Montreal In Pictures

September 10 2012

I paid a return visit this afternoon to the Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal to take a few shots of the outside. I photographed the interior of the Oratory back in February. The ground was covered with snow then, so it looked quite different today.

With it being quite windy and with some clouds racing overhead, I decided to do a couple of long exposure shots using the B+W ND 3.0 filter. I’m still very much on the learning curve using this filter and guesstimating the length of exposure is still a hit and miss affair.

Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal
ISO 100 – 25mm – f27 – 107 secs

Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal
ISO 100 – 18mm – f22 – 69 secs

When I visited the Oratory in February the curved staircases on either side were closed due to being covered in ice. I really want to photograph these staircases at night when they’re lit, but here is an image to give you an idea of what a great photo location these steps are.

Curved stairs at Saint Joseph’s Oratory
ISO 100 – 18mm – f13 – 1/60 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

The Oratory is Canada’s largest church and it is certainly impressive from pretty much any angle, even without the dome in view.

Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal
ISO 100 – 10mm – f13 – 1/20 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

If you visit the Oratory, I highly recommend you take the time to wander through the gardens designed by the landscape architect Frederick G. Todd.

The winding path takes you past 17 large statues that form the Way of the Cross. The statues were conceived by the Montreal artist Louis parent between 1943 and 1953. They were chiseled out of Indiana limestone from the united States and Italian Carrara Marble by Ercolo Barbieri between 1952 and 1958.

I took pictures of each set of statues but would like to go back when the lighting is better and re-shoot them. Even though I took 3 exposures to ensure I captured all the details, the images looked a little flat.

The Way of The Cross sculpture #4: Jesus Meets His Mother
ISO 100 – 16mm – f13 – 1/10 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

At the end of the Way of the Cross is the Pool and Fountain of Redemption. This is an oasis of tranquility and a great place to take a moment to recover from the climb and enjoy the peaceful surroundings. There were a few artists today doing just that.

Pool and Fountain of Redemption
ISO 100 – 58mm – f16 – 1/15 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

Pool and Fountain of Redemption
ISO 100 – 25mm – f9.5 – 1/20 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

I’m not sure if the gardens are ever open at night. I did a quick image search but couldn’t locate any garden night time shots. A shame, as I could imagine it would be great to shoot the pool and statues at night.

Don’t forget, if you want to check out the interior of the Oratory, be sure to have a quick look through my previous post.

To view images in gallery format, simply click on one of the images below.