Church pictures

[Cornflake]

For some reason, Photobucket isn't allowing me to edit the size of pictures, so here are links.

It was suggested that I take some pictures of events and services at our church for the staff to use. I took a dry run one afternoon when no one was there just to get a feel for how to photograph various areas.

i44.photobucket.com/albums/f29/CornflakeAZ/StMarysdoorfigure.jpg

The picture above is of part of one of the chapels, one I love. It looks Byzantine and I think it has something to do with an Orthodox congregation in St. Petersburg that we have long had a connection with.

i44.photobucket.com/albums/f29/CornflakeAZ/Sanctuary.jpg

This is the main sanctuary. The colors are from stained glass windows that depict the stations of the cross.

That's all.

[Dan McLaughlin]

Very nice work Flake. It's a place that feels very comfortable.

[sekhmet]

Great stained glass! I would be tempted to take a few gigs of photos of those guys!

[gbacklin]

I can only imagine what the place sounds like !

[Cornflake]

It's a very large sanctuary, Gene, and the sound is amazing. There is a first-rate pipe organ and a forty-plus-voice choir that do it justice. The women's chant choir sounds unearthly in there. If I ever became an atheist, I'd still go just to hear the music.

[Marshall]

It looks like a real reverberating room. Real long too. Big choir and organ sounds can fill (and reverberate convincingly) in a room like that. Acoustic guitars and folk type solo singing/harmony (as opposed to operatic singing) would have a hard time in a room like that, (I guess). And trying to set up a sound system could be hellish. Every one of those speakers down the side wall probably needs to be on a slight time delay.

So, the choir and organ are in the loft at the back. What're those horns on the wall up front ?

[Cornflake]

The horns up front are the trumpets for the pipe organ. They're not unleashed very often and it's a good thing. They knock your socks off.

You're completely accurate in your assessment, Marshall. It's a very "wet" place with lots of reverberation. That has been a real headache for the priests who want their sermons or homilies understood, and I know that a lot of time and attention has been devoted to that issue.

For music, it has almost always been a plus. Our music director, a friend, would probably never allow a guitar or any other folk instruments during a service. We're now in a small minority in that regard. I've heard acoustic recitals, including a harpist, at the church, but they occurred in a smaller chapel that was sonically friendlier to such things.