Week Twenty-Three
Image Title: Mosaic Glass
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i
Lens: 24mm Prime (fixed)
Focal Length: 24mm
Exposure 1/320
F-Stop: 5
Location: Prague, Czechia
I’m working on my long post about Prague, but currently I’ll tell you one small piece. This photo was taken inside of St. Vitus Cathedral, which sits inside the walls of the Prague Castle. I have not been able to visit that many cathedrals yet, but this has to be my second favorite (right behind La Sagrada Familia, in Barcelona).
Construction on the cathedral began in 1344. The architecture is largely gothic in style. The exterior uses flying buttresses and is covered in gargoyles and twisted stone carvings, the interior, rippled stone columns that rise 108 feet into the center naive’s criss-crossed vaults. Stained glass windows line the aisles on either side.
The cathedral was finished in 1929. Taking 585 years to build.
This is one of my favorite photos from the trip because I love the atmosphere and the color. The photo was taken from the edge of the nave, facing west towards the entrance, or Narthex, of the cathedral. Cathedrals traditionally run east to west, with the entrance facing west, and the apse on the east end. We visited the castle in the afternoon, and the sun was shining through the western end, splashing color onto the stone; brushing the columns in the colors bleeding through the stained glass.
I love the bright dancing delicacy of the stained glass window, in contrast with the dark formidableness of the interior, and how the light outlines the edges of the columns. But mostly I just love it because it’s a cathedral.
Aperture & Eloquence 