The Conversion of Saul...., a photo from Edinburgh, Scotland

Photographer's Note

Detail of a window (documented as Window Fourteen) in St. Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, depicting, in its upper part, the Conversion of Saul and, in its lower section, Paul preaching in Athens.

The majority of the stained glass windows in St. Giles' Cathedral were constructed during a major restoration which took place between 1871 and 1883 and most, like this one, were made by the glassmakers Ballantynes of Edinburgh. This particular window is dedicated in memory of a local merchant, Douglas Monteith.

Despite its name, St Giles' Cathedral is not, in fact, a cathedral. The title gives an idea of its magnificent scale, but was only strictly correct for two short periods when Bishops served in the Scottish Church, from 1633-8 and from 1661-89. A more correct name for it nowadays is therefore "The High Kirk of St. Giles" or the "High Kirk of Edinburgh" and it is now the principal place of worship of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh.

You can see a larger version of this picture here and also a picture of the exterior of this fine church here.

jhm, timecapturer, williewhistler, papagolf21, siudzi, Romano46, No_One, SnapRJW, macjake, jjcordier, Royaldevon, rogerl, mkamionka, COSTANTINO ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

Critiques | Translate

rbassin (27472) 2014-04-21 3:20

hello John
une très belle photo, les couleurs et la lumière du vitrail sont mangifiques.
Le thème est intéressant
Bonne journée
Roland

jhm (211736) 2014-04-21 3:22

Hello John,

Your picture fits perfect with these Easter Monday, in Belgium are the most people of my age catholic of behaved, this detail of your picture coming out of the history is wonderful.
Sharpness and clarity are perfect, also the colours together.
A nice composition, good presentation.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John

timecapturer (49288) 2014-04-21 3:33

Hi John
stained glass window images seem very popular on TE this Easter, but this is the best one I have seen. The detailing and clarity here is both compelling and awesome. It is not easy getting the exposure just right but this is accomplished and impressive. It benefits from the larger file sizes allowed now, but is truly amazing. Glorious!

Have a good week - B.

williewhistler (16606) 2014-04-21 3:46

Hello John,
I was interested to see your exposure settings for this lovely shot of the stained glass window,you have managed to get it just right IMHO,with all of the magnificent details nicely sharp and clear with the colours warm and believable.
A very appropriate upload for today that fills the frame beautifully.
Best wishes Les.

papagolf21 (152607) 2014-04-21 4:30

Bonjour, John,
Félicitations pour cette superbe présentation d'un vitrail de toute beauté.
Les détails ressortent à merveille.
Bravo !
amitiés.
Philippe

siudzi (34141) 2014-04-21 4:31

Hello John,
Absolutely stunning capture of this fantastic stain glass window full of interesting and attractive scenes! You did a great job with exposure, sharpness and clarity to achieve such a marvelous result. Bravo! Happy Easter!

Best wishes,
Gosia

Romano46 (18472) 2014-04-21 5:37

Ciao John
un soggetto idoneo al momento religioso attuale e ricco di nitidezza e di dettagli apprezzabilissimi per la perfetta ripresa e la gestione della luce impeccabile.
Ottima la gestione del colore e perfetto il taglio che include perfettamente il soggetto.
Complimenti
Ciao e buona settimana
Romano

No_One (4) 2014-04-21 5:54

Hi John,
Beautifully done to capture such superb detail and colors in this window, and especially in the perfect vertical lines you have achieved too. I find this quite difficult to do, and find that one line will always unexpectedly go in a strange direction, but this is just perfect.
It is incredible the stories that these windows tell, and I remember reading before that these were invaluable to those who could not read. They could sit in the aisles and look around and still know the stories of the scriptures and the stories by reading what they seen in pictures rather than words. Seeing this scene makes that a perfectly sensible thing as this is a storybook made of glass!
Thanks as always
noel

SnapRJW (31631) 2014-04-21 7:25

Hello John - A wonderful window telling the story of St Paul. The art of the glass artist is beautifully captured with rich and glorious colour. If the sermon gets a bit tedious the window can entertain and instruct the congregation with its dramatic story.

I hope you don't mind but I did a small WS to try and get rid of the noise in the 'stone'. I set the black and white points in levels and curves. Any detail that was in the stone has been obliterated but so has the noise and the punchiness of the colours is cleaner.

I hope you are having a lovely Easter weekend.

Warm regards

Rosemary

[workshop] [compare] +

mesutilgim (0) 2014-04-21 7:44

Hello John,
Topclass capture of this wonderfull stained glass window in Ediburgh !
Nill distortion ond perfect light management.
Many interesting notes makes your entry a perfect TE job
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

macjake (98402) 2014-04-21 9:16

Hi John
I have to say, looking at the WS photo, i do enjoy that one a bit more. The blacks are darker allowing the colored stained glass to jump out even more at us, better contrast i suppose.

Its funny, before joining TE, i really never ever even thought about photographing such subjects. Its been a great experience on TE :)

I'm surprised again by the size of the Church on the outside, as you somewhat hinted at that in your note.

Edinburgh is a city that i'm hopefully going to visit within the next 2 years :)

fine photo for Easter, fits perfectly.
enjoy your day
craig

lousat (139170) 2014-04-21 14:44

Hi John,i like a lot pics like your,these are always beautiful catch-eye but very difficult to take,your exposure is fantastic like the detail and colors,magnificent work! Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

photoray (13981) 2014-04-21 14:55

Howdy John,

Impressive stain glass art works on display in your vertical of St. Giles Kirk. The multiple representations makes for a complex and eye catching biblical scene(s).
Well done,
Cheers,
Ray

jjcordier (79299) 2014-04-21 22:16

John
La sensibilité en ISO est très importante (certainement un peu trop) mais ton 5D assure parfaitement et, au format TE, la qualité de l'image est très bonne. Très bonne photo de ce vitrail.
Amicalement
JJ

emka (158030) 2014-04-21 22:46

Hello John, I hope you had wonderful happy Easter with your family.

Fantastic stained glass window from my favorite place in Edinburgh, St. Giles. Stunning presentation with perfect colours and sharpness. Marvelous shot.

WArm regrads MAlgo

Royaldevon (85862) 2014-04-22 1:00

Hello John,

A lovely photograph to include at this time of year. It tells an interesting story and one which has much more of a personal impact than a sermon could do!

The window is very well composed within the frame and the elements of the stained glass are crystal clear.

It is difficult to get things just right inside churches, which have unusual lighting. The stonework has an element of noise because of the high ISO, which is dealt with nicely in Rosemary's w/s.

A photograph that I really enjoyed perusing.

Have a lovely day,
Bev :-)

kathryn_weir (2056) 2014-04-22 5:19

Good evening John,
Inspirational use of the extended vertical format. You have captured the backlight with finesse and with such sharpness and clarity, truly superb. The richness of colour within the glass panels simply lovely.
Informative notes , thank you for sharing
Regards
Kathryn

rogerl (1632) 2014-04-23 13:57

John, this is a lovely sharp capture of a beautiful window. I'm surprised you were able to accomplish this with such a fast shutter. Great range of light, with the almost completely black window borders against the brightly lit interiors. Thanks.

Roger

mkamionka (74311) 2014-04-28 7:34

Hi John,
it is always great to see the exterior but not less interesting is how the structure looks inside. It is especially a great idea for bad weather days when the outdoor photos are either unattractive or even impossible, which may be in Edinburgh quite often the case. In the past I have always admired the symbolism and or the stories which one can discover in decorative elements of churches. Nowadays I am usually visiting places in rush without taking enough time to enjoy them in all their beauty. It seems that this cathedral deserves the attention indeed. I will keep it in mind when I ever get to this wonderful city. I was already so close once when meeting you guys in Peebles but one cannot have everything I guess.
Beautiful work!
M

Silvio1953 (221463) 2014-05-02 4:07

Ciao John, great view of fantastic stained glass, fine details , splendid light, excellent clarity and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

COSTANTINO (116377) 2014-05-14 22:11

Hello my dear friend
a different shot from the usuals perfectly
presented necessary for aour souls
sharpness and clarity are almost perfect
a very appropriate upload
regards
have a nice time
Costantino