Rievaulx's Refectory, a photo from North Yorkshire, England

Photographer's Note

This is my fourth post from Rievaulx Abbey and as well as the church, there are extensive ruins of many of the other buildings necessary to the order. I had to abandon my tripod for this as I couldn’t get a good view using it as I had to lean into the space, which had a barrier, but f10 doesn’t give a bad DOF.

This photo is taken with the cloister behind me, from what was the refectory door looking down on the undercroft. The refectory is where the monks ate their one meal a day, or two in summer when waking hours were longer. It was on the second level here, where you can see the signs on the walls where the floor would have been. Evidence points to the undercroft being used as a laundry at some time. According to the Benedictine law followed by the Cistercians, meals had to be eaten in silence, whilst listening to a reading from the pulpit which was set into a recess on the west wall and reached by steps. You can make out the recess and broken stones where it would have been on the right. There is a photo in the WS of where I was standing to take this.

A little bit about daily life:- When they were not attending one of the eight services in the church, the monks had to work. Again, Benedictine law decreed that all abbeys had to be self sufficient instead of relying on rents and tithes. At Rievaulx self-sufficiency was so successful they became one of the wealthiest abbeys in England. The many enterprises undertaken were run with business-like efficiency. Many of the buildings are now buried under the present village, but they had extensive gardens and orchards nearby, along with a bakehouse, a kilnhouse, a brewhouse for the hop-free ale they drank, stables, a corn mill, a tannery for leather-making, a fulling mill for bleaching the woolen cloth they made for their clothing (which traditionally had to be white) and a water-powered forge. Outside the immediate area of the abbey, they also controlled fisheries, worked mines and quarries, and had farm estates, or granges as they were known. Rievaulx had 20 granges of between 370 and 500 acres, where more than half the land was pasture for sheep; much of their income was from selling wool. They also grew crops and bred horses and cattle. The lay brothers ran the granges and returned to the abbey on Sundays and feast days. Later, around the 1300s as there became fewer lay brothers, the granges were rented out to tenant farmers.

More information here, here and here

Davidwh, evanrizo, Floydian, banyanman, peter1892, stego, josepmarin, besnard, scobert, tcht, jwmunro, Philippe, Gerrit, paura, jmcl, singuanti, sabyasachi1212, abulafia, Photo65Net, eza1701, salvator, cobbydale, chrisnet, isabela_sor, pboehringer, jaywalker, sarju, berek, siolaw, imrek, JCG, fotomis, wishlist, Swissguy has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Davidwh (3662) 2007-04-28 7:51

Hi Kath,
You have captured here quite an effect with the dark threatening sky and the green light projected through the back windows.....it has given the image quite an ominous and scary emotion.I like your choice of format usin the walls to frame and giving a good sense of depth.Good to see you again!
Regards, David

evanrizo (462) 2007-04-28 8:15

Hi Kath.
A stunning end result.
The contrasts,sharpness amd lightness are excellent.
A nice point of view with a nice depth.
Cheers
Evan

Floydian (30970) 2007-04-28 9:20

Hello Kath,
Well, the vertical composition and framing works very well, good depth and lots of detail and interesting architecture. Those two green bright spots through the windows are interesting to see what's behind.
Good work, very decent photography.
Have a nice weekend, Henk

[2]

banyanman (7797) 2007-04-28 10:21

I like the light and colours in this, Kath. The sharpness is pretty good for 1/60, so relying on your steady hand, I think you found just the right compromise between DOF and shutter speed. Cheers . . . David

peter1892 (1681) 2007-04-28 11:04

Hi Kath - the DOF is fine here, it's a clear, sharp shot. The details are good too, from the broken, ruined interior to the architecture of the walls & arches.

stego (24132) 2007-04-28 11:46

Hi Kath,
This old monastery surely inspired you much and we all enjoy that. It's a really stunning pov, much punchy and carefully done. The dark cloudy sky enhances the dramatic mood, but is also very nice to have some sun light. Perfect dose of saturation...
Congratulations.
TFS, Regards, José.

[2]

josepmarin (59385) 2007-04-28 11:50

Hello Kath,
The vertical format works very well, and fits the whole height of these old walls in ruins.
The gray and threatening sky gives a great contrast with the windows where it enters a light of green tones of the grass, and with the walls illuminated by the Sun that had to enter between the clouds.
Good work with the adjustments, the photo has good sharpness in spite of the shutter speed to 1/60, and the lighting is perfect.
Nice work.
Best regards,
Josep

besnard (59196) 2007-04-28 12:12

Bonjour Kath
Très belle composition de cette abbaye. Le format choisi, l'effet de contre-plongée nous permettent d'apprécier la beauté de l'architecture de cet édifice.
Merci pour le partage et bon week-end.
Nicole

scobert (5355) 2007-04-28 12:19

Hello Kath,
A fabulous photo especially since you could not use your tripod. Your WS photo was showed how high up you were on your precarious camera angle. Beautiful composition and lighting. The dark storm clouds actually worked well by not giving you the washed out sky that light overcast would have. Your usual excellent and well-written historical narrative.This is the best photo of your series so far (in my opinion). TFS
Stan

[2]

tcht (7565) 2007-04-28 15:04

Hi Kath
pretty strong symmetry and fine textural details. and I like the lighting a lot, quite soft and just seeping through the two stone windows. also good detailed notes.
Cheers
CheukHin

jwmunro (286) 2007-04-28 15:07

Hello Kath -

A very nice image. The lighting is very interesting looks odd but then again it works for this scene. I am sure the cloudy conditions are the reason for the odd lighting. This is a well composed and executed image. Well done!

Thank you for sharing.

John

Philippe (11836) 2007-04-28 15:37

Hi, Kath. An interesting view of Rievaulx Abbey showing a clear difference between the stones used for the undercroft and those of the upper part. There is a good contrast betwwen the grey sky and the stones on the one hand and the grass on the other hand. A very interesting note.

vbl (1421) 2007-04-28 17:54

Hi Kath:
good picture, Perfect compo and POV. A photo really surprising that shows us the partially demolished but beautiful and immense construction
regards vanessa

Gerrit (62042) 2007-04-28 18:14

Hi Kath,
the series is fantastic. This is the top one so far. The light is extaordinairy and the view on the interior intruiging.
Great work.
Regards, Gerrit

paura (25802) 2007-04-28 20:44

Kath,
The f/10 was nice to show that. The note is also very interesting to understand the Rievaulx Abbey architecture. Well done, Kath.

Paulo

jmcl (14535) 2007-04-28 20:45

Hi Kath,

This one is absolutely stunning ... the light is unbelievable .. especially with those dark clouds .. you have amplified the mysteriousness and beauty of the ruins.

take care,

John

singuanti (15250) 2007-04-28 21:44

Hi Kath. The good saturation and sharpness are my favorite aspects of this one. The POV brings out a lot of symmetry out of the church. Doing this portrait orientation was probably your only choice if you wanted to include the foreground. Very nice one Kath.

sabyasachi1212 (19779) 2007-04-29 0:06

You know Kath, this place reminds me so much of a ruin I came across in Bidar in South India. Although it is a Muslim architecture, there are some strong similarities, specially in those arched windows. Infact the window at top level through one can see the sky, reminds me of a framing I had done of the ruined walls and the window. Hope to show it sometime. Nice work here in what clearly seems difficult circumstances.
With Greetings from India
Sabyasachi

abulafia (4900) 2007-04-29 2:15

Hi Kath
I love how you in your series of rievaulx now have covered most of the history and daily life of the place.
Your notes are very good and thorough.
The scene you chose today is quite good as well, i have often tried these kind of shots from inside castles or abbeys, but usually i find them too cramped. This one works fine though, maybe because of the grass inside that brightens everything up a bit.
Have a good sunday
Harry

Photo65Net (43144) 2007-04-29 3:30

Kath,
A gain a beautiful architecture catch.
Light is superb, and you caught so many details, with excellent sharpness.
Nice job,
Regards,
JB.

eza1701 (3345) 2007-04-29 4:07

Hi Kath,

This is a well composed shot with some interesting and unusual lighting with a dark sky dominating the top of the picture and sun coming through the bottom windows.

Best regards,
Paul.

salvator (19110) 2007-04-29 4:58

Wow,
Hi Kath,
Wonderful composition, superb colors. The punishing grey clouds, the green grass is superb. I wish you a gret Sunday, best regards. Salvator.

PixelTerror (0) 2007-04-29 5:23

Hi Kath
A fitting post to view on a sunday, another nice pov on these impressive ruins, but a strange color set dominated by yellow glow hinting for HDR, have you been playing with photomatix ?
Have a nice sunday, JY

cobbydale (1958) 2007-04-29 6:09

Good shot Kath, you've done well to overcome the physical limitations of the barrier. Lovely colour tones in this too.
cheers, Leon.

batalay (41261) 2007-04-29 8:56

Hello Kath,

Another in your exquisite Rievaulx Abbey series, and one that does not disappoint. That background glow is particularly alluring, and of course the composition and exposure are flawless. The image in the ws, together with the note, goes a long way toward resolving questions. A first rate image, of a first rate site! I visited also the English Heritage site under themes. You should share this ink with your English Heritage friends, and let them include the links in their material.

Warm regards,

Bulent

chrisnet (23062) 2007-04-29 11:23

Hello Kath,
Another shot of this abbey well captured with a good framing and light, very nice architecture, good work.
Regards
Christian

isabela_sor (47748) 2007-04-29 11:58 [Comment]

Show Comment

pboehringer (770) 2007-04-29 16:42

Kath, this shot looks for some reason a little bit surreal. The dark sky and upper part of the walls contrasts a lot with the light green colors penetrating through the two arched windows. Is that real or did you achieve this effect on PP?
TFS, Peter

jaywalker (16105) 2007-04-29 17:35

Hi Kath, A wonderfully composed photo, taken from a superb POV, the light & colours are very good & excellent focus, the architecture in these old abbeys is stunning & you have managed to portray it beautifully, a great shot, kind regards Wilson.

sarju (5324) 2007-04-29 19:28

Hi Kath
very informative as usual.
From my side you don't leave anything else that I can desire about this photo or your note
Nice to go thru your gallery and see new additons
cheers ... sarju

berek (50518) 2007-04-30 1:09

Hi Kath,
very good colours and light management. nice composition for this interesting place. thanks for note. have a nice week.
Burak

siolaw (38294) 2007-04-30 2:21

Hi Kath,
A good adition to that series, with good choice of vertical framing and no apparent distortion of the structure... Lightis well managed, colors and sharpness are good
I like the framing and POV showing the full inside of the ruined abbey...
Strong atmosphere enhanced by the dark sky!
TFS
Laurent

carper (96) 2007-04-30 2:31

yes I like it Kath,
it is a fantastic photo, with good quality, I like the pov and the good contrast, the details and the fine balance in the shot, good photojob, with my compliments.
gr. jaap

vincz (19113) 2007-04-30 3:55

Beautiful catch with such amazing different light quality all around. Grey sky, while looking through the windows in the back it lloks like the grass is in the sun. bautiful contrasts and sharpeness. A very good one.

imrek (4) 2007-04-30 15:47

Hi Kath,
the light is marvellous, the vertical format is well choosen, an intresting tones and well saturated colours...good PP work!!!
regards,
imre

vagabondtravels (6511) 2007-05-01 8:39

Hi Kath

Great capture and spot on with the exposure. Very vivid colors and a nice comp. Sharp with good detail. Well done.
Ben

JCG (35153) 2007-05-01 13:06

Hi Kath,

Another interesting sight on these vestiges of the past. The choice of the format is well adapted to the places photographed. A good treatment of the photograph which gives a mysterious aspect to the place. Beautiful photograph and thank you for the interesting comment.

With all my friendships,

Jean-Charles

agbonavita (0) 2007-05-02 18:52

Wonderful light Kath. I like the place, it has intersting mood. Nice POV too.

Andre

Stepan (27210) 2007-05-03 1:54

A light and pertinent to have a strong mood in this beautiful place. This is an atmosphere and you composed it perfectly. Well done.
Stéphane

delic (6735) 2007-05-06 16:38

Hi Kath,
Carefully designed composition here. Love the colors and contrast. The power of Nikon Capture is evident. Congrats for putting it to good use. Well done.
Best wishes,
Hakan

wishlist (4133) 2007-05-10 16:20

Hi Kath, almost surreal this excellent picture. Great lighting and colours and the details are just superb. Verynice compo and pov too...
Excellent done!!!
Igor

Swissguy (154) 2007-05-30 5:40

Wow, Kath - I can only aspire to take anything approaching as good a photo as this... had it just been raining? The light is so wonderfully warm and intense, yet not overpowering...

And I thought the refectory at my school was sombre - ha!

I appreciate not only the photographic quality here, but also the interesting comments on life in a Cistertvisn monastery.

Thanks!
Scott