Exploring Churches, Mick Cant

EXPLORING CHURCHES

MICK CANT

Icannot do better than to introduce this article with a quote from one of my favourite photographers, Edwin Smith. In the introduction to English Parish Churches by Graham Hutton and Olive Cook with photographs by Smith he wrote “for me, photography in a good village church is unalloyed bliss”. I feel the same. I hesitate to mention myself alongside such a giant of English photography, all I can say is that in many ways he inspires me.

I don’t remember how or why I became interested in churches but for many years now I’ve delighted in exploring them. Some, like

Long Melford in Suffolk and Fairford in Gloucestershire, are grand examples of medieval architecture but, much as I love such places, it’s the smaller country churches that fascinate me. In these churches it is possible to feel a connection to the countless generations of people who have passed through their doors.

One great advantage of church photography is that there is no shortage of subjects. Suffolk (where I live) and Norfolk have over 1,000 medieval churches between them, more than enough to keep me occupied.

Within the environment of a church there are numerous avenues of photography to explore. Where possible I like to take an infrared image of the whole building from the outside although constraints of space can make this difficult. Photographing abandoned churches in infrared can be very effective in evoking a sense of mystery. Also outside are gravestones, many of which, especially those from earlier centuries, have fascinating details on them. For instance, at Great Livermere in Suffolk is the grave of William Sakings who was the falconer to Charles I, Charles II and James II.

When photographing churches I spend the majority of my time inside for this is where there is such a wealth of details to capture - monuments, woodwork, glass etc. - and where the light can often be breathtakingly beautiful. It also has the advantage of being dry although when photographing in the church at Thompson in Norfolk during a thunderstorm I realised that the roof needed repairing as water cascaded into the nave! Another advantage of church photography is that

I rarely encounter anyone else in them. This means that I can devote 100% of my concentration to my photography without being distracted.

As for equipment I use micro four thirds cameras with lenses ranging of 9mm to 300mm (equivalent to 18-600mm on a 35mm film camera). A tripod is essential as churches can be dark and often exposures are measured in whole seconds. Another advantage of using a tripod is that I can frame my compositions precisely, meaning that I rarely have to crop images. Although I photograph in colour I prefer to see my final images in monochrome. Maybe that’s the influence of Edwin Smith?