Christ Church Cathedral

Like many cities, some of Victoria's most interesting and beautiful buildings are religious. Christ Church Cathedral is an Anglican (Church of England) church. Construction of the cathedral began in 1926 but was spread over many years for political as well as financial reasons. Victoria's downtown has a half dozen interesting church buildings. Though Christ Church Cathedral is not the oldest, it is is the largest.

Inside Christ Church Cathedral

A couple of weeks ago I posted a photo of the exterior of Christ Church Cathedral. Here's what it looks like on the inside, though no photo can convey the sense of peace that fills this church.

Christ Church Cathedral, Quadra Street

I've posted photos of this church before but it's such a splendid building I can't resist continuing to photograph it. If you visit Victoria (or live here) stop in to see Christ Church Cathedral on Quadra Street to get a sense of spirituality expressed in stone.

Christ Church Cathedral II

Adjacent to Christ Church Cathedral is a small park with a few weathered tombstones that are the remnants of the church graveyard. The first cathedral on the site, a wooden church, burned down in 1869. Its dean was the Very Reverend Edward Cridge, and the gravestone in the photo above (and in closeup below) gives us some insight into the hardships of life in colonial Victoria. It records the deaths of four of his children in a single year, 1865.

Christ Church Cathedral

Victoria's Quadra Street might more aptly be named Church Street since so many of the city's churches (and a mosque) are located there. Here's probably the largest and most impressive, the Gothic style Christ Church Cathedral. Unlike the church in yesterday's post, the cathedral is still in use as a house of worship. It has a splendid interior and beautiful stained glass windows. I posted a photo of the interior about five years ago - it's obviously time to re-visit.

Christ Church Cathedral III

I've posted a couple of pictures of the outside of Christ Church Cathedral but I was a little daunted by the interior. First, I was a little shy of taking pictures inside. However, when I went inside there were some very nice people there who said I was perfectly welcome to take some pictures since there was no service or other activities. Secondly, as can be seen, taking photos inside a cathedral presents some difficult problems of lighting and perspective/focus. Anyhow, it's beautiful inside and I hope this photo suggests a little of the peace and awe that this church inspires.

"Church" Street!

This is not actually "Church Street" but if I was re-naming Quadra Street I would call it that since there are four churches within a hundred meters of the two former churches I mentioned yesterday, and these are functioning churches. Above are the First Metropolitan United Church (left) and the Glad Tidings Pentecostal Church. On the immediate left is the St. John the Divine Anglican Church and to the right is the First Baptist Church. Christ Church Cathedral is also on Quadra Street and only a few blocks up from these churches is a mosque. So religion is certainly not dead in Victoria but, as in the rest of the world, its place in our city and in people's lives is changing.

Retrospective 2009 - Present

Below are a selection of my favorite images from the most recent nine months of Victoria Daily Photo.

In September of 2009 another favorite photo of mine (left) won second prize in the black and white category of the annual Monday Magazine photo contest.

When I consider how much I've learned over the last two years, from experimentation and from looking at other photographers' work I am a little bit boggled as to where to begin and how to select what is worth sharing. But the photo below may serve as an introduction to some of what I'll discuss tomorrow. Click it to see a larger version and then click the larger version again to see it full size.

Way Back When....

Below are a selection of my favorite images from the from the first year of Victoria Daily Photo (2008-2009). Lately I've been enjoying working in black and white but when I look at these photos from 8 or 9 years ago I realize how much I like rich, saturated colors. Click on any of these to see them full size.