I am a bit of a history buff. I enjoy thinking about how generations before me lived, which is why I was fascinated by the interior of this church:
ISO 500 4.15mm f/2.2 1/17 sec
It’s a reimagining of what the church would have looked like in 1520 :
ISO 25 4.15mm f/2.2 1/250
The church is part of St Fagans National Museum of History which is just outside of Cardiff, Wales. It’s an interesting collection of heritage. This museum is unique in that they have collected various buildings and homes from different time periods and parts of Wales and moved them here to this site. Visitors have a chance then to view a wide variety of the history of Wales in one place.
The interior of this church was interesting because it brings to life what it would have looked like in the Middle Ages. Usually, churches from this time just have traces of the paint, and you have to use your imagination as to what the original would have looked like. This particular example brings to life the use of the church almost as a book and guide for those who would not have been able to read.
As for the photos, it was raining that day, and so I had to be selective of when I would take out my larger camera. For most of the day I relied on my iPhone. I keep my phone in a pretty decent case to prevent damage from when it gets dropped. On days like this I also keep in in a very technical waterproof case, a ziplock bag. That meant for the shot of the sign, I just had to slip it out for a moment. The inside of the church was easier as it wasn’t raining in there. The low light and the small interior of the church meant that the iPhone was a good choice for getting a representative shot of church.
I did edit the photo a bit in Photoshop. It’s been sharpened and I also increased the exposure a bit. A large part of why I took the photo was to remember this space. I’ll probably even come back to look at this photo the next time I am in a church that has remnants of a similar style of painting. Have you ever done that, taken a photo as a point of reference, to help you better understand? Do you have a favorite history museum? Feel free to leave a comment below.
Cheers!
Photography Journal Blog 
Excellent.
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Thank you 🙂
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Fascinating, beautiful editing work, Amy! I, too, like to use my photos as a point of reference to learn about the place and the history. 🙂
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Thank you very much. I also often take photos of informational sign boards, so that I can remember what I was looking at 🙂
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History and where we come from is always fascinating. St.Teilo’s Church looks very interesting with lots of threads back in time.
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Yes, it looks like it evolved over the years to hold different congregations. I love it when buildings have such rich histories like that.
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Very interesting information about St.Teilo’s church. The interior is full of detail as well. My favourite history museum is the Museum of London in London UK.
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I have only had a chance to dash through the Museum of London once, on a day that was packed with other things, so I have not had a chance to explore it properly.
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Thank you so much for sharing this site with us. I live in Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, and there is a place near here called The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village (started by Henry Ford ~ https://www.thehenryford.org) that sounds very similar to this museum and it’s a favorite around these parts.
This church is just beautiful and reminds me of some of the churches I saw in Ramallah, The West Bank, Palestine, when I was there for work several years ago; I love history and also have a fondness for old churches.
I’m also in the info sign board photographer group. Nothing is more irritating to me than looking back at photos I took while visiting someplace and not being able to remember correctly the significance of the photo subject.
So many of the photos you take are at places I add to my bucket list!
Thanks again for sharing. Besides your photos of very interesting sights, your explanations of Photoshop editing actions is very helpful for a fairly new photographer/Photoshop user. Marianne
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Wow, so I took a moment to click around the website of the Henry Ford Museum from the link you provided and it seems like a really extensive set of museums, like maybe you would need more than a day to do them properly? While, I was not surprised to find out there was a Henry Ford Museum, I honestly did not know it existed.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment and I am glad to hear that you find this blog of interest and helpful.
Cheers, Amy
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Amy! you got great light (effect) here on the paintings. I was stunned to read you used your iPhone for this shot – photoshopped later. I also really enjoyed the history bit, and your second shot of the informational plaque or poster was a great way to learn it, as though I were actually there. How fun that this church is in a collection of other historic buildings. It’s like a museum of buildings. 🙂
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Thanks and yes, it was really a unique museum. It felt like a bunch of history relocated for your convenience!
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The City Museum of Barcelona, Spain has a fascinating underground portion of unearthed Roman ruins depicting what the area looked like back then. One can walk the same streets, see parts of working buildings, and feel as if time had opened a portal to the past. One of my favorite museums.
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I’ll have to look into visiting there if I’m ever in Barcelona, that sounds like the kind of museum I would really enjoy. I found it’s website, in case anyone else is interested in taking a look:http://museuhistoria.bcn.cat/en
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I kept hunting for the english version of the website but couldn’t find it. Thank you for finding and posting the link!
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It took a bit of digging. I always find it interesting to see how various websites handle their visitors who speak foreign languages. I also find it interesting that the more time I find doing that the faster my search engine is to suggest what I am looking for.
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You have to wonder why they lime washed over the paintings in the first place? Because of changing governments/religions?
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My thought on that would be that because this church was Catholic it would have been converted during the Reformation. However, I have also noticed that many churches over here have a long history and have changed hands over time, sometimes voluntarily. I find the idea of religious spaces evolving like that to be very interesting.
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Although I am not one to seek out churches and museums too often we did come across an amazing church in Lisbon. It had been a scene of great tragedy when an earthquake struck on a Sunday morning with many parishioners inside. When rebuilt the pillars remaining were left visible as stark reminders. The history forever etched to those who come to the church.
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Wow, I imagine that would have been a bit stunning and sobering at the same time.
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