I have always found myself being drawn to churches. Particularly small country churches. I don’t really seek them out. Mostly I just happen across them.
Nevertheless, I was out and about with a camera in the late afternoon of a Sunday in late August when I was minded to visit a church that I had not entered for about 20 years. All Saints, Buncton, West Sussex. Close to the back escarpment of the South Downs. The church was built in the late 11c.
Just after the Norman invasion took place. So obviously it’s in the Norman style. Built in part with recycled material from nearby very derelict Roman buildings. It has hardly changed since and is now a Grade 1 listed building.
Access. Park your car in a layby on the adjacent lane. Pass through a gap in the fence into woodland, following an unmade path. Down a slope, across a little bridge, over a stream, up the slope on the other side. After a few minutes exit the woodland into the graveyard. Church ahead of you with fields of crops for neighbours.
Enter through a heavy wooden door on the north wall. Pews to left and right. Cut flowers ahead. To the left, the alter in front of a large window. The featured image. More cut flowers either side of the altar. The church and alter had been decorated that day for the morning service. The congregation now long gone. Just the flowers and altar dressings remained.
I was struck by the make do and mend rustic simplicity of the altar. Nothing elaborate. No trappings of Church wealth. Just a powerful go anywhere symbol of the congregation’s faith. I took a photograph.
When reviewing it at home, it was awful. Over-the-top crazy dynamic range. It was shot in available light directly into the bright window that was behind the alter. Definitely something for an HDR image. I needed a plan.
I returned the same time the following Sunday. Fortunately, a fresh alter set up for that morning’s service. Camera on tripod, same difficult lighting set up. Several bracketed shots taken. Three suitable RAW frames stitched together in Zoner Photo Studio. After much faffing and tweaking I had created my very first HDR image. I’m rather pleased with it.
Technical stuff. Camera – Fuji XT1 with 33 mm f/2.0 Fujinon lens.
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Geoff Chaplin on Country Church – My photo of the year 2025
Comment posted: 16/12/2025
Comment posted: 16/12/2025
Paul on Country Church – My photo of the year 2025
Comment posted: 16/12/2025
Comment posted: 16/12/2025
Charles Young on Country Church – My photo of the year 2025
Comment posted: 16/12/2025
from Chuck
Comment posted: 16/12/2025
Scott Ferguson on Country Church – My photo of the year 2025
Comment posted: 17/12/2025
Nice image and very interesting to hear all that went into making it. I'm not 100% sure I understand the technological aspects, but I'm guessing that because the variations in exposure within the single frame were greater than the dynamic range of the camera system at any single setting you shot multiple exposures to capture each part of the image properly exposed and then married the multiple shots to look like a single image that is similar to how our brain 'balances' exposure when we look at something like a window in a somewhat dim room???