St. Patrick’s Cathedral, NYC

St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City is one place where you can step out of the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple. Within its walls, you’ll find a modicum of peace and quiet. Just like the photographs of the stained glass windows I took in Spain, I always try to get a few shots of the ones in St. Patrick’s.

Years ago, when I was in film school, I took a number of black and white shots inside the cathedral. This was in the days before the digital darkroom. There were chemicals, enlargers, and actual film. I enjoyed that kind of work. Hours spent in the darkroom helped improve my photography in the field. Today, I use a consumer digital camera, snapping shots for this blog and other general documentary purposes. It serves the purpose and the quality of the output is actually good when considering the cost, time, and effort put into it. It truly is “easy.”

 

The shots of these stained glass windows came out good considering the cathedral is dark compared to the brightness of the sun shining through the window. This is a challenge for an automatic camera. Of course, you’re not able to correct the perspective or expose as well as you could with a manual camera. Nonetheless, the images are bright and clear, especially on a computer monitor. Another advantage is weight; my old manual cameras are heavy and cumbersome. Whenever I would set them up, people get intimidated or think you’re out to make a fortune on their image. Sorry, not quite, just an advance hobbyist having some fun. With the consumer cameras, I rarely encounter that problem.

Anyway, we were in St. Patrick’s. In here I always show proper respect for people praying or a service that may be in progress. After all, this is an important place of worship. I’m impressed by the devotion of the people who come here. I’ve seen everyone among the pews, from business people at lunch time to tourists from around the world. Some people light a candle for someone in need, or say a quick prayer before their saint of choice. Either way, it is interesting to observe.

One final note, at the time of this writing, the exterior of St. Patrick’s is undergoing some work. There is scaffolding set up around the main entrance on 5th Avenue. The cathedral is open, but the exterior photos may not be as pleasant as you would like.

Published in: on September 21, 2008 at 12:54 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Signpost in the Sand

This signpost stands on the edge of Palm Beach, Aruba, on the promenade by the Radisson Hotel. Check out all those places and distances. Maybe your home city is on there.

This post actually reminded me of the one that was frequently seen in episodes of MASH. I used to watch that show years ago. I remember the last episode and the one where the colonel died. They were poignant to say the least. These days I don’t watch much television so I don’t know if there is a comparable show on. For one thing, I despise these make-believe reality shows. Once in a while I’ll view pieces of the ones on Discovery like Deadliest Catch or Ice Road Truckers. Still, too much is over-dramatized. Please, there’s enough drama in the real world. You want to impress me, make me laugh. That’s a tough assignment.

Back to the signpost. It’d be nice if there were such things in life to point you in the right direction. Maybe there are. I can remember people giving me very good advice along the way (not that I always listened or heeded it). There are things like graduation ceremonies, promotions, demotions, epiphanies, and revelations. These are signposts of a certain kind. They mark a beginning or an end, deny or permit passage on to the next stage of life.

Perhaps the key is not so much to be looking for the sign, but rather to interpret it correctly when you find it. Believe it or not, there’s plenty of wisdom out there to be had. It comes in all forms from the Bible to your grandfather’s remarks. The question is, what do you do with it? What is important and what isn’t? That’s a more difficult assignment than the first one. And the trouble is, life keeps moving while you’re standing there contemplating your next move. There’s no “pause” button, no “rewind,” and certainly no “undo” function. Or maybe there is. After all, people reinvent themselves all the time. It takes courage and willpower to go down the right or wrong road and then make another turn without knowing exactly what the destination will be. The only thing that’s for certain is that it will be different. Whatever the case, it’s better than standing at the curb while the world passes by.

Published in: on September 4, 2008 at 10:52 am  Leave a Comment  
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A Few Churches, Aruba

Many posts ago, I showed an image of a small Protestant Church located here in Aruba. This time, I’m going to show several Catholic Churches. Aruba, with is various cultures, hosts a number of religions. However, given the strong Spanish influence, many people belong to the Catholic faith. Here is one of the large churches located in the town of Noord.

As casual as the island is, many local people dress in their finest for Sunday services, including the children. This is a pleasant sight, as is the devotion they express when filling such large buildings. Here’s another church, this one located in Paradera.

Most all of these churches have schools attached to them. The children don uniforms and file into class carrying their books in “brief cases,” which may be a good thing in that it reminds them of the seriousness of education. Here is one more church, this time in Santa Cruz.

Of course, there are cemeteries beside these churches. In Aruba, just like New Orleans, the tombs are mostly above ground. We’ll take a look at some of those eerie spaces in future posts.

Published in: on August 1, 2008 at 1:20 pm  Comments (1)  
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