The Fotochurch Blog

New Website

2009-12-29T14:45:00.000Z

The new website is now live. I have moved to Wordpress and the site now runs through tags and categories rather than on a hierarchical basis. At the moment, I am busy uploading most of the original content and after that, I will sort the links on the blog, which won't work at the moment. The old site still exists here but there will be some links inks on there that will not work as expected.

The Churches Conservation trust

2009-03-24T09:39:00.005Z

We have now visited and photographed two of the churches cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust.

These are:

Holy Trinity, York

Old St Stephen's Church, Robin Hood's Bay

Edward of Middleham

2009-03-24T09:16:00.006Z

whilst looking around the interior of St Helen & the Holy Cross in Sheriff Hutton, we came across the tomb of Edward of Middleham, the eldest son of Richard III. We discovered that Edward is the only Prince of Wales to be buried in Parish Church.

See the Wikipedia entry here

Churches in York & Beyond

2009-03-24T08:40:00.007Z

A flurry of activity of the last weekend, coinciding with the first day of spring and the best weather of the year so far. We headed up to one of our favourite part of the world, the villages north of York. So, there are photographs of churches in:

Sheriff Hutton
Stillington
Sutton-on-the-Forrest
Farlington &
Marton-in-the-Forrest

We then headed into York itself, stopping to take photographs at Strensall & Huntington on the way.

In York, we were able to take another photo of Minster from the South-East as well as a shot of Holy Trinity and a better one of St Michael-le-Belfry, miraculously without tourists or car obscuring it!

As most of the churches we visited were open, we were able to take many pictures of the interiors, so there are new images in the Church Architecture, Monuments & Memorials, and Stained Glass Sections.

Creating a map of photo locations

2009-03-09T15:50:00.011Z

Many people have asked me how I created the locations map, so here's a brief tutorial.

The system I used involves storing the geo-data of each photograph on a publicly shared Google Spreadsheet and then using the Google Map api to generate the map.

The key is to ensure that your photographs and images are 'geotagged', that is they have longitude and latitude data in their EXIF file. You could achieve this by buying a geo-imaging system that fits onto the hotshoe of your DSLR such as this one:

Jobo Geo-Imaging System

but at £140, this is a bit of an investment.

A simpler, and cheaper (as in free) way is to use Google Earth and the freeware program Geotagger. This software is for Mac only, but if you are serious about photography, you already have a Mac, right?;-)

Once Geotagger is installed, make sure that it is added to the dock. When you run it, it won't do anything except open. Load up Google Earth and find the location where you took the photograph. Fortunately, churches are pretty easy to find from the air; other landmarks might need a bit more careful consideration. Double click the location to ensure that it is the centre of the screen and with Google Earth still open, open a Finder window and navigate to your photo. Highlight the photo and drag it unto the Geotagger icon on the dock (Geotagger must be running). The geo info is then added to the image's EXIF data.

To create the map, you will need to have a Google account. If you haven't got one, you can get one here.

You will then need a Google Maps api key and Google Spreadsheet api key.

Create a Spreadsheet for you data, including columns for Title, Description, Longitude, Latitude and Rank.

For the Description, I have html to link to the slide page, with a tag to show the thumbnail in the format of:

<a href="http://www.fotochurch.co.uk/Yorkshire/A-E/slides/aberford-T.html">
<img height=50 src="http://www.fotochurch.co.uk/Yorkshire/A-E/thumbs/Aberford-T.jpg"></img></a>

The Rank is just a numbered list, assigning a number to each image for the list.

You may need to change the longitude and latitude to decimal and there are many tools on the internet that will do this for you. Just remember that if the image is west of the meridian (as many are in the UK and North America), you will need to add a minus sign in front of the longitude.

Creating the code for the Map is, as you would imagine, highly complex. Fortunately, there is an excellent online tool available HERE. If you follow the instructions on this site and complete all the relevant boxes, you will be able to generate html code that can be used on your web page to show a location map of you photos.

Whitby Abbey, Lincoln Cathedral and Coventry Cathedral

2009-03-08T15:12:00.004Z

In the ruins section, we have uploaded images of Whitby Abbey and the original Coventry Cathedral which was destroyed by fire during the Blitz.

We are again indebted to Stephen Brown for allowing the use of another one of images, the Chapter House at Lincoln Cathedral

Monuments, Memorials and Graveyards

2009-03-06T09:08:00.002Z

Graveyard 4.jpg
Originally uploaded by Jono Brennan

This image is, bizarrely, my most viewed image on Flickr.

It was partly for this reason that the Monuments, Memorials and Graveyards section was established; I figured that there is an appetite out there to see images of this sort of thing. I do have many other similar images, hopefully uploaded in the near future.

Stephen Brown Photography

2009-03-02T12:02:00.007Z

We are delighted to be allowed to use images from Stephen Brown, who is an excellent landscape photographer. Please check out his website:

www.stephenbrownphotography.co.uk

His photograph of Chiddingstone Church in Kent is fantastic.

Please note that Stephen is a commercial photographer and his images cannot be used without purchase

New Photos

2009-03-02T11:51:00.004Z

With the 're-vamping' of the site comes additional images.

New sections have been created for Scotland and Ruins as well as additional images in the Stained Glass, Architecture and Monuments galleries. There are tons more to be uploaded in these galleries in the next few weeks.

In the existing galleries, there are photographs of the following new churches

Sutton on the Forest
Whitby Abbey

Website Development

2009-03-02T11:46:00.004Z

We have eventually made the transition to providing images for download without purchase. Most images, unless otherwise specified, can now be downloaded for use in publications, leaflets, PowerPoints, etc without charge under a Creative Commons Licence. All we ask is that you leave the subtle watermark in the bottom left-hand corner on your image. We believe that it is not too intrusive.

However, you are still not able to use any image for commercial purposes. If you want to use an image for this purpose, please contact us to discuss our commercial pricing structure.

Long time, no see

2008-12-02T13:35:00.003Z

Its seems crazy that I haven't posted any photos or made any blog entries for nearly 6 months. Where has this year gone?

Anyway, I do have a number of shots of Churches to upload as well as expanding the site to include church interiors, stained glass, icons and artefacts, and items of architectural interest.

More soon....promise.

York Churches

2008-05-14T11:28:00.002+01:00

The lighter evening have meant that we have been able to take shots later in the day, and a recent visit to York produced the following photographs:

York Minster
St Michael Le Belfry, York
St Matthew's, Naburn

Boston Spa, Thorp Arch, Walton & Wighill

2008-05-04T17:03:00.003+01:00

More Churches uploaded:

St Mary the Virgin, Boston Spa
All Saints, Thorp Arch
St Peter's, Walton
All Saints, Wighill

New County: Staffordshire

2008-05-04T16:59:00.003+01:00

Another new one - Staffordshire.

Again, just the one: St Lawrence's, Biddulph

New County: Derbyshire

2008-05-04T16:49:00.003+01:00

Derbyshire is the latest county.

OK, so far there is only one church, All Saints, Bakewell, but its a start...

Cathedrals

2008-05-04T16:45:00.002+01:00

New folder created: Cathedrals, featuring Diocesan Cathedrals, ,with images also still available in the relative County Folder

Leeds Churches

2008-05-04T16:23:00.004+01:00

These shots of three churches in Leeds were taken a couple of weeks ago, but have only now been uploaded:

Leeds Parish Church
St George's
Burley, St Mathias

Dewsbury, Ossett & Wakefield

2008-04-23T08:43:00.005+01:00

Back into West Yorkshire for:

Dewsbury Minster
St George's, Lupset, Wakefield
Holy Trinity, North Ossett
Holy Innocents, Thornhill & Savile Town

Sherburn, South Milford and Saxton

2008-04-17T19:26:00.006+01:00

Just into North Yorkshire, we find:

All Saints, Saxton
All Saints, Sherburn-in-Elmet
St Mary's, South Milford

All the churches are in striking distance of the site of the Battle of Towton, a War of the Roses battle of 29 March 1461 (Palm Sunday). All Saints at Saxton has the tomb of Lord Dacre who was killed fighting for the Lancastrians at the Battle of Towton. He is said to be buried in a standing position along with his horse.

Newsletter Service

2008-04-02T16:47:00.002+01:00

We are in the process of setting up a Newsletter Service on an 'opt-in' basis. If you subscribe, you'll receive regular updates by email of photos posted, web site development and articles on Church history and Architecture. We promise not to clutter up you 'in-box'. You can sign-up on the Contact Us page, or indeed, using the form below.

Churches in the Lincolnshire Fens

2008-04-02T11:22:00.004+01:00

Some interesting Churches from Lincolnshire Fens are now uploaded.

Starting in Spalding, we have St Mary & St Nicholas and St Paul's, the latter being another design by Gilbert Scott (of St Pancras fame) and having an unusual detached tower.

North of Spalding is St Mary's, Pinchbeck and St Laurence's, Surfleet. St Laurence's has a distinctive and unusual tower that leans 6 feet 4½ inches (1.94 metres) out of perpendicular -

Beyond Surfleet is St Peter & St Paul's, Gosberton, St Mary the Virgin, Sutterton and St Peter & St Paul's, Algarkirk

Churches in the 'Golden Triangle'

2008-03-25T11:11:00.007Z

Bank Holiday Monday found us in Yorkshire's fabled 'Golden Triangle' between Leeds, Harrogate and Wetherby; a term much favoured by local estate agents trying to ramp up house prices.

Anyway, photographs are uploaded today of ten churches:

St Peter's Arthington
St Oswald's, Collingham
All Hallows, Bardsey
St Mary Magdelene, East Keswick
All Saints, Kirkby Overblow
St Oswald's, Leathley
St John's, North Rigton
St Wilfred's, Pool-in-Wharfdale
All Saints, Spofforth
St Peter's, Thorner

Somerset Churches

2008-03-25T11:06:00.004Z

A new County introduced today - Somerset.

Initial images from Wells, which include the beautiful Cathedral and St Cuthbert's, which recently featured in the movie "Hot Fuzz" in a memorable scene when one of the tower pinnacles landed on top of the unsuspecting local reporter!

Wetherby, St James's

2008-03-07T08:46:00.006Z

Uploaded yesterday:

St James's, Wetherby

Who is St Ricarius?

2008-03-06T16:54:00.008Z

My recent visit to the Parish Church at Aberford caused me to wonder why the Church is dedicated to St Ricarius.

It would seem that Ricarius is a 6th century monk and hermit from Picardy. He was converted to Christianity by Welsh missionaries and established a monastery in Ponthieu. He was able to use money raised by the monestery to help lepers and the poor and to ransom prisoners held by England. However, how he became associated with Aberford is a mystery.

I am unaware of any other Church dedicated to St Ricarius (or Richarius) in the UK. Does anyone know of one?

PS - more photos will be uploaded later this month.

Lincoln, St Nicholas

2008-02-21T12:10:00.008Z

A spare 5 minutes in Lincoln resulted in:

St Nicholas, Lincoln.

St Nicholas, in the suburb of Newport, was designed by architect Gilbert Scott, who later went on to design St Pancras station and the Albert Memorial. Scott, who had made a name for himself at an early age designing workhouses, went on to design many churches and St Nicholas is typical of the Gothic Revival style adopted from Pugin. The church was completed in 1840.

Church Home Page

Geotagging & Location Map

2008-02-14T10:54:00.006Z

All photographs contain geotags in their EXIF data and their location can be viewed on a map in a pop-up window - just click "see map" on the slide page. By default, the map is set to satellite, but you can change this as well as zoom in and out as is the usual way with Google Maps.

A new feature now implemented is the Location Map page, which uses the Google Map API to show all locations on a single map with an alphabetical list on the right-hand side. If you click either the name on the list or the marker, a pop-up appears with a thumbnail image that links to the relevant slide page.

This page was created using a Google Spreadsheet and the Spreadsheet to Map Wizard found here.

Brotherton, Fairburn, Ledsham, Micklefield, Aberford and Wakefield Cathedral

2008-02-11T16:23:00.005Z

More photographs uploaded:

St Edward the Confessor, Brotherton
St James, Fairburn
All Saints, Ledsham
St Mary the Virgin, Micklefield
St Ricarius, Aberford
Wakefield Cathedral

Crofton, Featherstone, Sharlston & Wragby

2008-02-05T08:39:00.004Z

New photos uploaded yesterday:

All Saints, Crofton
St Thomas the Apostle, Featherstone
St Luke's, Sharlston
St Michael & Our Lady, Wragby (Nostell Priory)

Oulton, Rothwell, Methley & Airedale

2008-01-30T23:01:00.004Z

Another clear January day, in and amongst all the grey and rain, resulted in the following images:

St John the Evangelist, Oulton
Holy Trinity, Rothwell
St Oswald's, Methley &
Holy Cross, Airedale (Castleford)
The church in Methley is surrounded by huge yew trees on the South (sunny) side, so the shot is from the North-West corner.

Coventry - Holy Trinity

2008-01-25T10:01:00.004Z

Uploaded a shot taken of Holy Trinity, Coventry taken through the west window of the old Cathedral and converted to 'Fake HDR' using this method

Holy Trinity

Other similar shots may appear on Fotochurch from time to time.

Wentbridge, Kirk Smeaton, Badsworth, Ackworth & East Hardwick

2008-01-25T09:56:00.003Z

More uploads from the West Yorkshire area:

St John's Wentbridge
St Peter's Kirk Smeaton
St Mary the Virgin, Badsworth
All Saints, Ackworth
St Cuthbert's, Ackworth
and
St Stephen's, East Hardwick

Horbury, Ossett & Sandal

2008-01-21T09:30:00.004Z

New photographs uploaded this weekend:

St Peter's & St Leonard's, Horbury

Christchurch, Ossett
St Helen's, Sandal

Carlton, Darrington, Womersley & Pontefract (St Giles)

2008-01-14T20:45:00.004Z

Despite an unpromising start to the day, the camera gear was loaded into the car and a brighter afternoon and breaks in the sky meant we were able to nip off to Carelton, Darrington and Womersley, before nipping back to Pontefract for the elusive St Giles.

Photos uploaded here:

Carleton
Darrington
Womersley
St Giles

Wakefield - Chantry Chapel & St John's

2008-01-12T14:35:00.004Z

New photos taken and uploaded today of the Chantry Chapel and St John's in Wakefield.

Pontefract, Castleford & Altofts

2008-01-11T09:16:00.004Z

New photographs / Churches uploaded:

St Mary Magdalene, Altofts, West Yorkshire
Castleford
Hightown (Castleford)
St Paul's, Glass Houghton (Castleford)
All Saints, Pontefract

Website Launch

2008-01-10T16:51:00.003Z

The Fotochurch website has now been launched in 'beta' mode.

Go to www.fotochurch.co.uk

A growing collections of UK Churches and places of worship with the facility to order high quality prints, canvases and postcards.

More posts will follows with updated content.