Different Photo Angles At St. Paul’s Cathedral
St. Paul’s cathedral in London has been photographed from every possible angle, but some are less photographed than others. A bit of imagination and a touch of patience is all that’s needed.
More St. Paul’s Cathedral posts:
The Inside Of The Dome
The inside of the dome, The Whispering Gallery, is world famous; it’s acoustics carry whispered conversations around its circumference from one side of the dome to the other. From ground level the dome rises majestically above demanding to be photographed, but it is difficult to line it up perfectly whilst leaning back to get it all in.
This photo was taken by lying the camera on the floor on the brass plate that marks the centre of the dome. A 17mm lens was only just wide enough to get the whole dome into the picture. Controlling the camera through a smartphone app allowed me to line it up just right. Standing back from the camera so I was not in the picture, I then took the picture by pressing the shutter button in the app.
If you’re using a smartphone, you only need to put the phone in selfie mode, line everything up on screen and use the self timer to give you enough time to get out of the photo.
The Roof Of The Nave
I used the same method here as to take the dome.
Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson’s Tomb
Nelson was perhaps England’s greatest ever Royal Navy officer who famously was killed just as his greatest victory was secured at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 against the combined French and Spanish fleet. His tomb is in a dark area with a lot of people walking past to exit the cathedral through the shop.
Apart from the lack of light, one of the problems was too much light from the light bulb inside the nearest lamp. I flipped out the screen and then held the camera as high over my head as I could so the lightbulb could not be seen by the camera. That got rid of the lens flare but I could not do much about the crowds except be patient.
Then there was a brief 10 second gap with no-one in sight, allowing me to line up the camera and get the picture.
The Duke of Wellington’s Tomb
Unlike Nelson, Arthur Wellesley lived to see old age. His crowning victory was at the 1815 Battle of Waterloo where he commanded the combined armies to defeat Napoleon. Getting this picture followed the same method as for Nelson.
Sir Christopher Wren’s Memorial
Sir Christopher Wren, architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral, has the plainest of memorial plaques within the cathedral, but it is decorated in the richest of language.
“Reader, if you seek his monument – look around you.”
The whole cathedral is his monument.
Latin:
SUBTUS CONDITUR HUIUS ECCLESIÆ ET VRBIS CONDITOR CHRISTOPHORUS WREN, QUI VIXIT ANNOS ULTRA NONAGINTA, NON SIBI SED BONO PUBLICO. LECTOR SI MONUMENTUM REQUIRIS CIRCUMSPICE Obijt XXV Feb: An°: MDCCXXIII Æt: XCI.
English:
Here in its foundations lies the architect of this church and city, Christopher Wren, who lived beyond ninety years, not for his own profit but for the public good. Reader, if you seek his monument – look around you. Died 25 Feb. 1723, age 91.
Text and translation from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Wren
The memorial plaque’s location in the South East corner of St. Paul’s Cathedral in the Crypt next to the OBE Chapel.
