Millennium Window - a case study
The base of the window is about 15 feet above the floor. When photographed from below images exhibit convergence and the sky background gives insufficient contrast to show the etched design on the glass. Lighting was not an option so planning was essential to ensure the elevation and direction of the sun cross lit the etched design. This can be done with any number of sun direction apps or The Photographers Ephemeris.
In order to get a dark background I needed to decrease the angle between the camera and window. To achieve this I needed to be further away. Outside in the churchyard there are dense conifers which provided the dark background. The church is Saxon in origin so not very big, seating a congregation of around 80.
From the Altar wall to the Millenuim Window is about sixty feet. The Altar is raised about two feet above the floor. To reduce the angle more I put my Canon 1Ds with a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM on a vintage Gitzo Geante tripod which extends to about nine or ten feet tall. As you can see in the above image, with a 50mm lens there is little distortion from a distance and the trees provide contrast with the white etched glass.
The final frame was processed with Adobe Camera RAW to boost contrast, saturation, optical distortion etc. Ultimately, the final image was used as a postcard to raise funds for the Church.
That's it for now, I hope this is of help in understanding the processes behind what on the surface looks like a simple image.
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