St. James Church Photo Essay

     For my photo essay I chose to focus on Saint James Church in Batavia, N.Y.  It is historic as well as personally relevant.  The church building on the current site is over a hundred years old, but from the church's website I learned that the original church began construction in 1816 and was located on Ellicott Street, which is less than a mile away from where the building is currently.  The 'new' building finished construction in 1908 and has stood tall on East Main Street ever since.

     This photo was taken from the side entrance of the church.  I found the contrast of the darkness in the entryway and the light in the sanctuary visually appealing, but also representative of the darkness of the outside world and the light that many seek from their faith.

This photo is of the altar and many of the articles you see here were in the original church on Ellicott Street.  This is also the altar in front of which my grandparents Allen and Barbara Hamm were married on December 20, 1958 and where they renewed their vows in a celebration of their marriage fifty years to the day.  It was also in front of this altar where each of their funerals both took place.

     This photo is of the archways of the church, which are quite high and impressive.  The flags create an interesting balance of elements, but is off put by the light shining through the windows on the left side.

     This photograph is of a stained glass window and if you look close enough, across the bottom it reads, "To the glory of God and in loving memory of Arthur Marshall."  To achieve such a clear image I turned off the flash because the amount of natural light illuminating the glass was perfect for a completely dark background.

     This photo was taken from the back of the church, which gave the image an interesting perspective. The baptismal and the tall candle are in the foreground but the columns on each side create lines that bring the eyes 'into' the photo and add depth.  The elements included in this photo are just about completely balanced.

     This was taken in the very back of the church where the columbarium is located.  The colors in this stained glass are breathtakingly beautiful against the plain stone of the walls.  The window is so high up and hard to capture, so I tipped my camera upwards to capture the exact point of view I had while looking up at it.  Both of my grandparents' remains are in that columbarium, which I also took a photo of but felt uncomfortable including in this presentation.

     I chose this church as my topic not only for its history and beauty but also for personal reasons.  My personal connection to this church, as I've mentioned before, is through my grandparents.  In a way, it represents the beginning and end of their story.  It is a place in which they started their life together and where they can ultimately continue it in the kingdom of God.