Nikon Wednesday Pic 2011: #7

[wpahnelas]

<p>hope everyone had happy shooting this past week... i know i did. this is a quick one while waiting in line at the doughnut shop for a cup of joe. it just seemed to suddenly come together when i looked through the viewfinder.</p><div></div>

[hanappa]

<p>Winter Sun</p><div></div>

[vit_asmo]

<p>Water pump</p><div></div>

[jannekaakinen]

<p>A view from our balcony. The stars are actually from a older photo, taken a year ago. The moon was captured yesterday. And editing was done 15 minutes ago. :)</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

[chansonbleu]

<p>Wow! Great images this week.</p>

<p>D300 sigma 70mm macro</p><div></div>

[drjoder]

<p>My wife snowshoeing near Brainard Lake in Colorado last Saturday. D90 with Tamron 17-50mm at 17mm, F/16, 1/100, ISO 200. You can see the wind blowing the snow up on the high peaks. Great pics, all!</p>

[drjoder]

<p>Lets try this again..see above data. DanJ</p><div></div>

[rsands]

<p>I almost forgot! It's Wednesday!</p>

<p>Frederick's Church, Copenhagen.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

[gabriel_hasser]

<p>Playing around with the fisheye in Santiago, Chile.</p>

<p><a title="Anti-Gravity by Gabriel Hasser, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5260/5446916556_5b6df3d75e.jpg" alt="Anti-Gravity" width="500" height="333" /></a><br>

<strong>Nikon D40, 10.5mm Fisheye @ 10.5mm, f/8, 1/640 and ISO 400.</strong></p>

 

[User_5050610]

<p>Doug Santo--another great photo!<br>

Thank you--they are so beautiful..serene and peaceful!!<br>

That is very different interior architecture--how old or new is the church?<br>

Thanks!<br>

Paul Beavin</p>

[lisae]

<p>A local photography blog inspired me to try some food photography shots with our leftover Valentine's tarts. I didn't get the lighting just right, but I'm fairly satisfied with the results.</p><div></div>

[anand_dhupkar]

<p>Hi there -<br>

Didn't go anywhere out this week, have been busy with work.. So, just now took this shot for today's forum posting .. with Nikon D70s, 70-300 zoom set to 112, f 16, shutter speed 1.5 seconds, tripod mounted ..</p>

[anand_dhupkar]

<p>uploading that file was a bit problem, hence, repeat post ... here it goes ....</p><div></div>

[janine_burger]

<p>Hi everyone, Some really amazing photos here today!! Love them all. <br />My contribution is of a spider I noticed outside my door one afternoon.<br>

Enjoy your week.</p><div></div>

[cjk]

<p>Greetings to all, thank God it's wednesday :)<br>

I am very new to macro photography so I didn't really realize what was going on when I took this photo. It was only when I put it on the screen and had my 2 kids (6 & 4) ask why did the bee have 4 wings and 4 eyes that it hit me... I don't even remember what I mumbled to them.<br>

I know that at some point they will learn about birds & bees but I didn't imagine it would be so ... in your face?</p><div></div>

[doug_santo]

<p>Paul Beavin -</p>

<p>St. John’s Episcopal Church organized as a congregation in 1890. That year was the tail end of a decade-long real estate and business boom in the City of Los Angeles known as the “Boom of the Eighties”. The first church of the new congregation was built that same year next to the location of the present church. The site was at the edge of town in an area of orange groves. The first church was a wood-shingled structure in the gothic-revival style. Growth in the city soon enveloped the site of St. John’s. Growth occurred in the congregation as well and, following World War I, a new and larger church building was needed.</p>

<p>The parish started the design process for the new church by commissioning a design from Los Angeles architects Montgomery and Montgomery in 1919, but for unknown reasons the Montgomery design was not built. A second design was commissioned in 1920 from the New York architect Bertram G. Goodhue. The Goodhue design was also not built and may have been too expensive. Finally in 1921, six Los Angeles architects were invited to present proposals for the church. the proposal from the architectural team of Pierpont Davis and Walter Davis was selected by contest. the Pastor of St. John’s the Rev. George A. Davidson was a driving force behind the new church.</p>

<p>The Davis brothers’ winning design features the Italian Romanesque style. The church exterior is modeled on the 11^th century church of San Pietro in Tuscania north of Rome. The interior wood ceiling of the church is modeled on the 11^th century church of San Mineato al Monte in Florence. Construction commenced in January 1923, and the building was consecrated in 1925. Originally designed to seat 1,000 parishioners, the church currently accommodates seating for about 700. The construction cost was $650,000. The church had 2,000 members at the time of consecration and was the largest Episcopal Church west of Chicago.</p>

<p>The church is constructed of steel-reinforced concrete with walls 2 ½ feet thick. Construction forms for the poured-in-place walls included wood form boards laid horizontally. The concrete was poured neat against the form boards leaving a unique and detailed surface mimicking that of the rough construction lumber. The unfinished concrete walls present a stark contrast to the smooth and finely finished marble and tile surfaces near the choir and altar.</p>

<p>The front façade of St. John’s is different from the rest of the church. It is constructed of carved stone. “Tufa” is a common trade name for this stone, but geologically the stone is classified as “welded tuff”. Welded tuff is volcanic ash ejected from a volcano during an eruption.</p>

<p>The Italian-born American sculptor Salvatore Cartaino Scarpitta led a team of 14 Italian artists and carvers who crafted the architectural details of the front façade and certain interior elements. Scarpitta himself carved the bas-relief image of St. John the Evangelist that graces the white Carrara marble lectern near the central altar. Scarpitta used his son as a model for the face.</p>

<p>The Oregon pine ceiling beams each weigh 1 ton and are painted exactly like those at San Mineato. The rood beam is constructed of oak and carries a life-size crucifix created by Adelbert Zwink, a wood carver from the Oberammergau region of Germany. Zwink also carved the polychromed triptych above the main altar, which is carved from white marble.</p>

<p>The “Seven Angels” mosaic memorial in the choir was installed and dedicated in 1947. This mosaic was designed in Italy and crafted in New York of Italian tiles. The angels—each one holding either a musical instrument or scroll—stand in arched alcoves supported by marble columns. Five artists worked for nearly 2 years to complete the panels, which cost a total of $15,000 and were presented to the church by parishioners in memory of their mother.</p>

<p>The central altar was designed and built in 1967 by J. Todd Campbell, a parishioner.</p>

<p>The chapel located in the south transept was originally called the liberty chapel to honor the 192 members of the church who served in World War I. The walls of the chapel were unfinished concrete until 1968 when parishioner Derrick John Taylor fulfilled a teenage dream to beautify this sanctuary. Taylor worked with artists from the Judson Studios to create a gold mosaic of Italian tile modeled after the 13^th century apse of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Torcello, Italy.</p>

<p>The baptistery is located in the north transept. The baptismal font was carved from a 500-lb block of Botticino marble, as are the eight carved columns that decorate the circumference of the font. The bowl rests on an octagonal support of red Verona marble. The oak canopy and raising mechanism were hand crafted, and none of the parts is interchangeable, including the handmade nuts and bolts. When the oak canopy is lifted, a brass dove attached to a 300-lb ball descends from the center of the supporting crown and acts as counter balance to ease the opening of the font.</p>

<p>Entering the church from the narthex, the impression is of an overwhelming void as one adjusts from the enclosed and dark space of the lobby to the 65-ft-tall central nave. Soaring open spaces are bathed in multicolored reflections from the clerestory windows. Simplicity and linearity of the design stand out. Repetition of classic architectural elements in the roof and aisle columns lends order and familiarity to the space. The eye is drawn to the massive main altar and domed choir ceiling with its sunburst mosaic, which provide dramatic backdrop to the rood beam and its life-size crucifix.</p>

<p>The floor is of wood and handmade Mexican tile. Portions of the wood floor flex and creak when walked on, yielding a sense of, not antiquity, but age. Walls of unfinished concrete resemble horizontally laid stone and, up close, reveal impressions left by the rough form lumber. Rock pockets and voids define a rich granularity that calls out to be touched.</p>

<p>Black walnut pews in the central nave display a characteristic patina and obvious signs of wear that hint at the thousands of hands that must have caressed their wooden surfaces since 1925. Sit in the pews for a few minutes and the grand space begins to feel intimate, even personal. The pews lend an air of refinement and transition from concrete and stone to the fine finished surfaces of marble and mosaic tile visible in the choir and altar.</p>

<p>Craftsmanship of a high order is evident in the finished surfaces around the main altar and in the various architectural details. Carved marble and intricately placed mosaic tile reflect the patience and care of journeyman artists and craftsmen plying trades now virtually extinct. The granularity of the poured concrete walls is a perfect foil for the finer tile mosaics of the choir and altar. The impression is of great beauty combined in equal measure with modesty, soaring spaces that somehow still give the impression of intimacy, an overwhelming void, yet the space is ordered—one understands and feels part of it.</p>

[LindaM]

<p>Trees are starting to bloom in the South Louisiana swamps.</p><div></div>

[purplealien]

<p>Great pics once again. My favorites are Tom's bald eagle and Aguinaldo's tree.</p>

<p>I'm still enjoying the portrait practice. I took this pic of my youngest daughter Lucy on Saturday. She's 4 years old, and is showing signs of being an excellent model!</p><div></div>

[diane_madura]

<p>Morning hula lesson.</p><div></div>

[tony_phillips2]

<p>Fight Night, Sheffield Dragons</p><div></div>

[alex_foto]

<p>Good Afternoon fellow Nikonites,<br>

Happy new year to all...better late than never huh...This is my first ever this year, I was just enjoying the photos of you all Wednesday'ers.</p>

<p>Today's contribution is from last week - just a random shot using:<br>

D80 Nikkor 50mm f/1.7 @ 50mm f/13 1/80th sec ISO160.<br>

P.s. Everything looks good but I am not happy about the color at all. FYI I used PS CS for Post production.</p>

<p>Enjoy,</p><div></div>

[moi1]

<p>Hello U All....<br>

Here is mine for this week...Valentine's Day advertising in a Paris restaurant restaurant!</p><div></div>

[marc_henry1]

<p>I was on the Kent coast on a rare day off and took a different view of my flash.</p>

<div></div>

[User_5050610]

<p>Doug--thank you for all the details!<br>

It looked like a much newer church.<br>

It is really beautiful. Very different.<br>

I am sure you enjoy photographing these buildings.<br>

Thanks again!<br>

Paul</p>

[jos__arnaud]

<p>Hello Fellow Nikonians.<br>

I am still testing my new D7000, and this week I share with you a picture of the Belém Marina, Lisbon, Portugal, which can be printed in A2. The original version is very much detailed. I hope you enjoy it. Have a good photo week !</p><div></div>