Sunday Snapshot: Gonzaga

{Canon Rebel XTi, Canon 50 mm 1.4, f3.2, ISO 800, 1/160}

Things have been BUSY around here lately. I honestly don’t know where the days go. However, Jeff and I were fortunate enough to have two days to spend together after my {what felt like forever away from him} trip to Florida. I had a speaking engagement in Spokane this past Monday night, so we decided to stay an extra day so that Jeff could show me around his former undergrad and grad stomping grounds.

We spent Tuesday morning strolling the grounds of Gonzaga University.

At first, continuing bad habits developed of late, I was content to capture the campus with my phone.

But then Jeff brought me by the church on campus.

And as soon as we stepped inside, I knew I had to whip out my real camera.

The dim lighting meant I was back to my favorite lens…the nifty fifty.

Being able to crank the aperture down means I can still get good shots with very little light.

There are few places I find more inspiring than old churches.

And there are few things in old churches that I find more inspiring than stained glass windows.

A cool new trick I learned in photoshop for these images was the perspective aspect of the crop tool. Many of the windows were shot at an odd angle, but this tool fixes that beautifully. For more information, check out this video.

After Jeff finally pulled me away from the beauty of the church, I put away my camera and whipped out my phone once again. But then we entered one of the oldest buildings on campus…

…climbed up its historic staircase…

…to its beautifully simple chapel.

Needless to say, inspiration had once again hit strong enough to bring out the real camera.

The light streaming through stained glass to play on old, creaking wood floors and polished sills was simply breathtaking.

While I have long sung the praises of the beauty of my alma mater, Wheaton, I did have to concede to Jeff that Gonzaga {captured by phone or camera} is likewise a gem to the eyes.