Lake at Talley Abbey

I have visited Talley Abbey a couple of times now. It is one of the three that I have visited in Wales - the others were Strata Florida and Tintern. Of the three, Talley is my favourite.

Next to the ruins of the abbey is an old church and graveyard - I think this has a wonderful setting, as I have tried to show here. Adjacent to the church and abbey is a quite picturesque lake. This first photo shows the lake in a tranquil setting, surrounded by hills with sheep grazing peacefully by its edges.

This second photograph was taken from the churchyard showing the view across some of the gravestones to the lake. What a magnificent final resting place this makes.




This third image shows more of the graves with the lake forming a backdrop. This is a lovely, quiet rural location. The monks that built the original Abbey chose a good location!



More photos can be seen in the 'Images from Wales' Gallery.

A second visit to St. David's Cathedral.

A few weeks ago we visited St. David's Cathedral for the second time. The weather was a lot brighter for this visit, with bright sun and blue sky. This gave far better outdoor photographs than for my previous visit last year.

The first photograph was taken from near the main entrance and shows the cathedral in its entirety. I hope this conveys some impression of the size and majesty of the building. Impressive when you consider the building was started in 1181.

In the second image, below, I show the decorative ceiling of the tower above the choir in the centre of the church. I like this shot due to the unusual angle that I took the photograph. I was worried about the sunlight streaming through the window arches in the tower spoiling the photo, but I must have been lucky as there are no obvious streams of light.



In the third image, I show some of the decorative stonework on one of the arches. Without modern tools, the stonemasons have incorporated rich designs into the structure.



Outside, there were also old gravestones lined up against a wall, some dating back to the early 1700s. These had a lot of lichens slowly covering the surface. Below I show one example with more in the gallery.



I have added about half of the photos I took into the 'Images from Wales Gallery' - I hope to add the rest next week.

Technical Details:
Camera: Canon EOS 350D
Lens: Canon 17-85 IS
Outside Exposure: Typically 1/25o @f13
Outside Settings: Auto WB, 200ISO
Indoor Exposure: Typically 1/30 F5.6
Indoor settings: Auto WB 800ISO

A visit to Tintern Abbey

This week I made a visit to Tintern Abbey. This, like many monastic establishments in the UK, is in ruins due to the "Dissolution of the Monasteries" instituted by Henry VIII in the 1530s. This one is in better condition than many others. Tintern is situated in the southern part of the Wye Valley (itself an extremely attractive part of the country) on the Wales-England border.

As the weather has been rather poor lately, I chose a day when the forecast looked quite bright for that part of the country. As it is some 2½ hours drive away, I relied on the forecast. However, it was a very dull, cold blustery day.

I must admit that, for some reason, I did not feel very inspired on the day. But when I got home and started reviewing the photos, they turned out better than I expected, although I would not call them impressive. The picture shown above is my favourite from the day. Both when I took it and when I look at it, I can almost feel the monks walking by.

The second photograph shown below is to show the arches through the arches through the arched window. This works surprisingly well although if the lighting conditions were brighter, I think the image would look better.




In this third photograph, you can see the clouds of the dull day. The picture gives some idea of the scale and structure of the abbey complex. I am awed when you think of the effort that went into building it all in the days when everything was manual labour and the roads where just mud tracks.



More photos can be seen in the "Wales Gallery"

Technical details:
Camera: Canon EOS 350D
Lens: Canon EFS 17-85 IS
Exposure: Typically 1/10 to 1/15 @ F11
Sensitivity: ISO400
Support: Most were taken using a monopod for support.

Strata Florida Abbey

This week I am featuring the ruins of Strata Florida Abbey in Mid-Wales. It is thought that the Abbey was founded around 1164 A.D. and was due to the patronage of the Lord Rhys (many of his descendants were buried there). This monastery increased in power and authority across Wales with farms belonging to it being spread out across the Welsh countryside. Its influence was felt throughout Wales and it sought influence over other monasteries such as that at Talley (which I have featured before).

The first photograph above shows the entrance doorway. It must have been quite impressive when the abbey was complete. The second image below shows the entrance door from inside the abbey. You can get an idea of the thickness of the walls from the window to the left.




This third photo shows what remains of the pillars along the knave that supported the roof. You still get a feeling for the strength and power of the stonework. It is amazing to think that these structures were built by hand without any powered machinery or tools that we would think of as being essential these days.



More photos can be seen in the 'Images from Wales' gallery.

Technical details:
Camera: Canon EOS350D
Lens: EF 17-85mm IS lens
Sensitivity: ISO400
Exposure: varies but typically at 1/250 @F16.
Lighting: Natural light. Light to medium cloud sometimes with the sun shining though.

Talley Abbey on a bright day

This week I feature some more photographs taken on a second visit to Talley Abbey. This time is was a brighter day with blue sky and fluffy white clouds. This meant that at times the sun was bright with hard shadows; at other times, more subdued with indistinct shadows.

The first photo shows the main structure of the remains of the Abbey with a background of the rolling Welsh Countryside. I like this for the contrast between the blue sky and green countryside, with the building bridging the two.

In this second photograph, I try to give some impression of the size and majesty of the building. It is impressive enough to modern eyes, it must have been awe-inspiring to the peasants of the time.




This third photograph was an attempt, only partially successful, to capture a view through the 3 remaining arches. I need to think about how I can improve this view, yet still capture the 3 arches.



More pictures can be seen in the Images from Wales Gallery.

Technical details:
Camera: Canon EOS350D
Lens: EFS 17-85mm IS hand held
Sensitivity: ISO200
Exposure: ranges from about 1/400 at f13 to 1/60 at f22.
Lighting: Natural light A sunny day with some clouds occasionally covering the sun.

Talley Abbey

This week I have selected some photographs of Talley Abbey to show and discuss. This initial set was taken a couple of years ago when I first had my digital SLR when I was trying out its capabilities.

Talley Abbey is the ruins of an abbey built between 1184 and 1189. It was founded for the monastic order of the Premonstratensians, or White Canons, by the Lord Rhys . The monastery was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1536 (when he had a bust-up with the church and dissolved many monasteries and took their lands). Subsequently, most of the buildings were destroyed and their materials used in other buildings or homes.

The first image above shows the ruins from the entrance gateway. This is about 15-20 ft above the monastery ground level (you go down some wooden stairs to approach the Abbey) and gives a good view of the building and the surrounding countryside.

The second photograph below I like because it is taken through the remaining three arches. I took a number like this, each time trying to eliminate the surrounding buildings from the image to try and give a timeless feel to the place.





In the third photo below I have tried to capture the size and power of the building. I believe this to be the remains of the tower. I can barely imagine the effort that went into such a building without any equipment that we now take for granted. The thickness of the walls and the amount of stones that went into them was truly a work of labour.




More pictures can be seen in the Images from Wales Gallery.

Technical details:
Camera: Canon EOS350D
Lens: EFS 17-85mm IS hand held
Sensitivity: ISO200
Exposure: typically 1/250 at f13.
Lighting: Natural light A bright but cloudy day with the clouds sometimes covering the sun.

Bettws Bledrws - a hamlet in Mid Wales

Bettws Bledrws is a small hamlet in Ceredigion, Mid-Wales that I often drive through, but rarely stop at. Last week was an exception. We were visiting a private garden in the village that was open for the day for charity under the National Gardens Scheme .

To get to the garden - attached to a small private residence, we had to park off the main road a few hundred yards away and walk back to the house. In doing so, we passed two nice looking buildings.

The first one shown above is (if I have got my translation from the Welsh Language correct) 'The Old Rectory'. I thought this was a lovely looking building with fine windows and well maintained grounds. I would have liked to take more photos, but it appeared to be a private, rather than a public building. This picture was taken from the entrance.

The second picture below shows a church at the edge of the village. Again, I would have liked to take more photographs, but the gates were locked and I do not trespass on private property. I had to take this photograph through the wrought iron gates.




You can see more photographs from the area in my Wales Gallery.

Technical details:
Camera: Canon EOS350D
Lens: Canon 17-85mm IS zoom lens
Sensitivity: ISO200
Lighting: Natural light - it was an overcast day so the shutter speeds were around 1/160 to 1/200sec, aperture F8 to F13.
Other: Handheld.