Bayham old abbey on the high weald on the Kent and East Sussex border makes a great subject to photograph. With limited mobility due to Tendonitis you not have to walk far from the carpark.
Bayham Abbey Revisited
Have visited Bayham old Abbey a few years ago when I first moved back to East Sussex. It was then my most viewed photo when clocked up 2 million views on Google Maps. Bayham old abbey is still in the top 5 now having recently clocked 5 million views on Google Maps. Have wanted to return to Bayham old abbey as feel now I can get a better composition. With my current limited mobility would be a great subject to test out the new Canon 24-105mm USM II lens that I traded in with MPB as not have to walk far. Blown away by the sharpness of this new lens.
Getting to Bayham Old Abbey
Arrived just before 10AM when Bayham old Abbey first opens. The gate then closes at 5PM so not the best lighting. Bayham old abbey is managed by English Heritage and the grounds are open from April to October. Bayham old Abbey is located within the river Teise valley on the high weald on the border between Kent and East Sussex. Admission is free, parking is £2 for non members of English Heritage
Panoramic Compositions
Straight off the bat, 10 metres out of the carpark and my eye caught a good composition. But you have to be thinking panoramic or wide angle telephoto to see this shot. Wanted to get as much of the ruins of Bayham abbey in a single frame.
Wide angle or Wide Angle Telephoto
The above panoramic of Bayham abbey was shot with 5 overlapping frames at maximum focal range of 105mm at F/8. With the subject at approx. 100m away not had DOF issues just focused at infinity. You could have got the same composition within a single frame at more the 24mm end or using a wider angle lens. But by itself it would have had a lot of dead space at the bottom and top. You would then have to crop in – drastically reducing the resolution.
Sunny Intervals
Just after 10AM was mostly cloudy but the forecast was for sunny intervals. So was waiting for the sun to pop out from behind the clouds and light up all that fantastic stone work of the ruins. This makes panoramas harder to shoot or any type of multiple exposure especially when manually shot as the lighting can change significantly between frames.
Different Viewpoints
Had a little walk around the grounds of Bayham Abbey looking for new compositions with a pano in mind. Thinking this way expands your photography horizons and what is possible with a single composition, that just is not there with a single frame.
When shooting a pano its important that the tripod is level. I have a Benro levelling head between the tripod and ballhead. This really helps when difficult to level the tripod alone like when on uneven ground. Ideally each frame needs to overlap by about 1/3rd. But to help the software stitch the frames together, splitting the frames on overlapping definitive shapes and contrast can only aid the process of getting a successful merge.
Pano Aspect Ratio
Too many frames and a pano can begin to look a little elongated. My preference ideally is 3 frames, merged about 1/3 of the way in this extends the final stitched together frame by 2/3rds. Its all about the aspect ratio anything greater than 2:1 can be considered panoramic. 3:1 is ideal, anything over 4:1 begins to look to long.
Ideally a pano sequence is made up of individual images that could stand on their own as good photographs. This is not always possible so important to keep your photographic eye for single frame compositions and not just shoot panos exclusively.
A good morning
Good morning out at Bayham old Abbey on the East Sussex and Kent border. Its very challenging to photograph, not easy to get a good composition but good practice. Arriving at 10AM on a weekday helps as you wont have other people to deal with. A few started to turn up around midday. Beat my previous best here and my panos are improving which is good enough.
Check out the Kent Landscape Photography gallery
Check out the East Sussex Landscape Photography gallery