L’Eglise Saint Jean Baptiste was built in 1884, to replace the original church originally built in 1847. Fire ravaged the entire neighborhood in 1881, and consumed the old church in the process. In my opinion, this has to be one of the most ornate and beautiful interiors of any church in Canada. The 36 stained glass windows may be the nicest I have ever seen. If you’ve followed my blog at all, you’ll know that I’ve been to some rather impressive cathedrals and this church’s beauty rivals them in many ways. The wooden pews are intricately carved as are the doors. The columns and much of the interior is composed of 7 different kinds of Italian marble. Impressive to say the least, considering the date of it’s construction, and how difficult it must have been to ship all that incredible marble.
It was a rather rainy day when I visited, so there were no crowds. Lucky for me, as I got to take some nice photos at my own pace. The people at the church were quite accommodating and welcoming, a refreshing change from the reception I received at certain churches in Europe, and New York City. Quebec City as a whole is a treasure of a city in so many ways. It is one of the most unique areas in all of North America, and well worthy of a spot on your list of must see places. Great food, lots of history, the Old City and the Quebec Winter Carnival are just a few of the reasons to visit.
Road Trip!
it is time for me to hit the road again and I’ll be on my way later this week. As you can see from the map below, I’ll be driving to some interesting places in the eastern United States to visit friends in Atlanta, and Saint Augustine. I’ll be stopping in Washington D.C. to try and capture some of those iconic American sights, like the Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, and hopefully a whole lot more! The trip then continues on to Atlanta to see old friends. Next stop is Saint Augustine, to chill with my buddy Robert and his wife Mylene , both of whom I worked with for many years, on my lifestyle stock photo shoots. I’ll spend Christmas there with them and their 3 dogs , who I refer to collectively as “the Girlz!” I’ll be missing my cats while I’m gone, so it will be nice to see “the Girlz!” and take them out for some beach walks.
On the way home I’m planning on stopping in Savannah, mostly because everyone who I know that has been there just raves about it. It looks like a lovely place to photograph images with and Old South feeling. After that, a short stop in Charleston and D.C. and then it’s on to one of my favourite places on the planet before I head home… New York City! Since I’m driving the plans are loose and I may make some changes along the way. That’s part of the fun of road trips, the freedom. I’m expecting about a billion new images, well ok, at least a few hundred. I can’t wait to get back and start sharing them with you here on the blog. Hopefully I’ll have a few cool stories to tell you as well.
IDEAS!!!
If you have any great ideas of places to shoot, to shoot from, or any cool information that you’d like to share with me about any of the stops I’m making, then please leave a comment, or send me an email. I’m grateful for any tips that you guys are willing to share. Remember, sharing is caring ;)
Enjoy more travel photos and stories:
If you’re in the Charleston area, drive up 17 north along the coast and check out some of the old southern plantations throughout the low country. I used to live in the Pawleys Island/Litchfield area and there are some very beautiful old churches and plantations scattered throughout the area. There’s also a botanical garden in Litchfield- Brookgreen Gardens- that’s rather pretty (large sculptures as well). And across the street at the state park is an old brick artists estate (Atalaya) and the beach there is gorgeous.
You can also head to the coast from I-95 at South of the Border (always a classic to photograph) and hit the coast along 17 South towards Charleston. If you head that way, let me know, I’ll tell you some good places to stay and places to avoid. Myrtle Beach is somewhat of an eye-sore. Also some great coastal fishing towns along that route.
Enjoy!
Montana, my friend and Wyoming. If you really get brave, take the Alcan! Trip you’ll never forget! Don’t even get me started on Alaska.
Re:ideas for road trip: stop at the old Sheldon church ruins in SC on the way down, and I used to live in St Augustine, take a quick trip to palm coast to see the coquina rock formations on the beach and at Washington Oaks State Park
Nice shot of the cathedral by the way
Great blog and images!
Love the road trip plan :) and looking forward to seeing the blog afterwards
In Washington, you might want to check out the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Here’s a link for more info.
http://hirshhorn.si.edu/
By the way, I really like your pics and what you do with HDR. Cheers!
Thank you all for your suggestions and help. I ‘m off in the morning and looking forward to hitting the road.
Cheers to you all for taking the time to comment, I’ll do my best to incorporate some of he places that you mentioned into my shooting schedule. :)
Hey man, glad you’re making it to Charleston! I love shooting here. Great place.
Some locations you might want to check out would be the Pineapple Fountain, Battery Park (amazing oak trees, great for HDR probably), the Waterfront Memorial Park, and of course all the historic downtown area (pretty much everywhere you go). If you’re into architecture, there are some amazing old churches down there. The name escapes me, but there is a fantastic old church at the Four Corners of Law that may be a good location.
Hope that helps! Can’t wait to see shots! What dates are you going to be here in Charleston?