Cathedral Basilica

Cathedral Basilica

1/28/15

This was not my first time at the Cathedral Basilica. I had been there a few times for some of my cousins' Confirmations as well as my own. I feel I had an advantage over others in some aspects because I knew where all of the good shots could be taken based on positioning and lighting. The lighting in this beautiful building makes it difficult to photograph sometimes, but with a little planning I was able to get some great shots.

MAIN ALTAR

     The main altar was the focal point of the entire building. The rich detail sort of directed attention to the front stage. Most people would have tried to get a straight on picture of the altar, but I wanted to create an angled picture including one of the bright red umbrella-looking decorative pieces. It brightens the whole picture and gives it character.

WOOD CARVING AND CEILING

     The overall detail in every part of the Cathedral was incredible. I wanted to get a close look at some of these while including the beautiful ceilings as a background. The complexity, yet simplicity of this wood carving is enriched by the background that the ceiling creates.

STAINED GLASS WINDOW

          It was a must for me to include a picture of the legendary stain glass windows that are displayed in the cathedral. I wanted to get a picture that captured the window's massiveness and strength. This part of the cathedral was possibly my favorite to look at, especially at this time of day because the light shined through giving them rich color.

PEWS

    I love this effect of getting a clear detailed view of the first pew end followed by multiple pews that become blurrier as they get farther away. Again, every part of the Cathedral Basilica was detailed so much and I wanted to capture that.  

PORTRAIT AND ROSES

     The lighting in this part of the Cathedral was terrible and difficult to capture. I thought that the best way was to use my flash to sort of cancel it out and create my own shadows on the objects. The roses placed below the portrait show life, and they get more beautiful the closer you get to the top, starting from the base of the vase. Once you reach the top of the roses, your attention is directed to the most beautiful part of the picture which is the incredibly artistic portrait.