August Photo Contest Discussion: Religious Buildings

Pressed for time due to a full house of kids, grandkids, and cats, I decided to go with a general theme. Everyone has photos of religious buildings, so architectural variety is guaranteed. Just a reminder—I’m asking for exterior shots only, either wide-angle or detailed views.

Phanom Rung, Thailand Wat Phra Keo, Bangkok

Abu Simbel

Quimper

Venice

Istanbul

Khiva, Uzbekistan

Joapira Bell Tower, El Hierro



Thanks, Lightroom...

The Church of Săpânța and its Merry Cemetery (Maramureș region, Romania)

Another church in Maramureș

Brasília Cathedral

Saint George of Lalibela

Golden Temple in Amritsar

Wat Muang Kang in Champasak

Panagia Theoskepasti Church in Santorini

Blue Mosque in Istanbul

St. Olaf's Church in Tallinn

In Nepal, there are so many religious buildings—you can’t even count them all! Nyatapola Temple in Bhaktapur

Not far from my place in the Vercors, you can see an Orthodox monastery in the Combe Laval near Saint-Laurent-en-Royans.



There’s also an Orthodox church in Saint-Jean-en-Royans. And... a Buddhist monastery! (Tibetan Studies Center of Montchardon in Izeron)

St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican

Mauritian Trilogy

Hi Noëlle

Congrats on your win! 🙂 ... and good luck (and some good times too 😉) with all your various invasions.

Are cloisters accepted as religious buildings?

Basilique Saint Pierre, Vatican



I really love this photo, Agnès 👍 You should’ve posted it in the contest 😊

Trilogie Mauricienne

Another one 😉







And its Réunionese neighbor



(the lava stopped right at the church entrance—it’s a sign! 😏)

Awesome! This theme is going to get a lot of entries—already some really beautiful ones in this thread! 😊

I’m posting this one that won the November 2019 contest... it was one of my first entries! 😊

Convent of Saint Anthony of Padua in Izamal (Mexico)

I don’t recognize the first one? (Mauritius)

I’ll wait a bit until I’ve dug through my archives before posting! ;)

Since the last contest was in 2019, I’ll check later. Or dig through my film photos...🤪

I had to dig through my photos (my organization wasn't great back then 😇 ... and I didn't keep a travel journal). So: the Shiva Temple in Triolet (which I noted had just been repainted, at least)

Gorgeous!

I don’t know why, but mine are way less impressive 🤪😏



Anyway, I’m also digging through my folders and this time I’ve got some stock 😎

Yeah, I think this theme’s gonna make a lot of people happy 😊

Campanario de Joapira, El Hierro



Thanks Lightroom...

Are these the natural colors? Brrr, it looks like Dracula’s lair 😕

Masjid Samek Mosque. I won’t insult you by asking where it’s located 😛

Masjid Samek Mosque. I won’t insult you by asking where it is 😛



Well, I would’ve gotten zero on that question! When you’ve never been there… when you’ve never even heard of it 😕

The photo and its surroundings remind me of Kuala Lumpur, but the name doesn't ring a bell, so no certainty 😇

And can anyone tell me where this one is located? There’s someone here who should know. 😏

Yes, the steps are red and the sand is black.

On a sunny day, it must be less gloomy!

Masjid Samek Mosque. I won’t insult you by asking where it’s located 😛



It looks like a miniature fountain version—could this be in Las Vegas?

Yes, the stands are red and the sand is black.

In sunny weather, it must be less gloomy!

Why Lightroom, then (I thought you had edited the colors)?

No, it's more like the sky that was edited.

Masjid Samek Mosque. I won’t insult you by asking where it’s located 😛



Well, I’d have gotten zero on that question! When you’ve never been there... when you’ve never even heard of it 😕

Take a good look at the photo [;]

The photo and its surroundings remind me of Kuala Lumpur, but the name doesn't ring a bell, so no certainty 😇

Like Port-Salut cheese, it's 😏written right there

I had to zoom in a lot to see it (once you pointed it out) .... and I was right anyway 😛

Icelandic churches

A few mountain churches: La chapelle des pépètes (Saint Bonnet en Champsaur)

The church of Saint Véran:



At the Col des Ânes (toward Le Grand Bornand):

At Les Confins (toward La Clusaz) Near Vaujany (this is an old photo—I didn’t note the exact location):

And who here can tell me where this one is? There’s someone here who should know. 😏



It looks like Greece (though I’m not sure...) but where exactly?

Icelandic churches are so varied! 🙂

This looks like Greece (though...), but where exactly?

Hi there, No, it's St. Michael's Church in Berat (Albania), but it could indeed have been in Greece. It's crazy—I was in Vaujany the day before yesterday, well, just below at L'Enversin d'Oz. I didn’t really pay attention to the churches. I quite like the one in St. Bonnet in Champsaur!

Ste. Marguerie Chapel in Combovin (Vercors, Drôme)—very simple!

Near Vaujany (this is old, I didn’t note exactly where):



Actually, for the one you think is near Vaujany, the AI suggests: Église Saint-Jacques-de-Tarentaise: A Catholic church built between 1950 and 1952 in Les Boisses, in Tignes.

My bad, I got mixed up with old files 😊

I was in Sainte Foy Tarentaise that year and the church is actually in Tignes 😇

Burmese fervor (Shwedagon in Yangon):

Sihăstria Orthodox Monastery on the southern slope of Mount Rarău in Bucovina (Romania).



Interior of the church

Sucevița Monastery (Bucovina)

I’ve photographed an incredible number of religious buildings, my first frustration often being the lack of space to capture the most prestigious ones, and the difficulty of correcting the distortions inherent to wide-angle lenses. But I really enjoy observing the details and characteristics of architectural styles—my hard drives are full of bits of cathedrals, mosques, and Buddhist temples... Here are a few excerpts.

First, Strasbourg and its cathedral nestled in the old quarter.

Side view... you can’t see anything😕 The spire seen from afar The main entrance covered in sculptures







Above: When you photograph the details, you notice a lot of metal reinforcements



gargoyles and all kinds of monsters

A graceful church, made of the same pink sandstone as its big sister, spotted at a tram stop

While Strasbourg Cathedral was being built (1176–1439), the Khmers were constructing the Angkorian temples in present-day Thailand, like Phanom Rung, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.













I can’t identify these next photos taken the same day at what I think is another temple.

Back in Europe with some Viennese religious buildings. A tribute to the most grandiose one, St. Stephen's Cathedral (1137-1263) and its famous glazed-tile roof.







Baroque in style, the Karlskirche (built 1716-1737) seen from different angles:







Detail of another Viennese Baroque church.

Other cathedral "bits" (I totally get the frustration of trying to photograph them in their entirety most of the time 😉):

Reims





Lecce (Santa Croce)

A change of scenery in Nepal Photos taken in 2009—I think many of these buildings were damaged or destroyed by the severe earthquake in 2015. I just rediscovered my photos thanks to Lightroom’s improvements. The light in Nepal was extremely contrasty, and I hadn’t been able to develop many of them because some parts were almost black while others were nearly blown out. I’ve never encountered such extreme contrasts since that trip. Now it’s easy to recover both shadows and highlights. A few random shots—I didn’t annotate my photos enough :/

Tengboche Monastery, Khumbu (Nepal)

Kate, your idea of a "religious building" is pretty original! Your photo shows a worshipper, but we don’t see the building itself. I seem to remember a travel journal on Istanbul with lots of cats and not much architecture ;)... Maybe the theme doesn’t excite you... but to me, you’re off-topic. Sorry :/

Hi Noëlle, You mentioned in the guidelines that we could show a detail. This is a detail of the Blue Mosque :/

Alright, if the boss thinks it’s off-topic, I’ll respect that and delete it :P ;)

That was still a bit of a stretch...😉

One of your intro photos for the August contest (taken where? In Brittany?) reminded me of a little church lost in the mountains near Delphi:

About Greece, two monasteries "clinging" to rocky cliffs: Promodou (in Arcadia, Peloponnese)



And the one at Hozoviotissa on Amorgos:

A bridge between two contests... Mostar



Mostar by night

Sharing these photos of the Selinunte archaeological park to complement my photo #2. Centuries of history right before your eyes. You learn so much on this site and feel really small in the best way.