Below a crooked spire

As I’m still top-and-tailing my camera review post (it’ll no doubt be a crushing disappointment after I’ve carped on about it so much over the last week or so…) so I’ll drop in a few photos I took inside St. Mary and All Saints church in Chesterfield a couple off weeks ago. This is the church famous for it’s crooked spire, a phenomenon believed to be caused by uneven heating of the lead in the stucture by the sun. While I’ve made a number of photos of the spire and outside of the building in the past, I’ve only ventured inside on two or three occasions – including this one.

I quite enjoy making pictures of the artefacts and ephemera within churches. Theres a wonderful sense of history to be had. As church interiors are often quite dimly lit, and as the use of tripods or (especially) flash are generally forbidden, I decided to shoot some Ilford HP5+ pushed to 1600asa. While this increased the grain and contrast a little, I’ve found that HP5+ handles both very well and they are not overwhelming at all.

The famous Crooked Spire, viewd from a southerly aspect. This shot was made on an ealier visit using my Minolta SRT-101b, Rokkor 50mm f/1.7 using some expired Kodak Tri-C Pan film.

The nave of the church looking east to the altar. Note the now de rigeur Covid-19 social distancing sign.

A stout wooden cover atop the font.

A lectern in the form of an eagle.

The pipes of the church organ.

Chairs and music stands.

Various statues, shrines and other paraphernalia of the church.

Nikon F80, Sigma 105mm f/2.8 OS HSM & Ilford HP5+ (@1600asa). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 13mins @ 20°

Taken on 5 September 2020