Sacre Coeur

Sacre Coeur basilica, located in the Montmartre district in Paris.



Another photo tomorrow...

Prayer Candles

Prayer candles, Notre Dame de Paris cathedral, Paris.

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Joan of Arc

Statue of St Joan of Arc, inside Notre Dame de Paris cathedral, Paris.

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Door of the Judgement

This shot is close-in detail of the Door of the Judgement which is on the west facade of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Since most people were illiterate at the time when Notre Dame was built, the builders told Biblical stories in the artwork and sculptures.

In the center toward the top of the picture, you can see Christ seated on the Throne of Judgement surrounded by his angels. Just below the throne are the ranks of the dead--to the left side as you're looking at it (on Jesus' right) are the saints who look up toward him, with an angel at the end of the line. On the right side (Jesus' left) are those who are damned--pulling a rope representing eternal toil, with a demon at the end of the rope. Below this level are those who are in purgatory. The whole scene is surrounded by the ranks of angels who look on in wonder and amazement.

This is a near-perfect representation of the Biblical description of God's final judgement of mankind as described in the Book of Revelation. Even if you're not a Christian, you still have to admire the skill of the masons and sculptors who made this, and the skill and devotion of those who have preserved from the wear and tear of weather, pollution, etc. Hope you enjoy.

Another photo tomorrow...

Notre Dame

This is a beautiful stained glass rose window in the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. I took this on a visit there in May of 2005.

The window faces north-northeast, and so it catches part of the sunrise. Churches of this era, and long before, were generally arranged in an east-to-west setting--the altar in the east, the nave in the west. Therefore this window would normally face due north--but because of the way the cathedral sits on the Île de la Cité, the church is slightly skewed and the altar points slightly east-southeast.

The picture really doesn't do justice to the window and, because of both conditions and my so-so photographic skills at the time, it required a pretty hefty dose of Photoshopping (yes, I know "Photoshop" is a noun not a verb...still...). Nonetheless, I like the result.

Another picture tomorrow...

Au milieu de Paris...

This image was shot on my first trip to Paris in the summer of 1999. I'd been enamored with Paris ever since taking 3 years of French in high school, and being there for the first time 15 years after graduation was a dream come true. This photo looked really good in its original color, but I feel like the black and white version has more impact.

Paris has hundreds of statues like this stashed in out of the way places all over the city. I couldn't tell you who this is, and I doubt I could ever find it again--the picture is a metaphor for those ephemeral moments in life that come and go so quickly, and try as you might you just can't capture them again.

I didn't know it at the time, but it turns out that this was the same day that JFK Jr. and his wife died in a plane crash. I got back to my hotel and it was all over CNN and the French news channels.

Another photo tomorrow...