Sundials

Sundial, C16, ashlar, baluster form with fluted upper half. C18 brass sundial on top, signed Thomas Wright. Nikon D700 and Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6 G lens.

Nikon D40 and AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VRII lens. Focal length 105mm (full frame equivalent 157mm). 800 ISO; f/5.6; 1/160th. I have been here many times yet not made this photograph before. It depends on the position of the photographer in relation to the subject; the focal length of the lens; the season; the light; the aperture. So many variables.

Maud Heath was a wealthy and childless widow who regularly travelled from Bremhill to Chippenham to sell eggs in the market. At Kellaways the road was often flooded, and so Maud left money in her Will to build a causeway. She died in 1474 and the trustees of the fund erected this monument by the causeway in 1698. Recently it has been cleaned and renovated.

Nikon D300s and Nikkor-P 105mm f/2.5 lens.

Nikon D2Xs + Tamron Di II SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR LD.

Nikon D2Xs + Tamron Di II SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR LD.

Sundial on Maud Heath's monument at Tytherton Kellaways, Wiltshire. Nikon D2Xs fitted with a Nikon TC-16A teleconverter and a 75-150mm f/3.5 Series E lens.

I've lost count of the number of attempts I've made to photograph this subject, an C18 brass sundial in the grounds of Lacock Abbey, made by Thomas Wright. Paradoxically, this study made with a cheap screw-thread Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f/2.8 lens on a Canon EOS 40D digital camera has given me the greatest satisfaction ... so far.

Nikon D2Xs with a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AI lens and a Close-Up No. 4T supplementary lens in the filter mount.