Photography has really shifted how I view the world. It’s like a window into new experiences and a way to revisit familiar places. Take my island, New Caledonia, for example. This blog is where I share my perspective on the world through my photography. I hope you find it enjoyable!
SAINT MARY'S AISLE
Sydney
At the time I took this photo, I wasn’t sure I was permitted to photograph the interior. Some religious establishments don’t allow this. I thought the colloquially St Mary’s Cathedral would be no exception. Officially, it is the Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians and is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and the seat of the Archbishop of Sydney, currently Anthony Fisher OP. More interesting reading over on Wikipedia.
St. Mary’s Cathedral is absolutely gorgeous inside and out. I remember having a hard time finding a good composition outside to photograph. I was just getting into photography back then. The inside was a different story. Firstly, though I wanted to photograph the interior, I had no idea if I was allowed. Then, as soon as I walked in, the grandeur of the place pushed me to take this obvious composition. The cathedral was empty, not a soul in sight, I quickly checked outside to be sure nobody was coming. I was alone. I quickly setup my tripod, framed, took three bracketed exposures and quickly packed up my gear. Now the mistake I made was to have zoomed in too much and compose horizontally instead of vertically. I can’t remember why I did that but if I hadn’t I would’ve had a lot more scene within the frame. I was inexperienced and didn’t want to get caught though I found later that photographs were allowed inside the cathedral. Oh well, next time I’m in Sydney I give it another shot.
The photo was taken with the Fujifilm FinePix S9500, a bridge camera I had bought just before coming to New Caledonia. When used within it’s limits, the camera can produce good quality images, though a little on the soft side. I can’t recommend it as it has been superseded and there are much better cameras now for the same price.
OK, take care and hope to see you for the next post.
ST. JOSEPH CATHEDRAL
My little cousin's baptism was held at the St. Joseph Cathedral at the beginning of April. I'm lucky it was held then because they're closing at the end of the month for some much needed renovations and I had never been inside it. The cathedral is just magnificent! Inside and out. I was asked if I could snap a few photos of the ceremony for souvenir and I'm glad they did otherwise I may not have brought my camera inside with me. One thing I love to do is show the environment where the event is taking place. They chose the St. Joseph Cathedral for a reason. Thus why not show the grandiosity of it's architecture. These are just a handful of photos taken before and after the ceremony (with a couple of exceptions). I wish I had more time and my tripod. I would have taken more detail shots and angles, and I think the photos would've been of better quality too.
St. Joseph Cathedral is located in Noumea (New caledonia) on the east side of the city and just above it's skyline. If you'd like to know more on the cathedral, here is a link to it's Wikipedia article.
