In honor of her twelfth birthday today, here are twelve captures of Elisabeth.

While photographing in downtown Salt Lake City last week with a couple of friends (Harley & Diane), we came across this very unique lighting. Here is Harley’s description of the reflection that made this shot special:

“This building was entirely in the shade of another building. All the light is a reflection off a glass building behind and to the right (of the camera). The sun is setting behind and to the left.”

Capturing the light as we saw it with our eyes was very difficult. The reflection appeared to be almost fluid-like on the side of the building pictured here. It was a pretty cool scene.

care▪free [kair-free] -adjective 1. without anxiety or worry.

“Neither rain nor hail nor sleet nor snow nor heat of day nor dark of night shall keep this carrier from the swift completion of his appointed rounds.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Today’s capture was made in an attempt to illustrate a bible passage in a photograph. After taking some low-light photos of my daughter Sarah with an iPod last week (example here), I had the idea of creating a shot depicting a glow emanating from within a Bible.

Tech Notes
To create the shot I positioned Sarah (dressed in black) on a stool in a completely dark room. The glow lighting her face was created by taping an iPod carefully to a page in the center of the bible. To add a subtle light to the exterior of the book, I placed another electronic device (this one a Gameboy) on a stool just below Sarah. The 3.2 second exposure was then tripped via remote release with the camera on a tripod.

This capture was made on the western shore of Utah Lake in Saratoga Springs, Utah. The low afternoon sun really accentuated the mountain’s features with the dramatic shadows it created. While the many shades of blue I saw while taking this shot stood out boldly against the white snow (click here for a color example), the black & white version of the scene creates a timeless presentation.

Your thoughts?

I spent some time yesterday in the Cathedral of the Madeleine with a couple friends. It’s truly a beautiful and magnificent building. The photography was a bit challenging, but the results definitely warranted the effort. Next time I’m going to try some HDR (high dynamic range) captures to enhance the lighting of the interior in the photographs.

About the Cathedral

The Cathedral of the Madeleine is a Roman Catholic Church in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was completed in 1909, and currently serves as the cathedral, or mother church, of the Diocese of Salt Lake City.

The cathedral was built under the direction of the Lawrence Scanlan, first bishop of Salt Lake. It was designed by architects Carl M. Newhausen and Bernard O. Mecklenburg. The outside is predominately a Neo-Romanesque design, while the inside tends more toward the Neo-Gothic. Construction began in 1900 and was completed in 1909. It was dedicated by James Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore.

The interior of the cathedral was created under the direction of Joseph S. Glass, the second bishop of Salt Lake. Bishop Glass enlisted John Theodore Comes, one of the preeminant architects in the country, to decorate the interior of the cathedral. His plans for the interior were largely based upon the Spanish Gothic style. The colorful murals and polychrome were added at this time, as were the ornate shrines.

Between 1991 and 1993, the cathedral was renovated and restored under Bishop William K. Weigand. This included not only the removal of dust and dirt and restoration of the interior, but also changes to the liturgical elements of the cathedral to bring them into conformity with the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. This included building a new altar, moving the bishop’s chair, providing a separate chapel for the Blessed Sacrament, and adding a more ample baptismal font.

(source: Wikipedia)

“Records…8-Tracks…cassettes…what’re those?” – Welcome to the digital music generation.

This black & white capture was taken in the Salt Lake City cemetery overlooking the city on a hazy day. I found the cemetery very interesting with so many notable Utahns laid to rest there. The headstones read like a Who’s Who of Utah history.