Mystery and St. Micheal's

It wasn't my intention to make a foreboding and mysterious photograph when I stopped at St. Micheal's Catholic Church near Iowa City. But both words are appropriate for this shot.

I think mystery is appropriate for any artistic project with a religious theme. Despite the best efforts of our many belief systems, there is something about the nature of the Divine that resists the best efforts of our prying and curious minds. The darker tonal values and the grave markers contribute both to the foreboding and mystery in this photo. The sense of mystery is heightened by the ambiguous figure at the extreme right.

What caught my eye in this scene was the afternoon light illuminating the windows. But two issues created problems. One was perspective. Standing close to the windows so that no markers were in the way created severe perspective distortion. Standing a little further back didn't fully correct the situation and introduced the second problem of markers intruding on the composition.

My solution (that I'm not entirely happy with) was to incorporate the markers into the composition. I used the three tall markers on the left and the mysterious marker on the right to create a frame for the two windows. This viewpoint down slope from the church also created a rich addition of tones found in the weathered wall of the church and the markers.

While shooting, I was pleasantly interrupted by Harold, a member of the church and part of the Friends of Old St. Micheal's group that maintains the church. He graciously let me in to look around in the sanctuary and also added an interesting historical tidbit. Former residents of every county in Ireland are buried in the graveyard. Meeting great people like Harold and discovering more about these fascinating churches have been a real treat.