Perhaps the most striking feature of the school is the Grand Staircase with it’s domed roof above it’s uppermost landing. The walls are carefully trimmed with plaster mouldings and cornices, the walls are plastered with a generous amount of plaster; the stone stairs rise past a mezzanine level to the top floor and limestone arches flank both the windows on the mezzanine and the pinnacle of the stairs. Or rather used to flank the pinnacle of the stairs, they are now replaced by metal braces as the broken chunks of limestone litter the floor below.
Large mirrors at both the floor and mezzanine would have added to the light, airy, grand feeling but also ensured the scholars had ample opportunity to ensure they were well turned out before beginning the days lessons.
The next post will explore the area around the staircase in a little more detail as I feel it is the heart of the building and deserves more in depth coverage.
The image was again a 6 bracket image, tonemapped in Photomatix. This image was imported into Adobe Photoshop for minor adjustments.
I’ve been enjoying this series and waiting to move into the centre of this decaying old building. And this image certainly doesn’t disappoint. A great shot, well processed. What a crying shame that this has been allowed to rot away like this.
There is still a few more beauties waiting to see the light of day this week. Thanks for the comments
Another great shot Chris.
Thanks Edith
Ahh, this is such a cool shot, Chris. Love the processing too. Lots to see in this, like the doorways/windows in the background. I like that hole in the wall where the missing plaster has exposed the latticework beneath.
thanks Jimi. The next post will be of the same stairwell from different angles and with a few little twists.
Talk about a great urbex shot, this one rocks Chris. Just love the grit on this.
thanks Len. I wanted to avoid the usual dark urbex shot, I’ve seen to many of those and it would not help the shot. I tried to keep it light and spacious without loosing the grit that was there.
wow this is awesome Chris, great shot!!
thanks jim, glad you liked it
Love the POV Chris and the processing is outstanding. Well done man.
Cheers Dave, appreciated.
Good Lord… astonishing… the story continues to unfold here! Great photography work, my friend, and the accompanying words you included here add SO much detail and interest to the series! Top drawer!! I swear I just saw a ghost in this shot on the top floor, fleeting past that opening at the top there… I was probably just seeing something, yeh, let’s go with that….
funny you should mention ghosts, we took my daughter there so she could do a photo shoot for her degree. She had my younger daughter dressed in flowing white and shot her moving on long exposure to give a ghost effect. It was pretty shocking when you caught unexpected glimpses.
Pingback: Photography Links of the week « Oxford School of Photography·