10-27-09 An Act of Devotion

Gothic architecture was revolutionary in the 12th century because it allowed for very tall structures with relatively thin walls. And thin walls meant plenty of windows and lots of light. Compared to previous styles, Gothic architecture was light and airy but to inhabitants of the 21st century, these places are dark.

And the darkness makes this photo what it is, since the main lighting is the soft light reflecting up into the faces of the two men attending to the votive candles. In the medieval mindset, light warded off evil, so even a single candle made a dark place safer and more holy.

Canon 5D 1/60s f/1.2 ISO500 50mm

04-24-09 Japanese Temple - Kyoto

Something just occurred to me as I was trying to figure out what to write about this photo: I have taken around 75,000 digital photos over the last 6 years and when I look at them, I can remember a remarkable number of details about the circumstances surrounding each photograph. Why is that?

My answer has to do with flow, a theory developed by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. Flow "is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity."

In a crude way, my "focus" while taking photographs reminds me of golfers like Jack Nicklaus and other athletes and coaches who can remember amazingly precise details about every shot they hit or plays they made in games performed 20 and 30 years ago.

No, I am not Jack Nicklaus, nor was meant to be. :-) But I can get focused once and a while. When do you achieve flow?

Canon 1DII 1/80s f/1.8 ISO800 50mm (35mm eq:65mm)

03-16-09 St. Peter's Basilica - Rome

Visiting St. Peter's is an overwhelming experience and I'm guessing that the architects had that in mind when they planned this massive place. The dome that appears in this photo was designed by Michelangelo, but sadly he died before its completion. The structure with the darker, bronze pillars rising from the left corner of the photo is called the baldacchino, and was designed by Bernini. It is close to 10 stories tall (98 ft.). That, alone, give you a sense of the scale of the dome.

On the technical side, this camera and lens combination was the first time I was truly amazed by the capabilities of the Canon 5D. I shot with a high ISO and low shutter speed to get this shot and I was impressed by how little digital noise that showed up in the photo and how sharp the photo is - in spite of shooting without a tripod at 1/40 of a second.

Canon 5D Canon f/4.0 1/40 Canon 17-24mm 4.0L (17mm) ISO 1000