Church of the Holy Name -- Cragsmoor, NY

[ronin2307]

i agree with Hards80 about the last image. All are nice, but the last one drew most of my attention.

[vvcarpio]

Thanks, hkmp50 and ronin2307. I appreciate your compliments.

#11) At 2,000 feet, you'll be looking down at the clouds.


#12) This statue of Jesus gave me a jolt. It's about 4 feet tall and while I was looking for an angle to shoot the back of the church from the corner of my eye I saw what I thought was a little child appearing out of nowhere. The disproprotionately small head had it been a child was what for a brief flash shocked me out of my wits.

[musket]

Excellent shots and texture worth a look at with the new forum light theme as well...nicely done.

[vvcarpio]

Thanks, musket.

#13) A wooden post in front of the church has Korean (I think) and German (I think) writings.


#14) Closeup of the wooden post.

[Mark1616]

Originally Posted by vvcarpio

Thanks, musket.

#13) A wooden post in front of the church has Korean (I think) and German (I think) writings.

It's arabic rather than Koran and says Mohammed something or other. My wife couldn't read the rest as it was too small.

[vvcarpio]

Originally Posted by Mark1616

It's arabic rather than Koran and says Mohammed something or other. My wife couldn't read the rest as it was too small.

Thanks for the comment!

[Bynx]

Of all the places you have been to this is the place Id like to visit most. Thanks for showing me what Im missing.

[vvcarpio]

There's very little information on it online when I was processing the pics -- all the info I found were from the church's website.

But today I found more.

The church "does not have a membership or ongoing ministry of pastoral care." Instead it has "a dedicated nonsectarian group of volunteers operating as the Friends of the Stone Church who arrange services and concerts, and handle the many weddings held in this picturesque house of worship, and raise funds for the extensive improvements, restoration and maintenance of the building." (source: http://kryolux.us/wawarsing.net/11/COPDF/310-24-Forward1.pdf, http://kryolux.us/wawarsing.net/11/COPDF/310-24-Forward2.pdf)

The New York Times says the church is “lovingly maintained”. (source: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/09/realestate/09haven.html.) I agree. One gets that impression once the church comes into view after all the twists and turns through narrow roads past alternating homes and woods.

Being on the edge of a cliff, the church seems more a retreat for prayer and meditation.

And also being on a mountaintop where couples might automatically think “honeymoon”, it has become a popular wedding venue.

This wedding, http://courtneydavidson.net/?p=380, has pictures of the church’s interior.

The church e-mailed me (after I e-mailed them for free use of the pictures I took if they desire) explaining the "wooden post" is a Peace Pole with the message, "May Peace Prevail on Earth". Reading about it online, I found that the Peace Pole Project started in Japan in 1955 in response to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.

Paul, if you come to New York LMK we'll go there.

#15) On the way there, I saw at least three pullover-parking spots by the roadside. On the way back, I decided to stop at one and take a look. This is why -- there' a creek running alongside the road. Notice the yellow “POSTED” sign on one tree. It demarcates what’s public and what’s private property.


I processed this last photo using a downloaded trial version of HDR Expose, the newest HDR software on the block. It is by Unified Color Technologies and is Popular Photography Magazine’s favorite HDR program. I did not use Topaz on the edit, I only used CS3’s standard sliders and sharpening tool. Hmm, maybe I should post this on the HDR section for comment...