Shooting HDR in Salisbury Cathedral

The first photo from the UK leg of this photo tour (to Iceland) was taken in Salisbury Cathedral. This is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury in Southern England, and one of the leading examples of Early English architecture.  The main body of the cathedral was completed in 38 years, from 1220 to 1258.  It has  tallest church spire in the United Kingdom (at 123m) plus it also has the largest cloister and the largest cathedral close in Britain (80 acres).

Ultra-wide shot of the cloisters, an amazingly busy, intricately-designed space featuring these finely carved arches built around a perfectly-grassed quadrangle.

The perfectly grassed quadrangle. 
The greenness of England is an amazing contrast to the yellowish-brown hues you see in many parts of NSW  -  even in winter after weeks of rain.
England lives up to its "green and pleasant land" claim.

It contains the Magna Carta, a page of which was on display for visitors (but no photos allowed!).  All four original copies of the MC are in England.  The vaulted ceilings are breathtaking in sheer height and size but pose a tremendously tricky photographic challenge.
That said, I came prepared with my EF14mm linear fish eye lens which was perfect for straight vertical shots of the ceilings. Even though it was a surprisingly bright, sunny day I was shooting at ISO 3200 to get both a fast enough shutter speed to hand hold at f8 - although this is an f2.8 lens, shooting wider produces very soft edges. (Not very good performance considering this lens cost more than $2000!).

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Faithful hound at the foot of his master.
One of the many tombs preserved in the nave of Salisbury cathedral.
The term "the stinking rich" came from places like this where the nobles were buried right inside the churches of England. In those days, though the stone masons were very good, these sarcophagi could never quite be sealed 100%
HDR pic by Natalie Hitchens

Another vertical HDR in the main nave at the spire crossing - where you could see the architectural distortion created by the weight of the tower and spire - that's if the 14mm lens had not already added more than its fair share of optical distortion to the frame already!

Beautifully carved wooden cherubs inside the nave...

Another great ceiling view, HDR of course, by Natalie Hitchens

Close up of one of the many tombs inside Salisbury cathedral

Interesting mix of artificial and daylight pumps up the visual impact of this interior HDR shot by Natalie Hitchens