Ups and downs of Ely Cathedral

When one goes in to a cathedral there is an understandable desire to look upwards. The colourful glass and the decorated stonework always encourage this. Ely of course has the magnificent lantern which looks distinctive from the outside and spectacular from the inside. So for a little while, like everyone else I kept pointing the camera upwards.

Then I decided to be a bit different and go for a ramble upstairs to see what the view was like the other way round.

After that I got a bit more experimental and tried a technique of Pep Ventosa. I thought the result looked quite jolly but I am not sure I liked it – if you know what I mean.

I have included one of my favourite creations – I like it but nobody else does. The critics suggest “There are too many distractions/light areas in the background etc etc” Well I like it so you are having to put up with it.

Another image which I wanted to include is this one, which I feel is better in black and white.

Peeping under seats is not exactly a habit of mine, but one of the vergers suggested I looked at the misericords in the choir. This one really is an elaborate bum shelf, if you’ll pardon the expression.

I was also fascinated by the gargoyles on the outside of the building. Individually they are quite boring as photographs so I have put them together into a collage which I think makes them a bit more interesting, nevertheless they are quite distinctive and in quite a good state of preservation.

I do realize that my taste in stained glass windows is a bit peasant like, but I enjoy colourful creations, even if they are only two centuries old. It is very clear what the illustrations are trying to show.

Ely is a wonderful mixture of the majestic, the exotic and the ordinary – all things to all people I suppose. Well, this people certainly enjoyed his visit to the building.