Calke Abbey - National Trust - Baroque Mansion near Derby

Calke Abbey ( http://www.uk-tourist-attractions.co.uk/leisure/visit.cfm/l/calke-abbey/35506/ ) probably took its name from the presence of an Augustinian Priory on the site in the 12th century, but is actually a Baroque mansion built by Sir John Harpur from 1701. This country house remained in the Harpur family for around 300 years, until passing to the National Trust due to massive death duties after the death of Charles Harpur Crewe in 1981. The Harpur family struggled to maintain the house in the later years, and the Trust have maintained the appearance of this gentle decline, which makes it a particularly charming house to visit. I've been a NT member for over 10 years, and this was the first occasion I'd visited a Trust property where interior photography was allowed - adding a whole new, but very challenging, dimension to my visit and hobby. My camera is at least 2 generations behind current technology, so low light performance is rather noisy, and the windows at Calke Abbey (like many National Trust properties) all have blinds to prevent light damage to the delicate fabrics, forcing me to use shutter speeds as low as 1/20th second at 1600ASA! Even so, I was surprised how steady hand held shots could be at these slow shutter speeds. The soft light from the windows gives great modelling to the contents of the rooms. To recover some of the detail in the highlights and shadows, I opened the RAW files at plus and minus 2 stops, along with the correct(ish) exposure, and ran them through SNS-HDR - a great little HDR package that I think currently gives the most natural results, whilst offering a good range of controls. I also processed the outdoor photos with SNS-HDR, except for some contributed from my wife's G9. The walled gardens are also very interesting at Calke Abbey, offering a great range of photo opportunities - well worth a visit.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Calke Abbey
• Baroque
• mansion
• country house
• National Trust
• Derby
• Derbyshire
• estate
• walled garden
• photo opportunities

[10HollyBrownx]

i really enjoyd this it was so much fun wahoooooooooooo

[AttinghamParkTV]

For a great day out in Shropshire, why not visit Attingham Park? Please watch our videos on our new channel, and subscribe to learn more about his historic house, it's restoration... the walled garden and grounds with deer park. Thank you.