Weather and time hasn't been on my side lately, neither have the Photography Gods, more of that later. On Friday I needed to travel to Middle Wallop, I know, this country has some odd village names. Nearby is Nether Wallop and Over Wallop, known collectively as "The Wallops". It really is the back and beyond, anyway I noticed that the only place that was of slight interest nearby was Winchester, yes another Cathedral, England is littered with cathedrals. I'm going to avoid them for a while, that's a promise, but I wanted to see a sculpture by Antony Gormley in the crypt and is my main reason for writing this particular blog. Here's the photo -
Sound II by Antony Gormley
Quite often the crypt is partly under water, this sculpture and the reflections must take on a whole new dimension as you and I can only imagine. It was hauntingly quiet down there, I stood totally alone for five minutes. the lack of sound was beautiful. Then the door creaked as someone else decided to come down to the crypt, it made me jump. I'm pretty sure they employ someone in all these old buildings specifically to ensure everything is creaking and groaning as expected!
A few facts about Winchester cathedral that I found interesting; The original cathedral was founded in 642, work on the current one was completed in 1093. Many are buried here, notably St Swithun, most of the Saxon Kings including King Canute and the novelist Jane Austen. No photography is allowed of the Winchester Bible, written almost a hundred years before the Magna Carta, I did ask, but the answer was a definite "NO!". The huge mediaeval stained glass West Window was deliberately smashed by Cromwell's men during the Civil War in 1642. In 1660, the broken glass was gathered up and assembled randomly, like a mosaic. A couple of photos, both looking West. There's plenty more behind the Choir (in a north direction), so I hope they in some way convey the enormity of Winchester Cathedral
It was brief visit, just over an hour, but I'm glad I made the effort, another recommendation if ever you're near. Back to the aforementioned Photography Gods; I'm going through one of those stages we all experience every now and then; namely, almost every photograph I take is crappy, ok it's probably not that bad and perhaps I'm being over critical. Very occasionally I feel as though I can't do a thing wrong, press the shutter and magic is created, the current position is the antithesis! My way to deal with this is to work through it, keep taking shots until I'm back in some kind of groove. The real danger is that we decide to stop carrying the camera everywhere we go, it's all downhill from there for sure. Perseverance is the name of the game, keep pressing that shutter button.
All photos were taken using a Leica M with a Summicron 35mm lens.
Once again, many thanks for dropping by, please leave a comment below, I'd be delighted to hear from you.