KENT and WARREN CONNECTICUT – Well the IQ 180 (see my posts from the previous two days) is starting to sing. I went for a hike today carrying my Alpa TC with the 36mm Schneider Digitar and the Phase One IQ 180. This is a compact, hand holdable combination. The form factor and functionality are very similar to the legendary Hasselblad Superwide C (one of my favorite film cameras ever), but the 80 meg digital back delivers much higher resolution than medium format film. The trick is mastering this oddball combination of exotic stuff to the point where I can stop thinking about it and start really shooting.
KENT CONNECTICUT – I felt that yesterday’s photograph of the wooden gothic church in Cornwall Bridge was a success, so I drove to Kent to shoot the gothic Congregational Church there. According to the Church’s website it was founded 1740 with the present building dates to 1849. They’ve fallen onto slightly hard times with 200 members and a bunch of peeling paint. But at least they have some attitude. According to the website the Kent Congregational Church was ” first to ordain an African-American pastor (1785), a woman (1853), an openly gay person (1972) and the first to affirm same-gender marriage equality (2005). ” “First” out of what universe isn’t clear. Anyway, here’s the picture, taken with my Alpa Max, a 60 meg Hasselblad digital back and a Schneider 48mm Digitar lens.
Congregational Church Kent Connecticut
NEW PRESTON, CONNECTICUT – Here’s the New Preston Congregational Church captured in profile with my Alpa TC, 36mm Schneider lens and 60 meg Hasselblad digital back. I’ve been here before with a camera – a full frontal view is the subject of my post for November 7, 2009 – in one of the early shots in my ongoing project on Churches in Litchfield County.
New Preston Congregational Church
SOUTHBURY CONNECTICUT – Here’s another installment in my project of photographing churches in Litchfield County Connecticut. This is the Southbury Congregational Church. See the gallery to the right. According to the Church’s website:
The Southbury Congregational Church was founded in 1732.
It occupied several sites until a third church was built on the present site in 1844. In 1923 the members voted to federate with the Methodist, and from 1923 until 1957 this church was known as the Federated Church of Southbury. The Federated Church served the spiritual needs of the community until the Methodist Conference requested that the federation be dissolved. In 1957 the Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church joined to form The United Church of Christ, and in 1966 the members of this church voted to join the new denomination. At that time the name of the church became The United Church of Christ, Southbury.
Captured with my Leica M9 and a 50mm Summilux lens; three frames stitched.
WASHINGTON CONNECTICUT – Today we went to a service at the Washington Congregational Church – our daughter and her fiance were with us. They are planning on getting married here next year. After the service I photographed the interior. I’ve done many exterior images of this building on these pages: Under the portico. Washington Congregational Church exterior. Washington Congregational Church detail. Taken with my Alpha Max and a 36mm Schneider lens. Two frames stitched.
Washington Congregational Church
NEW PRESTON, CONNECTICUT – There are two Congregational Church buildings in New Preston. For most of the year the congregation meets in a lovely classical New England structure on a hill near the center of the village, which I photographed at sunrise on November 7, 2009. Here’s a link: New Preston Church During the summer months the congregation meets in a stone building a few miles away.
New Preston Stone Church
Taken with a Leica M9 and 35mm Summicron Asph. lens. Three frames stitched with Autopano Pro. Perspective touched up in Photoshop.
CORNWALL BRIDGE, CONNECTICUT – St. Bridget Church. A Catholic church. Late 19th Century gothic revival, The is very little information online, except that this congregation recently celebrated its 125th anniversary. I took this because of the unusual point of view – the image is taken from a highway bridge that runs above the church. The view is generally obscured by trees except for one spot where this shot is possible. Because of the limited choice in angles there was no way to eliminate the utility wires. May reaction at the time was “The wires are there. We’ll just make them part of the image.” I’m afraid that without a pole or some other indication that they are intentional, they look like a mistake.
