NIGEL'S RAMBLES: 2025

Sunday, July 20, 2025

Vézelay

On the way back from our recent holiday in the UK, we stopped off at Vézelay, a Romanesque abbey in the Burgundy region of central France. It is considered to be a masterpiece of Romanesque Architecture. It is an UNESCO site.

Vézelay, is now a sleepy little hilltop village. The Abbey dates from the Twelfth Century and was an important pilgrimage destination in its early days. Thomas Becket, in exile, chose Vézelay for his sermon in 1166, announcing the excommunication of the main supporters of King, Henry II, and threatening the King with excommunication too.

Its importance started to decline in the Thirteenth Century, and it was badly damaged during the French Revolution. The important relics said to have been removed from Mary Madeleine's tomb, were burnt by the Huguenots, in the Sixteenth century.

After the Revolution, Vézelay was in danger of collapsing. The young architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc was appointed to supervise a massive and successful restoration, undertaken in several stages between 1840 and 1861, during which his team replaced a great deal of the weathered and vandalized sculpture. The flying buttresses that support the nave are his. The front façade, is mostly a reinvention carried out by the Architect.

Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine,Vézelay

The inner central Portal is the most important artwork in this building. It is an allegorical depiction of the Crusades. The tympanum was completed in 1130.

Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine,Vézelay

Fifteen years after its completion, Bernard of Clairvaux chose Vézelay to call for a Second Crusade. Vézelay was even the staging point for the Third Crusade. It is here that King Richard the Lionheart of England and King Philip Augustus of France met and joined their armies for a combined western invasion of the holy land. It is appropriate, therefore, that Vézelay's portal refers to the crusades.

The lintol depicts the inhabitants of those lands beyond Christendom. They are depicted as being sub human, with some having pig like snouts for example.

On our visit the inner doors were closed, which robbed us of the vision of the Nave behind it.

The column capitals are superb, some have been restored. There are 100 column capitals in the Nave.

Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine,Vézelay

We were lucky that the Church was almost deserted on our early morning visit. We were able to soak up the majestic atmosphere of this monument, in silence.

Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine,Vézelay

This little village and its abbey are well worth a visit, if you care for historic monuments. We visited late in the evening for a brief look, and the next morning for a slower visit. Both times there was nobody about. ( I believe it gets more busy later in the day).No entry mouth watering entry charge like we found in Ely Cathedral. No hectoring guardians, souvenir stall and none of the other trappings of todays tourism.

I was able to use my camera on a tripod with my shift lenses, to explore the visual splendour of this abbey.

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Apennines Flora II

I am still getting to grips with macro photography. I have stated to experiment with flash, with a flashgun that I have hardly used since I bought it. These are from my latest couple of walks, in the hills above Reggio. I came across a really weird Orchid, which was difficult to photograph, as it was in a very windy position on a hill top.

Himantoglossum adriaticum

Trifolium campestre

Anacamptis pyramidalis

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Apennines Flora

I am enjoying playing with my new Nikon Z105 Macro. I am still on a steep learning path regarding Macro and Focus Stacking, which is quite magical. Shooting Focus stacked pictures in the field is very hit and miss due to wind, but when it works it is brilliant, everything is in focus.

Starting at the nearest in focus point, using a menu feature in the camera, the focus point moves forward over a pre programmed number of shots. I uses Helicon to merge the in focus parts of about 10 shots, which after combination produces a picture with a big depth of field. Here a some shots from my last few walks.

It is the Orchid season here in the foothills, so here is a collection of my first efforts. I have tried to name them.