating the church are similar to the ones you can see in the photo. I am in fact standing to the side of one whan taking this. The lights gave a very yellow tint to the snow so I had to change the WB slightly in order to compensate, I then erased the part of the layer that focused on the church building in order to leave  a warm glow on the church with contrasting cool snow.

Best Regards

Alf

HARRY

This one was dawn, I managed to get up early : - ) but you got the rest right, the mixture of natural light and the lamps made it easier to shoot the church, the snow however needed a bit of adjustment as decribed above.

All the very best to you and yours Harry

Alf

JIM

I love architecture too, this church is just a few minutes from where I live, and there is some of the best architecture in the world in Liverpool just 20 minutes away.  Sadly much of it is being obscured by modern buildings now, but there are still some great examples there. The one aspect of the photo I really struggled with was the perspective correction, the distortion from the lens is inevitable when shooting high buildings (unless you can afford £1,000.00 + for special lenses) but I think due to the rustic charm of the church, it doesn't appear to detract too much from the image.

Tea, the quintessential life giving brew of all Englishmen and women, everything looks better after a cup of tea, and after three cups I'm ready to take on the world : - ) It's good to know you still get to enjoy a cup too Jim.

Sincere Thanks for your observations and encouraging words, very much appreciated.

Cheers!

Alf

A beautiful morning Alf and well worth your time to get out there before anyone could soil this storybook scene with their unwanted footprints  ;) I believe we have seen this lovely little church before only without the snow. The distortion doesn't bother me, sometimes it is what makes the image even more unique. I am a big fan of historic stone buildings...we do not have many here in the US that qualify, at least the historic part as we are a very young area of a few hundred years.

I am also a big fan of good tea however in the Seattle area where there is a coffee stand on every corner...(not all Starbucks, which I personally do not like very much....their coffee is plain and I could make this at home) I have been pulled to the dark side of caffeine and can order my coffee drink in a way that would confuse most if not a barista!

Happy New Year

Warm regards, Pamela

Hello Alf,

Just stopped by to see if you had anyting new.  I love this one.  I admire your efforts to get the shot.  I personally hate cold so I probably would have passed this chance.  A couple of questions - Did you saturate the blue?  I really like it but am just wondering.  Also, where did the light come from? Looks like it could have been car headlights.  Whatever, it worked very well.

Cheers...

Jerry

PAMELA

Good to hear from you. I trust you had a good Christmas and Santa filled your socks with wonderful things? : - )

You have a great memory as well as an acute eye! Yes I did photograph this church about 12 months back. Stone buildings are plentiful in the UK, history at every corner, so common place I fear we take it all too much for granted. You would love Liverpool, the buildings are fascinating and you can't go far without another great story about one building or another. As for the distortion, yeah I agree it can add to the originality of a photograph, it's just one of those things I wish I could control better than I do.

Ahhh coffee, I don't drink much coffee, but theres a good reason for that, I hate the stuff I make, in the USA the choice is endless and the quality is usually first rate! I just get intimidated by the huge choice : - ) I'd need you to order it for me! A coffee stand on every corner hmmm I wonder if that's what inspired the film "Sleepless in Seattle" Speaking of huge choice, you must remind me to tell you the story of the cheese and pickle sandwich.

Warmest Regards and Sincere Best Wishes for 2011

Alf

JERRY

Sometimes you just have to make that special effort to get the shot you want, and early morning and late evening are invariably the best times. I didn't use the saturation control at all when processing this, but I did alter WB to cool down the snow. The reason I did this was because the light source comes from spotlights like the ones to the right and left of the church. I was standing beside another of these as I took the photo. This light source gave a yellowish tinge to the snow that wasn't to my liking there is still a trace of it in the very near foreground, but it's acceptable. And now for the revelation as no ones guessed yet, this is a hybrid HDR.

Cheers Jerry

Alf

I like the contrast between the warm stone and the cold blue snow.  Beautiful light, as though the church is radiating a warm glow.  This lighting truly separates the church from the background.

Very nice,

Jim

 Hi JIM

Many thanks for your visit and positive feedback. I agree with your analogy, there does seem to be a warmth radiating from the church, mainly due to the spot lights that bathed it in this warm light, but also because the stone that the church is constructed from, is local sandstone. The big challenge was to get the snow looking cold (as it was bathed in the same warm light) whilst retaining the warm tones of the church, but as it turned out it didn't prove as difficult as I thought it would be, just a slight WB adjustment and a bit of work with the erasor .

Cheers Jim!

Alf

It looks like I'm falling way behind here Alf :-( This is a fabulous image. The blue shadows contrasted with the warm lights are superb, the snow covered church, and yard, are stunning. A beautiful image for next years Christmas cards. Well done Alf!

All the best,
Neil

No worries Neil, I know just how difficult it can be to keep up, the RAW files need processing, the camera gear needs cleaning, the web site needs updating and of course the best bit.......the photo's have to be taken. I'm suprised I have time for a full time job too : - ) But I'm really pleased you liked this one, I'll add it to me Christmas card list for next year : - )

Cheers Neil

Alf

Don't know how I missed this one, Alf!  I love the contrast between the cold blues of the snow with the warm colors of the church, which is all aglow!  I'd love to know more about how you shot this....or more specifically how you processed it to 'spotlight' the church like this.  It's really a wonderful shot, and I agree it would be most appropriate for a Xmas card. 

No Problems Christal I know your a very busy lady, and more than ever over the xmas period.

The lighting was all done for me, you can see the two spot lights either side of the church, and I was standing next to another one. These illuminated the church with a warm glow that was accentuated by the natural red sandstone from which material the church is built. The problem to overcome I found, was the lights made the snow too yellow. To solve this I made a layer in photoshop, then changed the white balance to a cooler tone. I then used the erasor tool to erase the cool tone on the church leaving the warm tones you can see. Many thanks for your visit and encouraging comments Christal.

Best Regards

Alf

Alf, This is really fantastic work! Exactly in the right time and perfect composition . I love the blueish tonality in this image . Bravo!

Best wishes Sadegh

Hi Alf, Just wonderful. Great use of light and brilliant colors. The light and shadow play in the bottom of the snap is extremely good. 

Thanks,

Harsha.

Your early morning venture has resulted in the most beautiful winter scene! Lovely light and contrasts between the cool and warm colors! This would make a wonderful Christmas card! Very well done! Thank you for sharing. :)

I hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas and holiday season! :)

Thank you so much for your interest and kind words! 

I actually returned to the church a few months later with some prints so that they could give them to their parishioners. 

My Sincere Best Wishes to you and your family for Christmas  & New Year

Alf