frjack Loc: Boston, MA

Made my semi-annual trip to D.C. to celebrate Mass for the Slovenian community in their chapel at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in NW D.C. not far from the Washington Hospital Center complex. It is on the campus of Catholic University. It is a vast church. The upstairs can seat 10,000. The downstairs or crypt chapel, seats fewer. Acoustics are terrific. I arrived about 90 minutes before I was to celebrate and got the paperwork done in moments. Took the camera (EM1 mark ii) and the 12-40 lens, set the ISO at about 1000 and shot away.

Two seminarians in the main aisle after Mass. The organist was playing Bach. It was magnificent.

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The mosaic to our Lady of China. This was dedicated in 2002.

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A chandelier hanging in the Irish chapel. I am fascinated by chandeliers.

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A rack of votive candles.

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Reflections in one of the columns with memorial engravings.

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The crypt church. Smaller than the main body but still substantial.

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JoAnneK01 Loc: Lahaina, Hawaii

Extremely nice photos Fr. On my bucket list to visit. Mahalo for sharing.

Bill_de Loc: US

Amazing what photo ups DC holds if you know where to find them.

Beautiful images.

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jederick Loc: Northern Utah

Interesting and enjoyable images, Fr....first I've see of this church so thanks for sharing. Were you using the "Keystone" setting on this camera?

frjack Loc: Boston, MA

Thanks for looking and commenting. If you get there take plenty of time. There are 78 chapels, the upper church and the crypt. The grounds, particularly in the summer and spring and very nice. One can easily spend a day there.

frjack Loc: Boston, MA

Thanks. You've make a good point. There are tremendous photo ops all over the city. A nice feature at the Shrine is that parking is vast and free.

frjack Loc: Boston, MA

Thanks for looking. In reality the Shrine was only declared 'completed' in the past few years with the completion of the final mosaic in one of the domes. I wasn't using keystone correction in the camera but rather through Capture One (shooting raw). I used only a 12-40 lens (24-80 equivalent field of view). The biggest challenge was Our Lady of China as it is high on the wall in a location that doesn't give a lot of maneuvering room. Capture One offers several options to correct perspective.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Excellent set, Father Jack.

Susan yamakawa

🤗🤗👍👍

Sharon B Loc: Orlando, FL

I like your eclectic approach to such a traditional space - I got the impression of so much character and variation. Definitely not the static cathedral stereotype. Thank you for sharing this collection - it certainly piqued my interest in a subject that I usually skim past!

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

A very nice set.

iDoc Loc: Knoxville,Tennessee

Impressive images. Numbers 2&6 are my favorites.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Fantastic photographs, frjack. What a magnificent cathedral.
--Bob

GreyOwl40 Loc: Quebec City

Great photos of an most interesting church!

rmm0605 Loc: Atlanta GA

Lived 30 years in the DC area and never saw this...Thanks for posting!