Our Lady of Hope Chapel : Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate ConceptionThis week's Two Things Challenge was New / Hope. Originally, I was going to do something along the lines of Barack Obama's use of the word "Hope" in his campaign, but then I couldn't find anything for that. What I finally narrowed it down to was a mix of secular and religious interpretations. For New, I chose this picture (see below) of my new color printer and the latest book I bought yesterday.
New book and new printer--a great way to start the year!For Hope, I've chosen two photos I took at the National Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. In the crypt church on the lower level are a number of chapels. These two pictures are of the Hope Chapel. The chapel is dedicated to Our Lady of Hope and the money to build the chapel was given by Bob and Dolores Hope in memory of his mother, Avis Townes Hope.
Our Lady of Hope ChapelWant to see how others interpreted this challenge? Would you like to participate? You can do both by visiting Two Things Challenge.
Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 01/09
13 comments:
First of all, I wholeheartedly approve of new color printers and all gizmos photographic (I sure am loving my new camera body). But is there a significance to combining it with this particular book? I looked it up on Amazon. Maybe it's just what new stuff pleased you on the day you shot the picture.
Really like the atmosphere and light in the bottom picture. However - please forgive my attitude - isn't naming a chapel Our Lady of Hope after Bob Hope's mother a rather crass pun?
I, too, was rather nonplussed with the naming of the chapel! But there you go - he who pays the piper calls the tune!
Having got that out of the way, the colours and lines in the lower image are exquisite and the light you have captured some both these aspects off to advantage.
I will check out the book: is Perry a favourite author of yours?
Thanks for running 2TC. I am pleased to be on board.
I was wondering how you would interpret this one! And you made a good choice! I agree with Bob, I really like the light and atmosphere.
I guess I'm going to have to get my thinking cap on for Partial/Whole :)
Bob: The only significance is, both the printer and the book are the newest things I have right now. Otherwise, no connection between the two whatsoever.
Actually, I think the chapel is named after a Catholic saint and it's just coincidental that the money Bob and Dolores Hope gave went to this chapel. (Or, maybe Our Lady of Hope was their favorite saint. I don't remember. Frankly, I didn't even know Bob Hope was Catholic!)
Julie: See above comment re: naming of chapel. (As I'm not Catholic, I'm a little clueless about how these things work.) Thanks for your compliments on the pictures. As for the book by Perry, I just stumbled across her yesterday in the bookstore. The storyline intrigued me, so I thought I'd give it a try.
Glad you're joining us on 2TC!
Marley: Thanks! Looking forward to your participation in 2TC!
Great shots of the church. Religious archetecture is beautiful and it just fascinates me... It's a shame i don't actually attend church and enjoy it. :)
The book looks interesting as well.
Brian: Thanks! I took these as part of an effort to photograph all 62 chapels in the basilica. I still have the chapels in the Great Upper Church to photograph and I need to go back and re-shoot some of the chapels on the Crypt Level.
As for the book, I'll start it once I finish reading the George Pelacanos I'm currently working on. (Which I started because I couldn't get into Joseph Heller's Catch-22.)
I'm envious of you getting a printer. The stained glass is nice!
btw: word verification today: verses
The naming of the Chapel is odd, but that's the kind of worl we live in. Love the light you capture throughout a lot of your images. New colour printer. Ooh Jealous.
Maya: You're scoring actual words all over the place these days. Meanwhile, I get stuff like rumpows. What is that?! Mostly rump cows? Or is it a drink invented by pirates: rum pows? Or maybe it's what you say when you fall while skating: rump ows? I don't know. Anyway--re: the printer, it's sweet!
Babooshka: Connected to Bob and Dolores Hope, the naming of the chapel does seem odd. But I think Our Lady of Hope came before the Hopes and before the chapel. It commemorates the appearance of Mary in Pontmain, France, in 1871. Hm. Perhaps I should add that to my blog. Otherwise, I think I'm leaving people with the impression the chapel is named for Bob Hope...
Re: the printer, I still stand by my reply to Maya's comment--it's sweet!
Oh these are lovely interpretations and i think we could all use a healthy dose of HOPE around here regardless who's name is on it.
Virginia: I agree! Here's to hope. May we embrace it and begin moving forward in positive, meaningful ways!
The lighting is a marvel in the church. They can be quite difficult to photograph with low lighting. Now I am wondering, do you pop into the church and shoot, or are we supposed to talk to someone first?
Congrats on the new printer. I have been shying away from printers since our last purchase. We detest the...thing. Maybe later on I'll upgrade.
Rob: The Hope Chapel was especially hard to photograph because the lighting is so low in there and I didn't have my tripod with me that day. (Big mistake. When photographing chapels, always have a tripod.)
To answer your question, in the case of the basilica, you can just walk right in and take pictures without coordinating with anyone. In terms of the use of a tripod, I don't know about that. I haven't tried that yet, but it would be useful in some of the lower-lit chapels. For that, I think I'm going to need to get permission, because tripods are considered a hazard.
In terms of the smaller churches and parishes, I've usually had to call and make an appointment to photograph them, but so far I've never been turned down.
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