Blog Archives

forget your perfect offering

Inside a tiny church in the midst of a huge desert…my mind wandered and then the words “forget your perfect offering” came to me as I was making this image.

It’s a line from the Leonard Cohen song “Anthem” – and here’s some of the rest of the song.

Ah, the wars they will be fought againThe holy dove, she will be caught againBought and sold, and bought againThe dove is never free
Ring the bells that still can ringForget your perfect offeringThere is a crack, a crack in everythingThat’s how the light gets in
We asked for signsThe signs were sentThe birth betrayedThe marriage spentYeah, and the widowhoodOf every governmentSigns for all to see

 

The song is more profound now than it was when he wrote it – give it a listen.

Calera Chapel
near Toyahvale, Texas

photographed 2.18.2025

standing in awe

In the daytime, the church doors were kept closed, so it was a treat when I walked by one night and they were open. And it was a bigger treat that two people were standing there, taking in the majesty of the place.

Chiesa di Santa Ninfa dei Crocifieri
Palermo, Sicily

photographed 1.27.2025

candlelight + the cathedral

I really do like to find votives glowing in a dark corner of a cathedral. It makes it seem warmer than it is, and quieter, and very contemplative.

St. Giles’ Cathedral
Edinburgh, Scotland
photographed 11.14.2023

many messages

Maybe you feel like you need to spend more time reading? But it feels like a whole book is too much?

I am here with a solution.

Go over to Taiban, and step inside the old church and read the walls. The plot can be a little hard to follow, but it won’t take you long to read the stuff that’s there. And the next time you’re there, you can read a whole new assortment of things.

That’s a literary win. Kind of.

Taiban, New Mexico
photographed 6.28.2024

candles (plan view)

There are some things I will almost always photograph; there’s not any particular thread that connects them (as far as I can tell) (and I don’t want to frighten any of you by sharing that list) so I’ll just mention that candles at religious places are definitely included.

el santuario de Chimayó
Chimayó, New Mexico
photographed 7.2.2024