The Guildhall, Thaxted

In medieval times Thaxted in Essex was the centre of the English

cutlery trade making all sorts of steel and iron items such as knives

and forks. Now it looks rather idyllic but its origins were in

industry. All comments welcome!

 

I have been here and seen this place and I think you have represented it beautifully. The sky is the most important factor in creating this powerful image of something that in reality is rather quaint.

I really like the way the building is in-yer-face and the atmospheric sky. Nice work

Colin, that is realy a very interesting angle, you can see one street all along till the tower and the round way to the other side.I love the sky( stitched again? ), and the B/W here.My only nit, I think that it is a tad baised CW.

 

Wonderful use of your 10-22mm! Pnina

Very good shot, Colin; love how you have used that wide angle lens. A shot like this and I wonder how many support cottages there must have been to keep this place going. I thought it might be a bit stronger with some extra contrast and have submitted a suggestion. Regards.

Interesting shot. The light building on the left is a bit distracting.

Is the house actually slanted, not by wide angle lens effect? Because the other house behind it stands straight. If you crop the light colored house at left edge, it looks better. Anyway, this is an interesting shot.

Really good shot, Colin. You say idyllic, I'd say almost ghostly. The sky is wonderful: it brushes roofs and... memories, maybe.

Colin,I like what You are offering again.Definitely Your style with a new motif.The old timbered house,the first to focus on,from there thru the alley, more facades way up to the church. You give a tour,where it is worth while to stay and look.Beautiful picture,and the sky with it, gives me nostalgic feeling.

Colin, I like that wide angle lens. Its a nice photo but, more striking with the added contrast, it pops. Cheers, Sondra

Looks like the clouds are the building's wings and it's ready to fly away from its foundation. Looks like a lot of fun shooting with 10-22. ^_^

Thanks everyone!

 

Pnina, thanks! This is a single frame, not stitched. You may well be right about the rotation - others mention it too. The camera was tilted up so lots of convergence which I have partially corrected in PS.

 

Richard, yes I agree a little more contrast is better. I have uploaded a slightly higher contrast version.

 

Claude, Toshio, I agree anout the building on the left. I ma try straightening it a little. I do not want to crop it as I think the frame needs that room on the left.

 

Wilson - fly away? Nice idea and yes I am enjoying the 10-22.

 

 

I very much enjoyed the composition of photograph and your story(-ies). I can feel that you find your lens very enjoyable and useful. It is indeed amazing how it helps put emphasis to the main subject. And most of all, you know me, I enjoyed the wise absence of humans from such exhibitions of the past with the suggestive addition of that car on the right.

Manolis - thanks. Yes the ultra wide lens makes foreground things relatively bigger than the eye would see it and the background things relatively smaller. This place is normally quite busy so the absence of humans is difficult but the absence of cars is impossible.

You make great use of the wide angle lens and inspire me to use mine. As usual, a great sky.

enchanting, that is my word for your work. another that is a sturdy, dreamy rendering that reveals the presence of an earlier time among us. i think it is a touch cluttered around the edges though, causing the steeple to get a little lost -- and perhaps the car on the right discloses too much modern times, so i suggest a tighter crop attached, which also has a little transform applied to the building.

I am partial to your original post ... I like the clouds ... they have movement! I also like the sharp angles that you acheived with the wide angle. Don't "fix" them ... else you may as well have used a different lens.

terrific wide angle and just excellent sky. Black and white works well for this photo.

okay, i admit it, looking again, i'm not crazy about either the slight clutter on the right or my crop, cuz the latter takes away the thrill of the wide angle, so i am torn and leave all my comments up for you in your considerable wisdom to review, digest, evaluate and, ultimately, do what makes you happy, not me . . . who loves ya baby?

Ken, Ben, Lou Ann, Kristin - thanks for the comments! Ben I agree the edges are a little untidy. I think Lou Ann's point about cropping the sky is a good one (Hi Lou Ann!) as half the fun of these very wide angle shots is the sky imo. I agree the prespective can be improved on the original. regards - Colin

Cluttered, yes, but in the times the Guildhall dates from, weren't the streets quite narrow( or was that only London :-)?), so maybe the clutter suggests the original times. We were supposed to have moved on from tight, narrow streets, but the clash of modern architecture with the old creates a more symbolic narrowing. Also notice how the building seems to be about to pop at the top, as though the buildings to either side are squeezing it at the base. This is where Wilson's wings come in useful... the hall is motivated to fly off because the more modern buildings around it are encroging on its space. A crop would spoil that effect and take a lot of the interest away from the photo, although in Ben's version the steeple does make more sense.

I like your original posting, Colin. A magical shot!

I agree with Kim! I love very much your original posting! Great effect and exellent composition!

Thanks Stephen, Kim, Maria!

 

Stephen, the roads and alleys in these old villages are normally narrow (wide enough for a cart and horses) but for market towns the market place was wider. In this case the road facing the Guildhall to the left is the market place and the other streets (such as the one leading to the church) are much narrower. All the buildings in the picture are old - probably the most recent are 18th C with the church and Guildhall being late medieval.

I instantly recognized that scene. Odd coincidence, only a few days ago I took a rare look at one of my old photographs taken from the same location. I was standing at the foot of that cobbled lane and photographed the church with said lane leading up to it. That was in 1996 when that shop in the lower right side of your picture used to be 'Raven Armoury'.

 

It is a shame those ugly cars (modern road and some contemporary buildings too) are in your picture. Have you thought of photoshopping them out? It is unfortunate that within a conservation area such as the scene depicted, new [kind(er) to the biosphere] double glazed windows are forbidden to be installed within the old houses, yet the idiots in control (always idiots) allow pug-ugly cars to be permanently parked in front of them!