Photos of the St. Bartholomäus Church in Laer

A black-and-white photo of a church tower taken from directly in front of it, making the tower appear imposing. The sky is black, and the church's dark roof is barely visible. In contrast, the light-colored masonry stands out even more.
Photo of the St. Bartholo­mäus Church in Laer

New Photography Idea

I took advantage of the sunny to walk through Laer (Steinfurt district) and try out a few new photography techniques. I had seen photos on Reddit that were taken during the day, yet the sky is pitch black. That fascinated me, and I wanted to try it out myself.

The Church as a Motif

In the center of Laer stands the St. Bartholomäus Church. With its light-colored masonry and dark roof, it was the perfect subject for my photography experiments. I set the exposure time on my Canon M50 camera so that the sky appears black and the bright tower stands out. The sunlight creates a reflection on the roof, which adds a nice touch to the whole scene. I also tried to photograph the entire building, but the trees standing on the church square got in the way.

Black-and-white photo of the tower from just one side. The tower is too close to fit entirely in the frame.
West side of the tower of St. Bartholo­mäus Church

More distance, please!

First, I took a photo from a distance that was far too close. That’s why I could only fit one side of the church tower in the frame. Even though the effect of the dark sky is already visible due to the short exposure time, I’m not entirely satisfied with this shot. And I was already using a lens optimized for close-ups on my camera. It will certainly be exciting to take similar photos with a telephoto lens from a much greater distance when I will try it again. But maybe I’ll have new subjects by then. Church photography is certainly exciting, but it’s not something I want to commit to.

Conclusion

By adjusting the shutter speed, ISO, and aperture, you can create unexpected photos. I experimented a lot, since I usually focus on night photography. But as we all know, the journey is the destination. In the end, the following points were most important to me:

  • Plenty of sunlight
  • Bright subjects against the open sky
  • Short exposure time (approx. 1/2000)
  • Aperture as small as possible (e.g., f/16)
  • ISO set to a maximum of 100

I might as well mention right now that I took a few more photos, which I might share soon (I already did: General supply store). I’d be curious to know: Have any of you tried low-key photography yet?