Russian Orthodox cathedral

[Michael Fraley]

I took my Olympus XA with me to a Russian Festival. Beef Strogonoff and Russian dancers, a fund raiser for the church. The pictures of the dancers didn't turn out without a flash (I took a flash next time, to the Polish Festival! This could get to be a habit... food and entertainment for a low price.) The cathedral was open and here are some pictures. It's the Holy Virgin Cathedral on Geary St. in San Francisco, you can't miss the golden onion domes on the building! I believe this church is even more resplendent than our Roman Catholic ones..





Lately I've been drawn to Russian culture. I found a copy of "The Brothers Karamazov" with Yul Brynner and a very young William Shatner. Then I rented "Dr Zhivago" which is one of the great epic films of all time. On the weekend I found myself visiting a Serbian cemetery, where I had a good talk with a Russian woman in her 80's, whose family moved to Bulgaria when communism took over. Their family joke was that they ended up living under communism anyway in Bulgaria.



I know this doesn't have much to do with the pictures, it's just that I've been wanting to learn about other cultures lately.







I lit a candle for a loved one while there. There is something comforting about a simple act like that.

Thanks for looking!

[davesworld]

Michael, these shots are breathtaking!

What film did you use?

Dave

[Peter S.]

Dear Michael,

Thank You for showing these pictures. I only have been in an Orthodox church once - in Vienna, quite a few years ago. But memory has faded, so I am very happy to see these pictures. I love the way You were able to catch the light - and it looks like it were not an easy thing with all this backlight and that excessive contrast.

The Olympus has a (quite capable, IIRC) 35mm wide angle, isn't it?

I wonder what the MF TLR would have caught.

Best regards
Peter

[Michael Fraley]

Thanks guys! Dave, this is Walgreens 200 film, which is relabelled Fuji -- probably Fuji Superia 200. Peter, the XA has a Zuiko 35/2.8 lens which is well regarded. Another member here, Gene, has done some fine work with his Olympus XA.

[PeterW]

Hi Michael,

These are lovely pictures. I've been in some beautiful churches on the mainland of Europe but, so far as I can remember, never in a Russian Orthodox church. It's breathtaking.

There was enough daylight coming in from above to give a good colour balance for (I presume) daylight balanced colour film, except in the last shot of the candles, but then the warm colour cast really suits that picture

I know we aren't supposed to critique on this part of the board, and this isn't really a critique, just an observation. The 35mm lens obviously showed converging verticals when you tilted the camera up, but I don't really find them distracting like I would in an austere Church of England stone cathedral with tall pillars. In any case, you would have needed a large plate or cut film camera with all the swings and tilts (and a tripod, a small stop and a very long exposure) to have kept them all vertical. The Scheimpflug principle works, but it means carting some very bulky, heavy (and expensive) equipment about - not to mention the running costs in colour!

PeterW

[PeterW]

PS to my previous posting: You can also correct them quite easily in PS, though you lose some of the picture ... but it's a lot easier than carting heavy equipment about .

PeterW

[Michael Fraley]

Hi Peter,

Your observations are spot-on and always welcome. I have heard about fixing converging lines in PhotoShop, but haven't tried it. It seems unatural somehow ! Anyway, yes there are times when I would like to be a better architectural photographer. It's a difficult and separate skill from the kind of walk-around photography I do. I admire people who are good at it.

For the close-up of the candles, I would have tried it with flash too, if I had one. I wasn't prepared for indoor photography, so I just hoped for the best. The aperture priority automatic exposure on my XA is quite good. It's a little unnerving that the display in the viewfinder is wildly off. The main thing is, the shutter opens for the correct amount of time, even though it's not what the needle is telling me in the viewfinder. Takes some getting used to.

Michael

[olroy2044]

Michael: Beautiful pictures. Now I know I've got to have an XA. Just missed one on the 'bay the other day for less than $20.00 total FORGOT TO BID! Ol-forgets everything-Roy