A couple of steepled churches

JimMcClain · Apr 22, 2016

I was contacted on facebook recently by the manager of our local grocery store, part of the chain, SavMor Foods. He had seen some of my photos of local buildings and wanted to know if I would agree to have some of them displayed on the store. I was happy to submit some, but I should have asked more about how they would be used. One of my submissions was the first photo below of the local Community United Methodist Church, which has been a favorite of my facebook friends since I made it in November 2014.

Captured on a Nikon D810 with a Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR FX at 240mm, f/14, 1/25s, ISO64, mounted on a Manfrotto 294 Carbon Fiber Tripod with a MHXPRO-3W 3-Way Pan/Tilt Head.

My big mistake was not asking the right questions. They sent me a proof that showed all the photos in landscape format - they cropped the steeple right off, including a small portion of the peak of the roof. I couldn't believe they didn't think that made the picture look pretty bad.

I sent an email to express my chagrin. I didn't have any other photos of that church, but a number of other landscape format photos of other local buildings. I uploaded them so they could see, but their reply was not positive. They wanted to know if there was anything I could do to that photo to make it acceptable to me.

Obviously they have very little understanding of photography. I couldn't understand why they wouldn't just choose some other local photographers' pictures rather than turn mine into such an ugly crop. But what I did understand was that they liked that church, or a church of that style, and also liked my photographic style. So, I was determined to give them a better choice. Late last Tuesday afternoon, I visited 2 churches and captured hundreds of pictures (not all of them of the churches, but most). Below is what I submitted.

This is an HDR (Lightroom) of the local Catholic Church captured with a D810, Tamron SP 15-30mm F/2.8 Di VC USD at 15mm, f/9, 1/1250/640/320s, ISO200, hand-held.

This is an HDR (Lightroom) of the local Catholic Church captured with a D810, Tamron SP 15-30mm F/2.8 Di VC USD at 15mm, f/16, 1/250/125/60s, ISO200, hand-held.

Finally, the one they chose, the original Methodist Church, this time captured with a D810, Tamron SP 15-30mm F/2.8 Di VC USD at 15mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO320, hand-held.

I'm happy that they are happy. I kinda like the odd perspective of the second Catholic Church photo, but the Methodist Church fits with the other 4 photos they are going to use from me. It's especially gratifying that they wanted MY photos and not those from the other local photogs - many of whom are quite good and a couple of them are accomplished professionals.

Your feedback is always welcome.

Jim

JimMcClain · Apr 22, 2016

For those who might be interested, the following are the other 4 photos they chose. The photos will be turned into window shades that face the parking lot and the main road through town. The photos will be covering windows that are nearly 6' wide. I've never seen one of my photos that large. Now there will be 5 across the front of the building.

D810 with a Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR FX at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/500s, ISO400.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200, 25mm, f/7.1, 1/250s, ISO100, hand-held.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200, 30mm, f/7.1, 1/80s, ISO100, mounted on a tabletop tripod.

D810, Tamron SP 15-30mm F/2.8 Di VC USD at 15mm, f/7.1, 1/80s, ISO400, hand-held.