U.S Air Force Academy Chapel

[Curt]

Being a structural engineer has made me a fan of iconic buildings. I passed through Colorado Springs recently with a nephew who is in the Air Force. He said that he's frequently on flights with other crewmen from the "Little Technical School in Colorado". He wanted to stop and see it so we did. I was amazed how people's attitudes would change in a positive way whenever we were asked to present some I.D. and he would produce his active duty Air Force credentials. Anyway, we spent most of our time at the famous Chapel. It was the first time I had ever been there. I think I would have to put it in my top 10 best buildings I've ever been in. If you ever get the chance I think it's worth the trip.



The Protestant Chapel section looking forward.


The Protestant Chapel section looking back.




The Catholic Chapel section


Station of the Cross. I overheard a tour guide saying that the stone for the sculpture came from the same quarry in Italy that Michelangelo used for the Pieta.




The Jewish Chapel section


There are also Muslim and Buddhist Chapel sections but those were closed when I was there.

 

[gnwatts]

One of my favorite churches.
I assume you used a tripod, I am amazed they let you in with it. Pretty cool.
Great shots.

 

[wsp_scott]

Great photos, I really like the pano of the ceiling (4th photo), very abstract looking

 

[Curt]

These photos were all hand held. I had rented a zoom lens to try out. The lens has internal stabilization that also works in conjunction with the camera's internal stabilization. I had read that people have gotten sharp hand held pictures at as much as 5 seconds using the combination. The longest exposure I had was 1/4 second. I've gotten sharp pictures before at 1/4 second using just the camera stabilization, but it was like magic how the camera would hold an image still when I would turn the lens stabilization on. My hands aren't that steady but I only had one miss out of 30 or so photos I took inside the building and I wasn't even trying to be steady. I was pleased with the image quality too. Overall I was very impressed. Of course all of that comes with a price tag - more than twice what I've ever spent for a lens. I'm just trying to figure out how to tell my wife I need another lens!