sunday stills - architecture

This week's Sunday Stills challenge was architecture. I decided early in the week that I would try and capture this theme by shooting churches. Sophie and I don't follow one particular faith, but have an appreciation for the power and beauty of all of them....a power and beauty that is often reflected in the architecture of different places of worship.


Church of Our Lady

We headed out on a road trip early Saturday morning in search of churches in Southern Ontario. Sophie rode shotgun and the sun was shining, all the right country tunes were blasting from the radio and the coffee was made just right. We had stopped half a dozen times to shoot various sizes and styles of churches and were starting our route back when we saw her....away in the distance and I knew we had one more location to hit.


sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows


detailed arch above the front door

This is the Church of Our Lady in Guelph, Ontario...sitting atop a hill and watching over the city. She took my breath away. My camera could not do her justice. The rising peaks and detailed arches, the colourful stained glass windows, the sheer reverence of her. Sophie and I sat on her front steps after we finished shooting and my eyes wandered over the horizon and the city below. I thought about how many people must have found comfort within the walls of this church over the last hundred years and more...about how many times that front door swung open as a groom and his new bride took their first steps into their new life together or about how many times that front door closed behind a congregation gathered to say final good-byes to a loved one.


front steps and doorway

The architecture was magnificent....but I sensed that the foundation of this church was not built on bricks and mortar, but on the solace, love, and joy found here by the human spirit.