Robert Knight
July 2026 - Maughold Church
Original
Original 2
About the Image(s)
This is the interior of the village church at Maughold on the Isle of Man
(island in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland). It was very dark
inside the church which blew out the highlights in the stained glass
windows. I took two shots using spot focus, one focussing just above the
windows and the other on the main window. I then copied the windows from one
to the other and made some adjustments by straightening up the verticals and
removing some distractions. I have included both originals with the final
image.
6 comments posted
I can appreciate the challenges of shooting the interior of a dark church and the post processing involved after your explanation. You did a fine job merging the stained-glass windows in the final image. But I'm wondering why you didn't do the same thing with the four blown out windows on the side. Posted: 07/01/2026 22:02:11
Thanks David. I tried to do what you suggested and you will see that from a comparison with Original 1. I used a luminosity mask and took it as far as I could before the windows on the right started to look grey. I would be interested if you know of a better way to avoid that problem. Posted: 07/02/2026 08:13:01
Robert,
The corrections that you made on the stained glass and on the straightening were perfect. It is hard to get that much dynamic range under control.
I do also think that adjusting the windows, walls and psalm/song board on the right would be a good idea, and then bringing down the overall brightness in the room to fit. Posted: 07/02/2026 04:24:38
The corrections that you made on the stained glass and on the straightening were perfect. It is hard to get that much dynamic range under control.
I do also think that adjusting the windows, walls and psalm/song board on the right would be a good idea, and then bringing down the overall brightness in the room to fit. Posted: 07/02/2026 04:24:38
Thanks Paul. Please see my response to David's comment and if you know of a better way, please let me know. Posted: 07/02/2026 08:17:06
Robert,
Perhaps using a Photoshop layer (or maybe two) of the darker layer, with the brighter one. Might even sandwich them with the bright one between. Then, play with the opacity and other tools to try to bring the effect that you want through to the surface. Of course, you'll need a gradient mask or two to protect the lovely job you did on the stained glass and the left side. Posted: 07/02/2026 15:48:45
Perhaps using a Photoshop layer (or maybe two) of the darker layer, with the brighter one. Might even sandwich them with the bright one between. Then, play with the opacity and other tools to try to bring the effect that you want through to the surface. Of course, you'll need a gradient mask or two to protect the lovely job you did on the stained glass and the left side. Posted: 07/02/2026 15:48:45
I love taking photos of church interiors. Getting the right exposure is difficult and I agree that you did a good job of merging the stained glass windows. I find that it is often best to used a 3 exposure HDR processing to capture both the dark and light areas. Posted: 07/02/2026 14:42:29