Corner Church #52
Nikon D7000 18-200mm @ 26mm ISO 200 3-bkts f/11 Lr4, HEP1, TpzSim; PsCS5
Straddling the northeast corner of Foothill and Myrtle, the First Presbyterian Church in Monrovia, California projects an image of strength and durability. If I squint my eyes just right, I see archers on the top of the tower aiming their arrows at me. Then in a flash during this Tecnicolor dream, my crimson blood pools on the pavement in the foreground.
Half Dome Church
Nikon D7000 18-200mm @ 80mm ISO 320 3-bkts f/16 Lr4, HEP1, TpzSim; PsCS5
This is Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Rancho Cucamonga, California. This image does not do the dome the justice it deserves, it is quite distinctive and shiny, effectively separating the church effectively from the commercial structures across the street. It is likely impossible that drivers on the adjacent north bound lanes of I-15 will fail to notice this structure. Since many of those drivers are heading up I-15 to Las Vegas they might consider stopping here to offer some prayers for success in the casinos, couldn’t hurt, could it?
Corner Church #202
Nikon D7000 10-24mm @ 24mm ISO 800 3-bkts f/16 Lr3, HEP1, TpzSim; PsCS5
Glendora United Methodist Church, Glendora, California. What caught me eye when I came upon this scene was the placement of the church entrance right on the apex of the corner, I found it quite welcoming, and I also like the proportions of the entire building, how it seems to fit perfectly on the lot and is framed by the mature trees.
Church On The Green
Nikon D7000 18-200mm @ 18mm ISO 250 3-bkts f/16 Lr4, HEP1, TpzSim; PsCS5
A typical winter day in Southern, California. Church of Jesus Christ, Latter Day Saints, on old Route 66 in Glendora, CA; the San Gabriel mountains in the background.
Monument To A Deity
Nikon D7000 10-24mm @ 17mm ISO 800 1/250 f/16 +2EV -2EV Lr4 HEP1, TpzSim; PsCS5
Returning to where this blog left at the beginning of last week, we are back in the city of Glendora, California where we captured another monumental structure, the First Christian Church. As the title of this post implies, on the surface the church building is a monument to the Christian Deity, however, I submit that it is really a monument to the people who founded this church. Those who organized and brought the first congregants together, who raised the funding and navigated through the process of building and furnishing the structure. Given that Christian religions see God as a manifestation of Man, I have to draw the conclusion that while church building’s may serve to celebrate, revere and worship their related Deities, the buildings themselves really serve as a monument to those persons who have successfully promoted the philosophical values embraced by their peer leaders. The people founded, nurtured and sustained the church, not some mystic Deity.
I am intrigued by the dark tones of the windows and other structural elements against the stark whiteness of the concrete structure, it really leaves me with a feeling of severity. Kind of like the severity of a religious zealot obsessed with punishing those who might transgress the moral standards of the zealot.
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Church At The End Of The Lane
Nikon D7000 10-24mm @ 24mm ISO 400 3-bkts f/16 Lr3, HEP1, TpzSim; PsCS5
Lincoln Avenue Methodist Church had its cornerstone laid on September 21, 1897 at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and North Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena, California, which was surrounded by orange groves at the time; a U.S. Postal facility now stands where the church originally stood. In 1981 the church was cut up in to six pieces and moved to Heritage Square in Los Angeles.
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“And the sun shall shine upon it.”
Nikon D7000 17-200mm @ 32mm ISO 320 3-bkts f/16 Lr3, HEP1, TpzSim; PsCS5
The quote in the title is not from the Bible, as far as I know, I just made it up as it seemed to fit the image. The is the First Church of Christ Scientist in Pasadena, California. My intent in capturing the building from this location on the south side with the sun illuminating the dome and from this angle was to convey how monumental this building feels to me. The odd thing is that while this is a landmark building, it has been real easy to miss. It is situated on the corner of Green Street and South Oakland Avenue, a block south of the somewhat larger thoroughfare, Colorado Boulevard. Green Street is also lined on both sides with mature tress, so while we have frequently passed by here as we have traversed Green Street, this gem of a building had gone largely unnoticed to me, until we got out of the car and were walking the street.
It was almost 4:00 P.M. on a November day when I captured this image and the light from the sun was turning golden, still lighting up the dome while the lower structure was in shadow. The golden tones on the dome together with the orange tones on the row of trees in the right foreground are probably indicative of the only hints we get of a fall season in Southern California.
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Get Your Worship On At Son Light Christian Center
Nikon D7000 10-24mm @17mm ISO 800 3-bkts f/16 Lr3, HEP1, TpzSim; PsCS5
I like the theatrical feeling of this house of worship, given that it was once a cinema that is an easy enough leap to make. I brightened the cross substantially, and part of the marque. The sun was directly behind the building, so that halo was unavoidable, but I think, given the scene, it fits perfectly.
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