arches – Nick Watkins Photography

Monochrome Arches – Series 4

This series continues with a few more favourite images of passageways and doors.

Old churches in England are great places to search for arches and vaults. Salisbury Cathedral has the largest cloister among all of the churches in England. A cloister is a covered walkway that surrounds an outdoor quadrangle. Salisbury Cathedral also houses one of the original copies of the Magna Carta.

The underground vaults are from Canterbury Cathedral, which is the centre of the Church of England. Canterbury Cathedral is a popular pilgrimage destination for tourists visiting the shrine of Thomas Becket, the archbishop who was murdered in the cathedral in 1170.

The other images are taken during walks in France and Spain. The passageways lead the viewer on to explore the world on the other side of the opened doors.

salisbury cathedral — Cloister walk, Salisbury Cathedral, England

underground vaults, Canterbury Cathedral, England

Monochrome Arches – Series 3

Monochrome, photography

It is now time to update my collection of Monochrome Arches with some more recent images shot this year. The first two images are post-Industrial Revolution structures from the latter half of the 1800’s. Built of wrought iron, they are impressive in their scale and engineering. These super-sized frames are way beyond the human scale, but they have other admirable qualities – a vantage point from which to view the world and a shelter from the elements.

Then third image is another addition to my collection of churches. St. James Church is framed by the gated entrance.

All of my images in the Monochrome Arches series are also framed with a white matte – a frame outside of the frame. They are sized to be mounted on a 12×16 inch or 16 square inch board.

eiffel tower — Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

st. pancras station — St. Pancras Station, London, England

st. james church — St. James Church, Avebury, England

Monochrome Arches – Series 2

Monochrome, photography

This second series of monochromes that continues with the theme of arches includes three more religious buildings.

St. Paul’s Cathedral in London continues to be a significant edifice in the city. This cathedral, the masterpiece of Britain’s most famous architect Sir Christopher Wren, has operated for over 300 years. This building survived the London Blitz of 1940-41, and good town planning has kept the cathedral and its magnificent dome as a visible landmark during the reconstruction of the surrounding neighbourhood.

Fountains Abbey is located in North Yorkshire. It operated as a Cistercian monastery for over 400 years, until the mid 1500’s, when it was ordered to be dismantled as part of King Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries. The abbey and the surrounding Studley Royal Park are a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site.

The rest stop on the Camino is located in northern Spain. I can’t recall which building this is.

st pauls cathedral — St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, England

fountains abbey — Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire, England

rest stop on the camino — rest stop on the Camino, northern Spain

Monochrome Arches – Series 1

Monochrome, photography

Black and white photography has always interested me, ever since my darkroom days. In the digital world, it is easy to get caught up in colours and vibrance and saturation. By returning to black and white images, tonality and gradients become more important.

The framing of an image has always been important to me. In this series, each image is framed by an arch and/or contains a series of arches. The archway leads you into the image, to discover what lies beyond the frame. From an architectural perspective, it is also interesting to study the differences among the styles of arches – be they gothic, romanesque or barrel vaults.

jerpoint abbey — Jerpoint Abbey, Ireland

Bayeux cathedral — Bayeux Cathedral, France

santa maria de eunate chapel — Santa Maria de Eunate Chapel in northern Spain

shadows of the abbey — In the shadows of Jedburgh Abbey, Scotland

tate gallery foyer — Foyer of the Tate Gallery, London, England

Arles coliseum — View of the Coliseum, Arles, France

view from the coliseum — View from the Arles Coliseum

bastion square — Walkway to Bastion Square, Victoria, BC

catedral de santiago de compostela — Catedral de Santiago de Compostela, Spain

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