Treasured places, layered in history
Later in the day the sun cajoles us, blinds us, stops us in our tracks and then hides behind a copse. A narrow road leads to a crooked church - walls leaning, porch dotted with mass dials. The truck sidles up an embankment and screeches to a halt in a cloud of dust.
Holiness is in the the earth-song of the peeling paint and the arborescent echo from the fissured faces, and sanctity is in the rhythm of the truss, the pattern in the bracing and the un-mappable outpourings of human endeavour held within these walls.
What existed in the landscape as strata and outcrop has been quarried, squared, carved and reassembled into columns and arches. For a moment, here in the nave, the distinction between building and landscape begins to blur.
A list of the most impactful monuments in my career as a photographer for your delectation and delight - and perhaps for you to visit one day this year?
And then there’s Marta herself, and Ryan and Deb. At times, when I was photographing them, I lowered my lens and forgot my work for a while, in awe at the respect, reverence and devotion they had for the monument; for they know, that it is far greater than the sum of its parts.
The light is storyboarding the building and unravelling the beliefs, hopes and fears of the medieval mind by pricking out the small medallions and their contents within.
Lavenham was one of the wealthiest medieval towns in England. It's wealth came from wool, and its church is one of the most iconic of 'wool churches' in the area.
Ludlow is simply magnificent, the full package. I haven't got the space to share all the delights of Ludlow so I'm going to share two buildings with you: the church and a pub.
That such an exotic thing with Angkor Watt curves can be hidden within the ballast of a grim winter's day is quite remarkable.
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