Easter 2009, a photo from District of Columbia, South

Photographer's Note

Easter 2009

Pictured here is the high alter in the Washington National Cathedral. Fresh flowers adorn it and the 83,000 square feet of the Cathedral抯 interior space. On Saturday, the day before Easter, altar guild volunteers busily work on transporting, grouping and arranging thousands of flowers to decorate as many as twenty areas and chapels in the Cathedral.

The Cathedral, completed in 1990, is the second largest Gothic cathedral in the United States and the sixth largest in the world. It is made mostly of Indiana limestone. One of the more than 200 stained glass windows in the Cathedral has a rock from the moon embedded in the center. A number of wood carvings, statues, tapestries, and other works of art enhance the beauty of this magnificent church.

The top of the National Cathedral is the highest point in Washington, D.C. and the third tallest building. Because the Cathedral is built on Mount St. Alban, very high ground, it can be seen from many places in the city and surrounding area and appears taller than other buildings.

The view from the balcony of the church.

windosil, Vasa, paura, ciakgiak, Philippe, Jakab, trekks, belido, bona, edcone, edcone, kordinator has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

windosil (1158) 2009-04-29 3:04

The thumbnail gives no inkling of the richness and intricacy of this splendid place. Beautifully captured.
Best wishes,
Winifred

jmdias (116307) 2009-04-29 8:07

betty

amazing artwork and very nice addorned by these flowers. perfect this soft light you got to show us a so beautiful place. perfect job, congratulations.
I thought that the top of capitolium was the higher point in Washington.. in Brasilia, the national congress is the highest building, no one can be built higher than it.

hugs

jorge

Vasa (515) 2009-04-30 2:22

Hi Betty, friend,

nice dedication to Ester. Your choice end realization is on the level of the subject. The architecture is there for centuries and for admiration. The fresh flowers are for soul. We are always weak in front of such colorful spectacle. I like it and happy to see you again, friendly

Branko

batalay (41261) 2009-04-30 6:03

Hello Betty,

What an amazing architectural and artistic portrait you have produced inside the National Cathedral. The carvings are exquisite, as beautiful as any I've seen in Europe. The flowers are arranged masterfully, and the backdrop created by the dark wooden carvings makes this image a veritable classic. Of course, from the photographic point of view, the image overflows with all the aspects of flawless composition, and effective light management, resulting in the vivid colors and textures. Absolutely spectacular work! Congratulations.

Warm regards. Have a good weekend.

Bulent

paura (25802) 2009-04-30 9:56

Betty,
The composition is supperb here! Colors are beautiful, lighting is perfect and the vivid details are really harmonic from your excellent point of view. Very well done!

regards

Paulo

sacimar (38173) 2009-04-30 11:33

Hi Betty,

beautiful image, this cathedral looks impressive, the details you show are very interesting, great colours and light, well done!

My best regards

Sergio

ciakgiak (30) 2009-05-01 13:29

Hello Betty,
splendid image of this cathedral with great details and incredible sharpness. The POV is really perfect to appreciate this, great colours and light also, well done!
My best regards
Giorgio

Philippe (11836) 2009-05-02 6:08

Hi, Betty. The flowers add a nice splash of colours in the picture. They stand out very well against the light stone. There are good architectural details in the background.
Have a nice weekend,
Philippe

Jakab (3867) 2009-05-02 13:12

Hello Betty,
I do not really like the neo-styles. I think architecture is an authentic art only if using the technique (actual knowledge statics and materials) and expressing the general view of life of the era. It would be very easy to build a new Parthenon, for example, of steel concrete by means of moderns cranes - only absolutely senseless since the original is a proof for the human talent which was capable to create a beautiful building of hard marble even in lack of modern machines. And exactly that is why Parthenon is so valuable for the overall human culture.
But the Washington National Cathedral is an exception in my view. Not only because the architects tried to use as little modern material as possible and to follow strictly the rules of Gothic. I suspect here a sign of adherence to the European cultural roots. Finally, almost every capital has a magnificient Gothic cathedral, why just the American should be an exception, especially regarding the fact that the American architecture has already prooved so many times its talent, taste and originality.
Anyway, the photo is excellent showing equally perfectly the fine details of the (by the way beautiful) white marble carvings and the rich ornament of the wooden arches in the background.
Congratulations!
Laszlo

trekks (14348) 2009-05-02 16:32

hi Betty

Oh this full view looks much more impressive than the thumbnail! A fine work of architecture and art with flowers to give good color mix and contrast. Perhaps I would like to see more at the top but you have done nicely to show sharp detail and good clarity which is most important for this kind of work.

Nice job.

tfs, bill

belido (19934) 2009-05-04 7:09

Hi Betty,

there is a nice combination between the flowers, the majestic arquitecture and the details of the sculpture. You found a good angle and framed it perfectly. Beautiful one!
Regards,
Carlos

bracasha75 (24591) 2009-05-05 13:37

Helo Betty
I like this shot and i must say you that i have long time not seen so sharp and pretzious work
Very very good
TFS
Cheers,Braca

berek (50518) 2009-05-06 20:43

Hi Betty,
incredible details . I love beautiful flowers and your framing here. thanks for your note.
Greetings.
Burak

bona (15057) 2009-05-07 10:35

The details of the sculpture are very pretty. The iron (?) arcs at the background are very impressive too. This church seems a beautiful place to visit.
thanks
Andre

danyy (0) 2009-05-08 23:51

Bonjour Betty,
bien symbolique des f^tes de p鈗ues, qui sont bien entendu religieuses.
Une photo avec de tr鑣 jolies couleurs et tr鑣 bien cadr閑.
Excellent week-end.
Daniel.

kordinator (8738) 2010-08-29 8:08

Hello Betty
Excellent composition great depth of focus.
Beautiful architecture, great angle.
Every detail is really great clarity and sharpness.
Natural colors, the light perfect.
High-quality photos.
Respect
Sa歛