FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS - 27mm - 1/100 sec - f/6.3 - ISO 80

One of the great things about having a National Trust (NT) membership is that it can quickly resolve the issue of wanting to go somewhere, but not knowing where to go. Where we live, there are a few NT sites within a few minutes’ drive, so we’ve had the chance to visit these places a few times over the years, especially when we don’t feel like venturing too far. Packwood House is a beautiful place to visit – there are walks around the grounds, tours of the house, and plenty of interesting corners to explore. It’s perfect for when you fancy a stroll, want to check out the bookshop, or grab a cream tea.

From a photography point of view, Packwood offers plenty of opportunities. The house itself is covered in greenery around the windows, the huge sundial stands out, and the colours available are a dream. Capturing them becomes a different kind of challenge – you’re almost spoiled for choice, and the pressure’s on to find the right composition. I used my Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS lens for the day, which is a firm favourite at the moment. It’s just such a versatile focal range that when I’m grabbing the camera for a walk, it’s currently the go-to choice. If only there were a GM version of this lens!

FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS - 67mm - 1/100 sec - f/6.3 - ISO 100

The doors on this building really caught my eye, with their ornate hinges, handles, and knockers, and that charred, weathered character to the wood. This image has a lot going on, but it’s a form of isolation compared to the wider shot of the whole house. I was aiming to give the composition some context while still focusing on the subject, and the colours helped to make it pop. Lining this shot up was tricky, as the elements aren’t quite straight themselves, and the house sits on a slight slope, so it felt a little off during editing. A touch of warmth, and some careful adjustments with the dehaze, clarity, and texture sliders, gave me a level of detail I was happy with.

FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS - 47mm - 1/160 sec - f/11 - ISO 64

The weather for the day was overcast with sunny spells. You can see from some of the images that the sun was indeed making an appearance, but the image above caught the clouds in such a moody way, it was perfect. Coupled with this sundial, I felt the contrast was too good to miss, and taking into account that the subject was a timepiece, the moody clouds gave a sense of a passage of time. In hindsight, planning for this kind of shot could go a lot further by slowing down the shutter speed, getting some movement in the clouds, and giving a more cinematic feel to it. This would require a tripod (which I have) and possibly some ND filters (on their way) to achieve.

I particularly like the look of the faded colours throughout this image. The background is dark with relatively low saturation/vibrance, and the sundial is showing its age gracefully with the faded blue ring, gold numerals, and lichen/moss-covered surface. I took another image of this in portrait (in the gallery), which carries a similar feel, but with more detail on the subject, as it is a closer crop. They both offer something different whilst being the same angle of the same subject.

Critically, I can see that I have a little more work to do with the sky, which is something I have identified on other sets. Some research is required.

FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS - 102mm - 1/250 sec - f/11 - ISO 64

You don’t have to walk far at this property to get another image. From pretty much the same spot, the house is offering a multitude of choices for composition. It is becoming obvious from my compositions that I gravitate towards windows, doors, openings within buildings, as well as openings in nature. If something can frame the subject or provide that sense of depth, then I’m going for it.

This image above is a big win for me. Shot in direct sunlight, the colour is a little washed out but perfect for what I was going for, which was to capture the worn look of the building, along with the bare branches. You can just catch the stained glass in the windows, which teases at what they would look like on the inside in full sunshine, but doesn’t dominate the eye.

I like the mix of straight (ish) lines with the very opposite curves and splits of the branches, as well as the hatched texture of the wall surface, and how that changes to a wavy pattern around the windows. The guttering and roof give it a nice border at the top, giving a little context as to where on the property this image was taken.

I do think there could be more of a play with contrast here, as well as different colour casts and techniques, but I’m happy with the outcome currently.

FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS - 36mm - 1/125 sec - f/11 - ISO 64

Just a little further around the garden, there were a few opportunities to admire the aesthetics of the building, and this image has a few elements I’m happy with, such as the orange and blue contrast between the red bricks and the sky. The light is also at an angle where it is casting some nice shadows and giving the image some depth and interest. More windows, interesting shapes with the roofs, the tall chimneys, and a little foliage on the lower end all give some interest to what would typically be a less interesting angle of the house.

FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS - 86mm - 1/320 sec - f/5.6 - ISO 64

My partner spotted this little detail on a gate by the road that runs in front of the house, and isn’t it just wonderful? As soon as I saw it, I wanted to try and capture the feeling of a little world minding its own business, and that it is thriving in the decay of the gate detail. The rust coming through added that flash of orange/brown against the sky's blue, and the green moss helped it pop.

Technically, I think I just missed the focus on this one. I was stretching on my tip-toes to get the shot, and it was off by the smallest of margins, however, I think overall it has come out well. Something that is said often online is that focus doesn’t matter anywhere near as much as we think it does, especially at the cost of capturing the moment. It is easy to be super critical and pixel-peep photos and criticise them, when in fact it likely doesn’t matter that much, and with some images having the sharpness reduced in post these days, there can be less emphasis on technical perfection.

FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS - 96mm - 1/60 sec - f/5.6 - ISO 250

The knocker here, according to legend, is of two Dolphins. I can’t say that I see it myself, but it was an interesting feature of one of the doors around the side of the building. The door was a lovely, weathered, and textured specimen similar to what we had seen before, but the furniture was new and fun. Technically, I missed a trick here; the left and right “margins” of the wood panel aren’t symmetrical. I have left it like this as a reminder, not to become complacent, and that when specifically targeting the lines, to compose them correctly in the first place, or at least abandon the standard crop size and adjust it to suit the image.

Finally, the image below is another favorite from the day, with a window, some not-so-greenery, and a great contrast between the red and blue bricks. The light isn’t direct here, but it worked well to illuminate the scene evenly, the branches add a little depth to the image, and the lines are nice and crisp. In post processing, it was important to me to get the brickwork to pop, and I think that was achieved quite well in the end.

Next time we go to Packwood, it will be nice to see what other angles we can find, and there are a load more places to explore. You can find some other images in the gallery.

Packwood House (NT)

Cardiff Bay

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