This is a church east of Klagenfurt, Carinthia’s capital. They officially call it “Autobahnkirche” (highway church). It is situated near a highway exit, more or less in the middle of a forest, that is slowly eaten away by a new industrial area.
The church may have been in ruins, or else everything but the choir was torn down and replaced with a modern concrete structure. From outside it looks odd and could be a nuclear shelter as well, but I really like what they’ve made of the inside. Dark red walls with irregular windows, the main room in mysterious dark, the windows glowing, the choir painted in white, lit by big windows, very simple, with a not too pompous baroque altar. Nice. Real nice.
I took the image with the Tamron 17-50/2.8, hand-held at f2.8, 1/4s and ISO 500.
If ever anybody tells you again, that you don’t need stabilization on a lens in this focal range (24-75 equivalent), well, a hard knock on the back of their head may help. For some this acts as a reset and makes them reboot, the others at least experience the pain that they deserve 😄
The Song of the Day is “Houses Of The Holy” by Led Zeppelin. I have it on a collection that seems unavailable as digital downloads, so if you don’t have it anyway, you can get it either from the original 1975 album “Physical Graffiti” or e.g. from the most recent collection of remastered songs, “Mothership”. Hear the song on YouTube.
Earl (2010-09-12)
Wow a very modern and striking architectural design for a church. I too like the dark colors and materials. My first thoughts were, "back in the womb." Churches and the concept of rebirth are certainly not strangers to one another. Just first impressions. On stabilization at this range of zoom lens, this shot obviously proves it can be very useful. However, at this length I consider it to be a great convenience but certainly less "needed/required" then on longer focal lengths. Perhaps this qualifies me for a hard knock...but I doubt the reboot results would be any better. 🙂
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