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Discover the stories behind my photographs, captured around the world in magnificent landscapes and foreign cultures

Elusive Enlightenment

 

Hello out there,

When visiting Italy, I'm always drawn to the glorious churches and cathedrals. Their impressiveness is incomparable. Even the smallest villages usually have at least a superbly equipped chappel, with golden statues, large format paintings, and colorful glass windows.

In Milan, of course, is the density of churches worth visiting very high. But most tourists are only drawn to the gigantic Duomo and a church called Santa Maria delle Grazie because it houses the famous Last Supper painting by Leonardo da Vinci. The good thing about this is, that you have all the other churches mostly for yourself.

For example, as I was just randomly walking around the city, I came by the Basilica di San Lorenzo. From the outside, it looked rather unique, due to its octagonal design and so I decided to go inside. As I stepped through the door, it felt like entering a completely different world. It took a couple seconds for my eyes to adjust to the relatively dim interior, but I already could guess from the quietness, that I was most likely alone.

So I started to discover the inside and a truly unique sunray instantly drew my attention. It came from one of the top windows and fell all the way down to the center of the church. And as I followed it, I suddenly noticed an elderly woman sitting in the middle of the church immersed in a prayer. Of course, this was a scene to be captured. So I pulled out my camera and leaned against one of the stone pillars, to keep the camera steady, due to the dim environment. Then I pressed the shutter.