Flitting along the main road north of Hobart up Tasmania’s east coast, we stumbled upon the little hamlet of Buckland, an otherwise forgettable assortment of homes set back from the highway and with no discernable impact on the landscape.
This church was a little different. Sandstone hues painted in the afternoon sunlight, it was framed against the blue sky and I instantly felt the urge to pull the car up the access lane for a quick shoot. I think we ended up spending a good half hour there, enjoying the play of light on the scenery and exploring the little cemetary around the front.
Any outdoor shoot is at the whim of the weather, which in turn dictates both the light, and the backdrop. For this subject, the warm yellows and oranges in the brickwork contrasted beautifully with the blue sky and its faint streaks of white cloud whisping in the heights. The strong, almost 2-dimensional face was bathed front-on in lightly-angled sunshine, making the bricks radiate a visible warmth.
The church itself is reminiscent of many on the Tasmanian landscape. I lost track of how many I saw that matched it in style and structure, and each of them was visually appealing- although this one took the cake for its prominence and the beautiful lighting. I particularly enjoyed the bell-tower, almost reminiscent of the Hispanic-style churches of the American south-west, and the buttressed corners. The simple, symmetrical architecture is visually appealing, and the textures of the brickwork are a joy to explore with the eyes.
While I fired off some shots of the building, A. took a few of her own, including a couple of me lining up the shots- a bit of a rarity actually, so I’ve taken the opportunity to share one with you here. As you can see, funky angles don’t happen by accident… 😛
Shooting with an ultra-wide-angle lens (12mm on a full-frame Canon EOS 5D) always gives entertaining angles on architectural subjects. For this shot of the face, I was standing probably 3 steps back from the base of the wall- so you can see how much the lens manages to suck in its surroundings. It’s a beautiful piece of glass.
I enjoy exploring a particular subject from different angles- and admittedly while this set of photos isn’t perhaps vastly differentiated, for me each of the shots captures a slightly different take on the church, and I like how they fit together.
Next stop: Freycinet Peninsula
WanderLust 