Sacramento Wedding Photographer | Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament

We jaunted over to the big little city of Sacramento on Saturday… with no plan in mind, we decided to visit the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.  A beautiful, gorgeous, renovated Catholic church.  About the time I moved out of Sacramento, the Cathedral was closed for renovations.  I had been in the church to worship only once and had vague memories of the time.  Really what I remembered was how packed to the gills it was and I was a new mother trying to appease her fussy 3 month old baby .  It was just another grand old church withering away because of time.

We happened to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on Saturday afternoon, when it was empty.  There were a few people in there just in awe of its majesty as we were,  milling around with  cameras and others in quiet meditation.   I cannot quite explain what I felt when I opened the doors.   My senses were overcome.  It was simply stunning.  The colors are vividly rich with visual textures that call for your gaze.  The light was dim with gorgeous faint streams of sunlight filtering  in through the stained glass.  I am not versed in cathedral architectural lingo and what areas are called what, but it was  simply a visual and spiritual treat for me. 

For my photog friends, we had David’s Canon 7D.  I had it cranked up to ISO 12,800 to test it out, although it didn’t need  to be that high.  I think 400-600 ISO would have been just fine, but I wanted to test drive the 7D at that expansion slot.  Therefore, there is visible noise on the images, I wouldn’t recommend that ISO setting  for this situation, obviously.

If you are ever in Sacramento, I would definitely recommend stopping by the Cathedral.  I was sitting in a pew next to the entrance just taking it all in and noticed some visitors walk through the door and witnessed their astonishment as they took their first steps into the Cathedral.  “Wow’s” coming out of their mouths, a shake of the head for being blown away, followed by a smile…because it really does just take your breath away.

 One day when the kids are older, we’ll venture to Europe and visit all the old beautiful churches there…  I am sure if I’m in awe here, I will just be blown over with the beauty over there… and then my kids will say, “Mom, they all look alike, what is the big deal?”  Oh, I can see it already.. If you want to learn more about the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, check out their wiki.

Happy Monday!
xo,
~j