The Torii Gate
The Torii Gate
The Torii Gate is a traditional Japanese gate usually found at the entrance of a Shinto Shrine. This gate is at the entrance to the Japanese Garden at the Birmingham…
The Faithful
The faithful gather en mass at the Kumbh Mela festival in Allahabad, India. The Hindu festival is the largest gathering of people in the world attracting millions of disciples. A…
The Faithful Bathing at Tirta Temple, Bali | Monochrome Monday
The faithful bathing in holy water at the Tirta Empul temple. Tirta Empul temple is a Hindu Balinese water temple located near the town of Tampaksiring, Bali, Indonesia.
Notre Dame Cathedral
Remembering Notre Dame
Remembering Notre Dame Cathedral. The iconic symbol of Paris and our last, best example of Gothic architecture.
Tiny Torrenieri Tumbling Down a Tuscan Hillside
The village of Torrenieri, which lies just across a valley from larger Montalcino, had its beginnings between the ninth and tenth centuries when the castle of Torrenier was built. The village is situated on the…
“The Observer,” Kumba Mela Festival, India
A man, clutching his chillum, gazes over the throngs of devotees gathered at the world's largest religious festival, Kumba Mela, in Allahabad, India. Millions come during this holiest of Hindu religious festivals to bathe away their sins with a "Holy Dip" in the sacred River Ganges.
Morning Worship Along the Ganges
A Hindu devotee performs his morning rituals on the banks of the Ganges River in the ancient city of Varanasi. This morning liturgy includes the cleansing of the body and mind with holy water from the Mother Ganges while reciting prayers and mantras. Hindus believe that adherence to a series of daily morning and evening rituals will curry them favor in life and will purify them for their quest for communion with God.
Mrs. Johnson and the Praise House
For the better part of the next hour, Mrs. Johnson tells us her story - she recently moved back to St Helena from New Jersey - and the history of this praise house. This area was once a part of the Mary Jenkins Plantation. Thus, we are standing in the Mary Jenkins Community Praise House. Prior to the Civil War, slaves who were living on plantations were often allowed to build small structures for worship known as praise houses. After Emancipation, former slaves who remained in the area would build more substantial praise houses. This one was built in 1900. Mrs. Johnson tells us that the community is dwindling and services are no longer held on a regular basis. But her eyes brighten and a smile crosses her face as she tells us that the services they do have are lively affairs with much hymn singing and praising, and ending with a shout. A shout was a tradition practiced by African slaves where the worshipers move in a circle as they chant, clap their hands, and shuffle and stomp their feet.
Sunday Single – St Vitus Cathedral, Prague
St. Vitus Cathedral, the spiritual symbol of the Czech Republic, dominates the Prague skyline. Though commissioned in 1344 by Charles IV it took almost six centuries to complete, the final…
Ethereal Bali
Mid afternoon and the mountains disappear behind a curtain of fog. Though near the equator, the temperature drops; a chilling breeze gently stirs leaves. Twin pagodas appear to be floating,…