Ely Cathedral

[John Houghton]

I took this a couple of days ago using a 40D + Tokina 10-17mm fisheye @ 14mm on an NN5: 2 x 8 + Z + N., stitched with PTGui Pro. The dim interior and dazzling sun plus mixed lighting is a difficult combination to deal with, but the result is a fair impression of how this stunning building looked.

http://www.johnhpanos.com/ely40d.htm

John

[Bill Bailey]

The Master at work!
You go a good job at setting the bar John.
It's great when folks share their settings so we can also learn preferred setups.
Did you bracket your shots and why 14mm and not 10mm?
Bill

[John Houghton]

Bill, I did use bracketed shots (+2,0,-2) plus an extra set at much lower exposure to capture the brighter of the stained glass windows and the very bright sunlit areas. However, I didn't make much use of the latter set as I preferred the bright highlights. I intended to take a set at 11mm for comparison, but didn't get round to it. I knew that the 14mm version would work well following a test shoot in my local church. The NN5 (full model)performed perfectly with the long exposure times (normal was 1.6 seconds).

John

[Macro]

Nice work John, in very difficult lighting. I see you were not able to center your shot under the dome
I was there in 1999 and amazed at how majestic the cathedral stands above everything else. It can be seen from several miles away.

David

[Bill Bailey]

Bill, I did use bracketed shots (+2,0,-2) plus an extra set at much lower exposure to capture the brighter of the stained glass windows and the very bright sunlit areas. However, I didn't make much use of the latter set as I preferred the bright highlights. I intended to take a set at 11mm for comparison, but didn't get round to it. I knew that the 14mm version would work well following a test shoot in my local church. The NN5 (full model)performed perfectly with the long exposure times (normal was 1.6 seconds).
John

Curious - do you use PTGui for the bracketed shots? The tone mapping for me doesn't seem to perform well in PTGui but I've seen others that do very well with it.
Bill

[John Houghton]

Bill, For this pano, I used Enfuse to blend the images prior to stitching (using Erik Krause's droplets). I don't find that entirely satisfactory either, but editing in Photoshop finishes it off.

David, I took one of my first spherical panoramas with a Canon D60 and Sigma 8mm F/4 back in 2004 (handheld) and it was then possible to stand directly under the lantern window. It was mildly annoying not to be able to use the same position once again.

John

[nick fan]

Hi John,

Do you need any permission or booking in order to take the pano?
fascinating pano with lots of details!

nick

[Terrywoodenpic]

great shot... at least now that the main alter is in the nave, the shot is more as worshippers might see the view.
The people in the transepts get a better view of the service as well.

[John Houghton]

Nick, The Cathedral charges for admission - in my case £4.70, which gives unlimited entries for a year. Photography is free for a hand held camera, otherwise a permit is needed for tripod use @ £2 (per visit). There are otherwise no formalities, other than keeping out of roped off areas. There's a web site at http://www.elycathedral.org/ and some virtual tours on the Visitors menu.