Sunday 12 July 2009

Bangor Cathedral.

We were given an interesting photographic job the other day by Gwynedd Council who were in need of some interior shots of Bangor Cathedral. Now these large interiors are never easy to shoot. For one thing they are far too large to set up lighting, and with so many nooks and crannies you’d need a truck full of lighting equipment to complete the job. And of course, as always, budgets are tight and they need the images tomorrow…
So this is where the joy of digital photography comes to the rescue. Set up the camera on a sturdy tripod and take a series of four to five shots at different exposures. This will capture all the details in both the highlight areas as well as in the shadow areas. Pop the mix into a piece of software called ‘Photomatix Pro’ and with a host of controls you can keep all the detail in the image but loose all the ugly stuff, like blocked up shadows and burnt out highlights.
The effect is quite amazing, and it saves on having to buy a truckload of lighting…

Clever stuff!