Cathedral of Mary

"Contrast" Cathedral of Mary, Queen of the World

Is there anything more basic than the struggle between good and evil? The contrast between black and white?

When we arrived at the Queen Elizabeth, Fairmont hotel in Montreal my wife was tired from the day’s travel. She wanted to take a nap, so I grabbed my camera and walked next door to the cathedral. I was immediately struck by the architectural structure of this building. You don’t have to be of a religious nature to be in reverence of this building. If you have any understanding of art history then you know how important the church’s role was in influencing artist and preserving there work. This is truly a shrine on multiple levels.

I was mesmerized as I walked through the doors into the sanctuary. There were no services being conducted at the time, however the church was open to the public for prayers. I sat at the back of the sanctuary for about a half hour just trying to take it all in. As I sat there I thought about all the people who had attended services here and sat in these very pews since it’s consecration in 1894. After a time of reflection I quietly made my way around the church making sure to be respectful of the people who had stopped in to pray. I resisted the temptation to capture photos of them in their time of prayer.

I had read about the cathedral and seen pictures of it in magazines and books and on the internet. I wanted to capture something in the church that represented the essence of the cathedral, yet was different from anything I had seen before. As I made my way around the sanctuary I noticed a small prayer room off to the side. The room was locked so I had to view it from behind glass doors. I though it ironic how the light seemed to be resonating from the center of Christ, lighting a dark room. This was the shot I looking for. I hope you enjoy it.