Churches and Cathedrals
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Woodward Ave Presbyterian Church
This is the main sanctuary of an abandoned church in Detroit. Even in its present state, it is a pretty amazing place. The builders obviously took great pride in this one....so much intricacy in the design and thought to the way the sunlight would stream in. I couldn't help but wonder what it must have looked like when that last family walked out of worship service and the lights were turned off for the final time.
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From Detroit
The Windows of St. Chappelle
The famous stained glass windows of Sainte Chappelle in Paris. This is a few blocks from Notre Dame on that little island (Île de la Cité) in the middle of the city. The lines to get in here are long, so grab an espresso and a baguette to keep you company. But, once you do get in, wow! It was originally built in 1239 to house the relics of the crucifixion of Christ and, from what I understand, it looks pretty much the same today as it did then. The most famous part are these huge stained glass windows than adorn the walls of the upper chapel. It’s hard to get a sense of scale from this picture, but those windows are about 45 feet tall. One of the caretakers there told me that the designers intended to minimize the visible stonework so that the ceiling would look like it was just floating above the windows. He actually said about 80% of that in French (of which i only understand food talk) but a kind grandmotherly-type French lady was nice enough to translate it for me. Oh, and and you would expect….no tripods….so I shot this handheld………a feat made ever more complicated by the 2 double espressos I had just had for lunch.
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From France
St. Albans Church
St. Albans Anglican Church in Copenhagen…..I was actually trying to find that Little Mermaid statue when I came across this awesome church…..and the church ended up being way more interesting. The Little Mermaid is still kind of neat to see……its just off to the right of picture, surrounded by a huge group of Nikon-armed Japanese tourists. So, I gave up and came back here. There was something about the facade of this church, with the cool clouds and the setting sun that warranted a few pics. I tried to get inside but some determined Danish church-lady told me that she was busy and I should come back another day. I thought…..”Sure, I live 4500 miles from here…..I’ll just stop in next week”.
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From Denmark
Inside the Barcelona Cathedral
The Barcelona Cathedral. It’s kind of surreal being in a place like this. Construction on it was started in 1298. That’s old……like…. Braveheart old.. William Wallace could have come here for confession after sacking an English city. The Cathedral sits in the Gothic section of Barcelona. It was a bit hard to find at first, but then we realized you just have to follow the crowd. Anyway, this shot was 5% photography skill and 95% trying to avoid the security guards. They don’t mind cameras but the place is jammed with people and tripods are a total no-no. But there was no way in heck to get a good shot without it. So, I went for it, figuring that a serious Spanish scolding wasn’t far off. Plopped the tripod down like a Ninja, slapped the camera on it……five clicks……and all was good. But, when I got home, I really didn’t like the pictures. The inside of the cathedral has this yellowish gold glow. It looks cool while you are in there but makes for pretty ugly pictures. So, I took a bit of artistic license here and added some blue filters to cool off the gold and give a blueish tint to the light streaming in the windows. Gives the whole place a bit of an eerie presence, which I think fits pretty well.
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From Spain
Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart
Hard to believe I grew up in NJ....and even went to elementary Catholic school in Newark.....yet I have never been here...The Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart. So, I decided this day would be it. I think I walked around for an hour with the entire place to myself. Every once in a while, one of the priests would peek his head in to see what I was up to, but that was about all the attention I got. This was my last shot of the day. I was just about to walk out the door when I noticed all the detail in the stonework.....just begging for some HDR treatment.
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From New Jersey
Behind the Altar
Another shot of the majestic Cathedral Bailica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, NJ. This is from right behind the altar.....just outside the Bishop's Chapel in the rear of the church. They were just about to close for the day so the lights were either off or very dim, which gave the whole place a really cool look to it.
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From New Jersey
Chapel of the Transfiguration
It took a 4am wake up to get to this church for sunrise, but it was so worth the lack of sleep. This is the Chapel of the Transfiguration in Grand Tetons National Park. We first walked in around 5am and could hear bats flying around us as we stood there. I'm not really much of a bat guy, so I spent the next hour outside until daylight. I don't know where the bats go when it gets dark, but they were nice enought to leave me to my business as I got my shots off.
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Notre Dame of Lyon
I've only been to Lyon once, for about 48 hours......and I think I visited this church 3 times. One of the shop owners told me it's the sister church to the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. It seemed totally different, though, smaller, more ornate, way less touristy…and no angry Frenchmen yelling about my tripod. It’s a pretty good hike to get up here, but so worth it. I took this late in the afternoon, just before they closed…..when the only light inside was from the glow of the candles and a few altar lights….very cool.
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From France
A Hallowed Hall
A late afternoon tour of the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière in Lyon, France. I always make it a point to visit at least 1 or 2 churches when I am in a new city. This one is certainly the most beatufiul that I have seen. It s it high on a hilltop and can be seen through out the city. Its a bit of a hike to get there, but there are plenty of places to stop along the way.......and the destination is certainly worth the journey.
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From France
The Presbyterian Church in Westfield, NJ
I grew up about 5 miles away from this church and walked its ground about 300 times.....but I have never gone inside. I am going to have to put that on my must-do list. it 's funny how we ignore stuff right at our front door sometimes, isn't it?
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From New Jersey
From Slovenia
From Slovenia
From Netherlands
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From Slovenia
From Denmark
