Religion isn’t really my thing but I do enjoy photographing religious artifacts and buildings – I probably fall under the umbrella of being a “cultural Christian” in that regard – although I find other religions artifacts equally interesting.

In the UK we have a wealth of churches dating back centuries, chock full of amazing architecture, artworks, stained glass windows and so forth. Even the more modern buildings, such as the brutalist architecture churches built in the post-war years, are interesting – sometimes even more so.

Most of the time any photographs I make of churches are of the exteriors. This is usually because many churches are not freely accessible, either to prevent theft or vandalism (sad, I know), or, in the case of grand cathedrals, require admission fees to wander around inside.

Sometimes though, particularly in villages out in the country, churches are still open and it’s possible to enter, enjoy their interiors, and make photographs. I took a few pictures inside a church at Tickhill last weekend that was open when I wandered past by chance. The picture of Mary and Jesus below is at Lincoln cathedral, but is outside, so I could make a picture without having to go inside.

I don’t mind paying an entrance fee if I know that there is likely to be something of interest to see and, importantly, I know I have sufficient time to wander at my leisure. I didn’t have the latter during this trip to Lincoln, unfortunately.

On another note, this weekend saw the 2025 Sheffield Steam Rally, so I went along today – as I do most years – and returned with a crop of exposed film (mostly medium format), so there will be traction engines to come at some point…

Yashica Mat 124G & Lomography Color Negative 400. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted using Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 1 March 2025