Midwinter Light At Christ Church
December 21, 2018
Today is the shortest day of the year and, at twenty-two minutes past ten this evening, we pass the solstice taking us back towards shorter nights and longer days. At this time when the sun is at its lowest angle, Christ Church Spitalfields can become an intricate light box with powerful rays of light entering almost horizontally from the south and illuminating Nicholas Hawksmoor’s baroque architecture in startling ways. Yesterday’s crystalline sunlight provided the ideal conditions for such phenomena and inspired me to attempt to capture of these fleeting effects of light.
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Today is the shortest day of the year but you have made it last forever in our minds with these stunning photos. Simply magnifiicent . Thank you !
My spirits are lifted by your photography and writing. I suggest that you put together a tourism guide in book form for those of us who follow your posts and hope to visit. Happy Holidays — I know you are making mine happier!
Thank you for these photographs. With the ones of the interior, they especially suggest the ways the architecture cuts and trims the light like a pair of candle snuffers.
Great photos! I particularly like the ones with the shadows on the floor. Happy winter solstice!
Magnificent!
Thank you for sharing your vision with us. There is majesty and splendor in even the shortest day.
Holiday greetings from Boston,
GA, what a wonderful way to celebrate the winter solstice capturing the light inside magnificent Christ Church in Spitalsfield. I have only seen it from the outside, serving as a sentinel for the whole neighborhood. The interior is breathtaking, particularly those Corinthian (?) columns. You captured very interesting angles …
What a beautiful church, beautiful light…
*** MERRY CHRISTMAS! ***
*** FROHE WEIHNACHTEN! ***
*** JOYEUX NOËL! ***
Love & Peace
ACHIM
You succeeded most admirably in capturing this beautiful winter light!
Each day I look forward to getting your post.
Happy Christmas
Lovely – many thanks and happy holidays.
Lovely. Thanks for sharing these.
Hawksmoor’s magnificent building complimented by the most beautifully sensitive photos.
Uplifting meld of expression. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
That’s beautiful – thank you
Wonderful pictures.
For many years the Church was in a state of considerable disrepair.
In the Crypt there was a Project for recovering homeless alcoholics
I fondly remember the indefatigable Rev Eddie Stride who did much to re-establish the Church which is now, in my opinion, a kind of splendid museum and venue for large events, and the Crypt is a venue for various community activities.
The current state of the Church gardens is a disgrace.
I was secretary of the independent Christchurch Gardens Adventure Playground/Youth and Community Center from 1971 to 2009 where Peter Tabi, the Youth Worker, did sterling and dedicated work with local young people. Peter also used volunteers from the Crypt Project to keep the gardens in fine condition around a children’s playground and in the last ten years I supervised weekend activities including a Bangladeshi Women’s Gardening Group, and two children’s groups mainly from the Bangladeshi and Somali communities.