Post your church shots

Needa

Senior Member
Challenge Team
Last summer traveling in Galicia (North-West of Spain) and my way crossed this little church.
If you would like to insert your images full size.
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Blue439

New member
The cathedral of Fréjus (2022)

The coastal city of Fréjus is part of the French Riviera, on the Mediterranean coast. Historically, it was the place of a bishopric, today Fréjus shares it with the much larger city of Toulon, where the actual seat of the bishop has been moved.

In Fréjus there remains an episcopal group attesting to the very early presence of Christians: first a paleo-Christian baptistry built during the 400s and the second oldest in France after the Saint-Jean baptistry of Poitiers. I visited and photographed the latter, but unfortunately, when I went to Fréjus in June 2022, the former was closed for restoration and thus out of bounds. Second, a very interesting cathedral with two parallel naves, one of them Romanesque, the other originally paleo-Christian but completely remodeled during Gothic times and therefore of no particular interest to me. I am already glad that the Romanesque nave was mostly left alone, as there are not many Romanesque cathedrals still in existence in France.

Measuring a good 12 meters in width, this nave built around 1150 gives a powerful impression of strength and solidity. The high windows were of course remodeled during Gothic times, but aside from that, the nave is just as it was when it was built almost 900 years ago!

Nikon Z7 II, Nikkor 19mm ƒ/4 PC-E tilt-shift lens, manual focus. Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head. Natural light.

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Blue439

New member
Great stone work in the ceiling.
Yes, you are quite right !

... and now...

Have a guess ! (2022)

What gave it away? The absolute stark nakedness of it all, or the sheer perfection of the masonry?

Well, you guessed right, this is indeed one of ’em most austere Cistercian abbey churches, more precisely the one in Le Thoronet in Provence, one of the famous “Three Sisters of Provence”, the other two being Sénanque and Silvacane.

Nikon Z7 II, Nikkor 19mm, ƒ/4 PC-E tilt-shift lens, manual focus, FTZ II adapter. Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head. Natural light.

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Blue439

New member
The Madonna del Poggio in Saorge (2022)

In the border region between France and Italy, near the towns of Menton (France) and Ventimiglia (Italy), the Alps come right up to the Mediterranean coastline and fall very sharply into the sea, with few very narrow and enclosed valleys. It can take quite a long time to drive between villages that can almost see each other and would be quite close if one were traveling as the bird flies.

In the minuscule village of Saorge, the small Romanesque church known as the Madonna del Poggio (“Madonna of the Well”) was built around 1050. Its most striking part is its amazing, tall and thin bell tower that can be seen for miles up and down the valley, its blond stones contrasting with the lush vegetation. As you can see in this photo, this proud tower stands just like an Italian campanile, next to the church, attached to it but not integrated within its structure. Depending on how you count, it numbers seven or eight levels, which is truly outstanding for anything built shortly after Year 1000, and in such an out-of-the-way locale.

If, at the time, I’d had the AI-powered version of Photoshop, I would have been able to “disappear” the two ugly cars that pollute my photo. Sometimes, I am tempted to go back and re-process some old photos, although I have made it a rule not to do that!

Nikon Z7 II, Nikkor 19mm, ƒ/4 PC-E tilt-shift lens. Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head. Natural light.

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Blue439

New member
Romanesque Burgundy (2022)

In spite of limited technical and financial means, the village church in Farges-lès-Mâcon has been beautifully proportioned and designed, most likely by people sent from the abbey in Tournus —you wil notice the striking similarities in the round, small-apparel pillars. It dates from around 1050 and is dedicated to saint Barthélemy (Saint Bartholomew in English). Unfortunately, it also sports the usual, ugly-as-sin 19th century Stations of the Cross pictures.

Nikon Z7 II, Nikkor 19mm, ƒ/4 PC-E tilt-shift lens, manual focus, FTZ II adapter. Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head.

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Blue439

New member
The abbey of Montmajour in Provence (2022)

Near the Provençal city of Arles, there once was a very large marsh, a bit like those in nearby Camargue, from which emerged one solitary hill, which by contrast with the very flat land around, was named by the Romans Mons majoris (the “Major Mount”). It was the only dry, island-like place for miles.

From the earliest days of Christianity in Provence, one or two eremitic figures came to live there in caves.

In October 949, Teucinda, a rich widow from the Burgundy aristocracy who had come to live in Provence, bought the Mons Majoris island from the bishop of Arles and founded a monastery to be governed by the rule of Saint Benedict. The hermits became the first monks. Donations from local lords to the new abbey poured in, and the monastery became so famous and powerful that, as soon as the early 1000s, it was chosen as their final resting place by the counts of Provence.

Dedicated to Saint Peter, the abbey counted as many as 56 priories in the 13th century, and Benedictine monks remained at Montmajour until the French Revolution. It was listed as a Historic Landmark on the very first list of 1840.

Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the abbey church we can still see today was built between 1130 and 1180 over a previous church built around Year 1000, the remains of which constitute the crypt-like “lower church”. The tower on the left was built for defense purposes around 1365–70, and was part of the abbot’s residence.

Nikon Z7 II, Nikkor 19mm, ƒ/4 PC-E tilt-shift lens, manual focus, FTZ II adapter. Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head. Natural light. Post-processed with Nik Software’s ColorEfex Pro 4.

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Blue439

New member
The abbey of Montmajour in Provence (2022)

Nadir photograph of the cul-de-four vaulting over the apse in the Romanesque abbey church of Montmajour. For this shot I had to lower the tripod as much as it could go, just a few centimeters off the ground. Even with the orientating back LCD screen on the Z7 II, framing and manual focusing the lens were not a breeze! That’s when my wife says I roll onto my belly and crawl all over those churches to get myself as dirty and as covered in the centuries’ dust as I possibly can... :D :rolleyes:

Nikon Z7 II, Nikkor 19mm, ƒ/4 PC-E tilt-shift lens, manual focus, FTZ II adapter. Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head. Natural light.

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Robin W

Senior Member
The cathedral of Fréjus (2022)

The coastal city of Fréjus is part of the French Riviera, on the Mediterranean coast. Historically, it was the place of a bishopric, today Fréjus shares it with the much larger city of Toulon, where the actual seat of the bishop has been moved.

In Fréjus there remains an episcopal group attesting to the very early presence of Christians: first a paleo-Christian baptistry built during the 400s and the second oldest in France after the Saint-Jean baptistry of Poitiers. I visited and photographed the latter, but unfortunately, when I went to Fréjus in June 2022, the former was closed for restoration and thus out of bounds. Second, a very interesting cathedral with two parallel naves, one of them Romanesque, the other originally paleo-Christian but completely remodeled during Gothic times and therefore of no particular interest to me. I am already glad that the Romanesque nave was mostly left alone, as there are not many Romanesque cathedrals still in existence in France.

Measuring a good 12 meters in width, this nave built around 1150 gives a powerful impression of strength and solidity. The high windows were of course remodeled during Gothic times, but aside from that, the nave is just as it was when it was built almost 900 years ago!

Nikon Z7 II, Nikkor 19mm ƒ/4 PC-E tilt-shift lens, manual focus. Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head. Natural light.

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I am always amazed at the craftsmanship and precision of our ancestors who did not have power tools. Those arches are incredible!
 

Blue439

New member
I am always amazed at the craftsmanship and precision of our ancestors who did not have power tools. Those arches are incredible!
So am I, believe me...! Sometimes I even wonder about, maybe not some actual help, but at least some inspiration from “Above”...
 

Clovishound

Senior Member
When you don't have the luxury of power tools, you learn how to do as efficiently as as possible with the tools at hand. I was into woodworking for a while and became enamored of the old hand tools. Sure, the table saw and router table is quick, but you can do almost anything with a hand saw, chisels, and hand planes that you can do with the power tools. It just takes longer, and requires some skills.
 

Blue439

New member
A cathedral from before Year 1000 (2022)

The Notre-Dame of Nazareth Cathedral has been standing in the Provençal city of Vaison-la-Romaine since late Carolingian times, before Year 1000. Most of its outside structure dates back from that ancient period. It is, to my knowledge, the oldest cathedral still in existence. Of course, it had to be replaced by a more “modern” one in the 16th century, but the city center having moved in the meantime, it was built in a different location and this venerable monument was thus spared.

Listed on the very first list of Historic Landmarks drawn up in 1840, Notre-Dame of Nazareth is an astounding and wonderful mix of Merovingian and Romanesque, with some Gothic parts thrown in.

Nikon Z7 II, Nikkor 19mm ƒ/4 PC-E tilt-shift lens, manual focus. Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head. Natural light, single exposure. Post-processed with Nik Software’s ColorEfex Pro 4.

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Blue439

New member
The Saint-Trophime Cathedral in Arles (2022)

Clearly inspired by Roman architecture and sculpture, the cathedral church of Arles (southern France) was built from around 1100. Its world-famous portal (well, famous in the world of Mediævalists, that is...), shown below, is from around 1180. Respect and admiration for the Antiquity were very strong back then, and this being the south of France, Roman monuments were numerous, and probably still in quite passable condition.

The cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage site as part of the Paths to Compostela: the Via Tolosana starts here.

Nikon Z7 II, Nikkor 19mm, ƒ/4 PC-E tilt-shift lens, manual focus, FTZ II adapter. Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head. Natural light.

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Blue439

New member
The Saint-Trophime Cathedral in Arles (2022)

Still in the cathedral church of Arles, this is a photograph of an amazingly sculpted sarcophagus from the times of early Christendom during the Late Antiquity in Provence (around Year 300).

This one I took with the lens tilted 2.5 degrees sideways, so as to have the whole length of the sarcophagus in acceptable focus.

Nikon Z7 II, Micro-Nikkor 45mm, ƒ/2.8 D ED macro lens, manual focus, FTZ II adapter. Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head. Natural light, single exposure.

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Blue439

New member
Saint Donat in Provence (2022)

Standing all alone on its hilltop in Upper Provence, Saint-Donat is a Romanesque church built around 1030 on the site of Donat’s hermitage, also his place of death. A pilgrimage appeared and grew around the locale. Built on a basilican floor plan with one central nave and aisles, Saint-Donat is among the oldest churches in Provence, and one I never managed to see on the inside, in spite of two trips there...! Must organize myself better! :rolleyes:

Nikon Z7 II, Micro-Nikkor 85mm, ƒ/2.8 D ED macro tilt-shift lens, manual focus, FTZ II adapter. Handheld, natural light. Post-processed with Nik Software’s ColorEfex Pro 4.

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Blue439

New member
The priory of Rosans (2022)

Ruined Benedictine priory in a village of Upper Provence. Look at the thickness of those walls! It was nevertheless destroyed during the Wars of Religion between Catholics and Protestants, which in France lasted roughly from 1550 to 1650.

The photo is not very good, the light was harsh and not well oriented, so I show it for documentation purposes mostly.

Nikon Z7 II, Nikkor Z 24-120mm, ƒ4 S lens, handheld.

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This one of the same priory is much better “artistically” (if I daresay so!), but it only shows a detail and will not speak to a non-specialized audience (I think!).

Nikon Z7 II, Micro-Nikkor 85mm, ƒ/2.8 D ED macro lens, manual focus, FTZ II adapter. Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head. Natural light.

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Blue439

New member
Truncated (2022)

The cloister of the Cistercian abbey of Silvacane in Provence. I rotated and tilted the lens to place the focus plane on the low wall and bring the focus on the stump of the column, throwing the rest out of focus (or at least, that was the initial idea...!).

Nikon Z7 II, Micro-Nikkor 45mm, ƒ/2.8 D ED tilt-shift macro lens, manual focus, FTZ II adapter. Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head. Natural light, single exposure.

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Blue439

New member
A Procession in Stone (2022)

The façade of the abbey church of Saint-Gilles in southern France is a veritable open book of sculpture, telling in images many of the most essential stories of Christianity for the benefit of the illiterate crowds of pilgrims. I could post dozens of photos illustrating those various episodes. This one, making the most of the space offered by a lintel, depicts the procession of Christ and His followers entering Jerusalem.

Of course, all the faces were hacked away by barbarians during the French Revolution. The quality of the sculpture is amazing for the early 1100s. Too bad I cannot upload a photo larger than 1,200 pixels. On the 16,000–pixel original TIFF file, the details are mind-blowing...!

Nikon Z7 II. This is a 2–shot panorama composite, and the PTGui software I used to stitch them stripped away the EXIF, but the lens used was the Nikkor Z 100-400mm, ƒ/4.5-5.6 S on the usual Gitzo tripod with the Benro geared head.

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