Monday, December 29, 2008
The Good Shepard

This is another shot from our Christmas Eve Day shoot at Saint Angela's in Pacific Grove.

This is a nearly impossible shot. If you look at the previous shot you can see that there is a balcony area in front of the very bottom of the mural. This small alter is behind the wall under that balcony. It was actually taken from the foot of the mural as a panorama of nine shots and perspective corrected after the fact.

While we were there we heard the story of how this was supposed to be another stained glass window to match the others around the church. But the Pastor who was working on the project passed away unexpectedly in a traffic accident. I think the end result is very beautiful nonetheless. The artist is a member of the church, Jean M. Maynard. Sometimes you can be surprised what amazing talent is lurking right in the seat (pew?) next to you.

Friday, December 26, 2008
Candelight Blessing of the Creche

About a week ago (the 20th) we were lucky enough to happen by the Mission at just the right time. My wife had reminded me to go check to see if the Creche (Nativity Scene) had been set up. When we got there we saw that the animals were there, but we also saw a large parade of unlit luminaries. (lanterns made of candles in a paper bag with a little sand to hold them in place.) So after a quick trip home for an unsuccessful scouring of the Internet to try to see what the occasion was and to get my camera (D'OH! Should always have that with me!) we headed back. We were lucky enough to get there just as the congregation of the Saint Barbara Parish (The church that calls the Mission home) were starting to sing christmas carols around the steps of the mission. It turns out it was the Blessing of the Creche ceremony. Ahhh, what perfect timing my wife has!!

Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!

This is a beautiful little shopping center in Carmel, called The Barnyard. After dinner at our favorite restaurant in Carmel we spent the evening wandering around and checking out Christmas lights. On the right is a great place called Succulent Gardens. If you can't tell from the Epi photos on the site, a place like that is a real magnet for me. In fact a few of our Epis even came from there. On the left is a great little candy shop. (Try the grasshopper bark and the caramel cashew turtles if you stop there!)

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Christmas Eve at Saint Angela's

Well the holidays are over for the most part. Too quickly as usual! But maybe it will give me a chance to share a few of the thousands of images I've taken in the last few months.

A couple of days before Christmas we were taking pictures outside of this beautiful little church in Pacific Grove. They have a nice nativity scene and we have stopped here on previous trips this time of year. This time, however there were still people inside getting ready for Christmas. When they saw us outside they invited us in. They were obviously working hard on the Christmas preparations. Much like the elves in our church, it seemed like there was always someone there working on a project. Unfortunately they were not quite done with the Christmas decorations. So they invited us to come back Christmas Eve day when there would be light coming through the stained glass too.

This is one of the images from our return trip. There are many more to come!