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presentation
The cathedral is one of the greatest still-standing examples of Norman architecture; here’s a statue of King William II of Sicily offering a model of the cathedral to the Virgin Mary. The sand color of the statue and the texture of the stone will forever make me think about this as a sand sculpture (just one more example of how my brain works). The building was constructed between 1172 and 1185, which is an astonishingly fast pace for a building of its size and detailing. (Coincidently, that is faster than the time it took the City of Lubock and the Texas Department of Transportation to reconstruct approximately two miles of 19th Street.)
Duomo di Monreale
Monreale, Sicily
photographed 1.30.2025
necklace man
A tiny room off the nave and sanctuary had beautiful marble sculptures that held great meaning. Some people found great religious significance in them; I found photographic solace there.
Capella del Crocifisso – Duomo di Monreale
Monreale, Sicily
photographed 1.30.2025
the way the light hits
One year ago, I was in Sicily on a photography trip. I was with my friends and we had the best time enjoying the culture, the education, the food, the photography, and our time together. I still think about it almost every day. (Because I am comfortable living a year in the past, I guess?)
The late afternoon light at the cloisters beside the cathedral in Monreale was beautiful, bringing out the reds and oranges in the old stone. Look at the tops of those columns: every one is different.
Also, speaking of reds and oranges, I am at least 100% certain that when we returned to Palermo later that night, we had a few Aperol spritzes – each one served with a slice of an in-season Sicilian orange.
Chiostro dei Benedettini
Monreale, Sicily
photographed 1.30.2025
the peace-bringers
I appreciate an unlocked church. I like the silence and the way everything is still, as if waiting for something important to happen. I like seeing the simple things, like the stack of church newsletters on a table in the foyer or the place where the collection baskets are stored when they’re not needed. I like the statues and the saints, and the statues of saints. I like the lighting and the shadows. I like knowing that the place represents local traditions and beliefs, even when I don’t quite know what those may be.
And I mostly appreciate the trust of someone who decided to leave the church open, in case someone needed to be in it that day.
Presidio Chapel of San Elizario
San Elizario, Texas
photographed 12.15.2025
for lo, the days are hastening
Christmas Eve. It’s Christmas Eve.
I won’t lie: this time of the year is hard for me to get through. I struggle to hear vapid music without making comments (You: that damn drummer boy. I am looking RIGHT AT YOU when I bring this up.) (As an example of a comment that I’d like to make.) I am still not over the exact mathematical allotment of Festive Holiday Minutes™ per family that my in-laws tracked (and were so, so kind let us know when we were deficient.). I miss my mom, who died 20 years ago next week. The days are short which makes me feel bleak.
But. I have a million good memories of my mom and I have a loving family. No one (so far as I am aware) tracks my time allocation. We’re past the winter solstice so the days are already getting longer. And these verses from “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” help me see the beauty of the season even through all the things that don’t feel happy or kind or joyful.
Yet with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled
two thousand years of wrong
And man at war with man hears not
The love song which they bring
O hush the noise ye men of strife
And hear the angels sing
And ye, beneath life’s crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow
Take heart for comfort, love, and hope
Come swiftly on the wing
O rest beside the weary road
And hear the angels sing
So today I will take heart for comfort, love, and hope; rest beside that weary road when I need to; and will listen for the angels singing (hopefully with a drum accompaniment).
San Elizario, Texas
photographed 12.15.2025
One Day | One Image 