Digital Photo Gallery of Ted Szukalski
Fine art digital photography, photographic news, reviews, articles and resources.

St. Andrews Cathedral monitors

I have entered St. Andrews cathedral recently and stood there very bewildered for a long while. There were LCD monitors installed on the cathedral columns. It felt so wrong. I know its 21st century and technology is everywhere but somehow these plastic LCD monitors installed on the sandstone columns looked ugly and out of place.

Sydney and Australia in general does not have a lot of old buildings. This is after all a very young country. So, scaring the very few buildings that are of historical and cultural significance with perhaps useful but otherwise ugly modern items, seems, well for a better word sacrilegious.

Czech Republic - Kutna Hora 9105

The town of Kutna Hora is about 70km from Prague in Czech Republic. It is listed on UNESCO world heritage list. During the Middle Ages, thanks to the profits from its silver mines became the richest and most powerful town in the Czech lands. At the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, Kutná Hora became the seat of King Václav IV. It is said it produced 2000 silver coins an hour for almost 4 centuries.

Things to see in Kutana Hora: The Gothic St. James’ Church (pictured above) and the St. Barbara’s Cathedral, devoted to the patroness of miners. Please note: photography is normally not permitted in the cathedral. Among other points of interest is the former mint – Italian Court, and several patrician houses. Many of the buildings in the town look neglected but then again the 14th century fountain looks like it was build yesterday.

Visit to the silver mine is also worthwhile but is certainly is not for claustrophobic people. I would also discourage anyone who is too “big” to try the squeeze in the passages. The mine shafts are really narrow and low. Not all guides speak English so inquire first. View my Kutna Hora Photo Gallery here.

St. Andrews Cathedral

St. Andrews Cathedral - this photograph was taken from the south side of the cathedral, which normally is in the shade during middle of the day. However, courtesy of some reflective buildings on the other side of the road I was able to capture this fragment of the building in a very interesting light.