North side aisle Basilique Sainte Madeleine, Vezelay (Yonne)

Mysterious and alluring with a somber yet welcoming atmospere. The light coming through the window in the background softly reflected on the tile floor forms some sort of "red carpet" that entices us to walk towards it. This composition reflects perfect mastery of light exposure in my humble opinion. The interplay between the lit and shaded areas is amazing with precise capture of details and tones. This is a fantastic B&W rendition.

What a mood... I feel like getting back in time...

Jiminy Christmas! They just get better and better, my friend! Now this is a photograph! The angled shadows with the thin sliver of lighted highlights; the lights above the columns; and the shaft of light leading the eye into the frame all the way to the cloister (or windows?) at the end. Is that a door, cross-shaped, on the left side just past the first column. Your tonal range is rich and extensive; and the details are just 'knock your socks off' sharp. A really superb composition and exposure. Dennis, I am sure that you are getting tired of hearing all of this; but these are honestly some of the finest photographs I've ever had the priviledge to view! Terrific work! Keep 'em coming, Big Fella! Cheers! Chris

Dennis, these latest pictures are among your best. If you had told me that I would find the interiors of churches and cathedrals fascinating, I would have said you were nuts; you've seen one church interior, you've seen them all. You have opened my eyes to the wonders of grand interior space and the mystery of light filtered through stained glass windows. The power of your images comes through clearly both in color and b&w. You have captured in a photograph precisely what your eyes saw in that shadowed space and share it with us. Such mastery of the nuances of light is rare indeed. The finest of the genre I have ever seen.

... thanks for your thoughts and thanks for posting in alphabetical order :)

 

Adan, one of the great things about these churches is the fact that the light comes in an angles like this. In the case of Vezelay, there is a level of clerestory windows (like a third floor) that sends the light to the north side of the church like this. Every day and every hour the iight is different. What I especially liked about this moment was the thin strip of bright light, which is, of course, the direct light from the window opposite, a window mostly hidden by the broad pillars of the nave. I bracketed this shot, and within moments these thin slivers were wide bands. I can see you in Vezelay, Adan, just watching the light play across her face.

 

Armindo, I appreciate your visits to these shots. Your own work is so wide-ranging that it pleases me that you find my narrow focus of interest.

 

Chris, Jeepers, Wally, I don't know what to say :) I'm overwhelmed that you speak of these shots like you do. My belief is, of course, that the subjects are magnificent, and if I can capture even a portion of that, my mission is successful. Actually, what I can say is simple; thank you.

 

Jack, "You have opened my eyes to the wonders of grand interior space and the mystery of light filtered through stained glass windows.". I could not have hoped for more. The unspoken message is to honor those who built these churches; their vision, faith, talent, and dedication. A man might start work on one of these basilicas and know that it would be his grandchildren that would finish the work. Can you imagine what that would mean? In our world where everything changes so fast and world views are formed and changed by headlines, the sense of purpose and duty felt by these people is inconceivable. I thank you for the honor of your compliment, Jack, but more than that, I thank you for your appreciation of these buildings.

What I like in this one especially , is the "wispering " lights coming from the windows, soft but good enough to light the beautiful repeating forms of arcs and floors. You became such a master of lighting different corners , with varried architectures.

 

They are a wonder because of the high skills of the designers,architects and builders of that time( without the tools we have nowadays....), and because you are "hooked" on the subject , which helped you to look deeper and deeper and photographing for us the wonders of the realm of all of them.

I love the way you've harmonized the lighting with the architecture. The stabs of light on the ground add to the geometry and symmetry in a very effective way. The soft light coming from the distance is very ethereal. There is a columbarium designed by Julia Morgan in Oakland that I have tried to photograph a couple of times. It has rich possibilities but I haven't yet gotten anything I love. After looking at your portfolio, I will go back with many more ideas in my head.

... Pnina, I am indeed "hooked" on these churches and the more I learn, the more I see. That some of this comes out in the photography makes me very proud. I try to honor these places, relics of authentic genius from before the "cult of genius" when society defined how a genius should act and create.

 

Fred, both you and Pnina give me credit for the lighting, and I can only smile. These churches are laboratories of light. They change moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day, and season by season. I have perhaps 2000 exposures of Vezelay alone, perhaps the product of 12 different times shooting there and it has never been the same. Anyway, I look forward to your shots of the columbarium in Oakland, and will keep my eyes posted for them. Again, thank you both for your comments.

I don't give you credit for the lighting (LOL), I give you credit for photographing it so well.

... darn, thought I'd get away with it :) In my old career as a director, I would probably have had the hubris to try to relight one of these buildings.

I think you have well PHOTOGRAPHED the light entering that corner;-)). I will tomorrow try to answer your topic in the forum as well.

See, now this one I absolutely love and as soon as I am done praising it, I will give it the 7/7 it deserves. This one has power. The light is intense and has tons of subtleties playing everywhere on the floor, the walls. This is a magical shot, one that gives me the feeling that this place is special, quiet, almost (if not completely) sacred. It reminds me of when I truly believed in God and makes me miss the believer I once was.

Well, it will not let me rate it because it has NOT been SUBMITTED...

... you know that it is. I have shot their at least 10-12 days over the past several years, will go back again this year. The perfection of this Romanesque masterpiece keeps revealing itself every single time I look. PJ and I will buy a house in this area; our unspoken reason is that we want to be close to La Madeleine. Thanks for your comments from the heart. In my experience, Pascal, it is the best of you.

 

PS. Guess I forgot to submit for critique. I'll do so now.

This basilica atop the hill of Vezelay is a masterpiece. The shots can never do it justice, but

merely show a glimpse of the power and beauty of the church itself. Thanks for your

comments.

Wonderful, great depth and tonal range. I really like the change from the symmetrical foreground to the asymmetrical background.

Well, nothing to add really what you haven't already been told. Just hope I don't get the blame if you never upload another colour one.

It's rated now. I want to mention one thing...the black tonalities are very good in this shot, especially on the floor. You have gotten the contrast and tone just right and it's not oversharpened at all. Regarding the other pictures that you wonder about and which I find superior to the nave in Reims cathedral, it's the shot you have of Sainte Madeleine in vezelay where the light comes from above (B&W version), it's an old picture but it's still your best overall I think. If I had to put one in my living room, it's a toss between the one above, Saint Eutrope with the little blue window at the end (really enlarged, it must be dramatic, spectacular) maybe one that you took out which was a scenery in Provence, I forgot but it looked nice I remember and the cloister of the abbaye de FONTENAY. You have a bunch more which are really good too like abbaye de Fontgombault with the purple light, I mean you are getting to be the best on the subject of church interiors so I was surprised to see that the chosen one for the PN great unwashed was one which include elements that obviously do not belong together. Now, that can be a plus, an intentional schizophrenic touch but the stance of the picture is so conservative...it reminds me of an academic picture...too perfect. I prefer the cleanliness and purity of the shots I picked above. I think you understand. You know what you should do Dennis, if you were to transform the picture of Saint Eutrope into B&W to get rid of the green on the right walls but keep the blue window in color, I'd be curious to see what the response might be. OK back to work for me.

 

... here is the version of Ste. Eutrope you were talking about. Not sure about the result. Question 1: was this what you were thinking about? Question 2: Does it work? Maybe I'm just too much a stickler for the reality of these churches to think out of the box light this, Pascal. I know that's how you look at everything all the time :) Anyway, thanks for the real time that you put into this portfolio and these shots, thinking about them, commenting on them. I value that more than you will ever know.

Dennis, I was thinking about this one

By the way, I am getting PS3. You have a great software for HDR, can you tell which one it is?

Thanks

You make me travel in time, Dennis, with your stunning pictures of churches. Outstanding works.

 

Paolo

I much prefer this pure -actually, almost the purest- B&W image, full of shades of gray, subtle reflections of light, delicate compositional details, all of which lead to the serene emotions that overwhelm the viewer.

No plays with bluish windows at the far end of the image, which are not to my personal liking.

ran across a pbase site that I thought you might fine interesting, wonderful photography http://www.pbase.com/frelaix/st_etienne_du_mont regards, Manuel

... some wonderful shots there, especially the interior panoramas, which I am dying to try next year (although the churches will almost all be too small). I have already started a short correspondence with Fred, thanks to your introduction.