OCOLOY Day 271: Saintes - Cathedral of Saint Pierre
I can never resist beautiful churches and the cathedral at Saintes is certainly that.
As usual, the image is SOOC and is part of my ongoing OCOLOY project - you can read more about it in my profile. This is also for 'Square September' which you can find more about here - http://365project.org/discuss/general28377/square-september
Does Fuji have something akin to the Nikon D-Lighting? I think it would count as "in camera," certainly as much as your B&W conversions. Lovely nave and sanctuary. Fav.
I am such a sucker for this kind of architecture. A beautiful and reverent space. This is one time when I wish you could process this, but I completely respect (and admire) your OCOLOY project. A fav, for the space and for your commitment to your vision.
@frankhymus Yes it does, DR (Dynamic Range) which can be set to off, +1, +2 or auto... I have it set always to auto. I intend to order XT2 from Amazon as soon as we get home from holiday - have fun with your test-drive.
@shepherdmanswife@rosiekerr@frankhymus With this sort of subject it is always difficult to replicate what the eye sees as the eye has a much greater dynamic range than our camera sensors: at ISO 1250 as here, the DR of my camera would have been 9 or 10 f/stops at best and my eye, perhaps 13 f/stops. Exposing for the shadows so that the chairs in the foreground were clearly visible, blew out the highlights completely losing all the detail in the walls and windows. I personally find blocked shadows easier on the eye than blown highlights and I like contrasty B&W anyway. Thank you all for your interest.
@vignouse The human eye is almost never "fixed" when viewing a scene like this, the camera unfortunately is. The eye unconsciously scans from the light to the dark and back again, continually adjusting for white balance, dynamic range and "exposure" adjustments, and of course focus, the brain as "image processor" is like an agile HDR processor so to speak, "remembering" the good parts of each scan/readjustment and leaving that impression on the viewer.
What I particularly like about this church is its 'double lighting'. Where you enter the church there are no windows; thus the lighting is subdued, dim even. As you progress into the nave, natural light takes hold. This access always makes me feel wholly welcome, wholly accepted, wholly blessed. Long may it continue thus.
