Sunlight spire set against a blue sky at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne. — *Sunlight spire set against a blue sky at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne*.

It’s the interplay of light and color that brings this otherwise straightforward architectural photo of the spire at St Paul’s Cathedral in the heart of Melbourne to life.

Exterior photos of St Paul’s Cathedral are hampered by trees, electricity and tramcar wires interfering with views from across Flinders and Swanston Streets. However, a AUD $5 photography permit will open up a whole range of intimate, existing light photography opportunities inside St Paul's.

St Paul’s Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Melbourne, Australia. The seat of the Archbishop of Melbourne, St Paul’s welcomes more than 400,000 visitors a year.

Located adjacent to Flinders Street Station and opposite Federation Square, the cathedral was designed by English revival architect, William Butterfield, and built in the neo-Gothic transitional style.

St Paul’s Cathedral Opening Hours

St Paul’s Cathedral is open daily and admission is free. Opening hours are as follows:

Monday to Friday 10am till 6pm
Saturday: 10am till 5pm
Sunday Services: 8am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 6pm
Public Holidays: 11am till 4pm

St Pauls Cathedral Photography Permit

A photography permit, allowing you to take photos inside the cathedral, is available from the cathedral shop, just inside the main entrance doors, for a modest $5 fee.

Photography is permitted during sightseeing hours (Monday to Saturday), but is prohibited during actual religious services.

Please behave respectfully and do not use flash while inside the cathedral, as it’s disruptive to other visitors, many of whom visit for silent contemplation and/or to pray.

How to Photograph the Spire at St Paul’s Cathedral

The above photo wasn’t a particularly carefully constructed image, made within the contemplative bounds of a sacred space. I think that much is clear.

I was outside, on a busy street corner in the city of Melbourne, teaching a bunch of enthusiast level photographers some fundamental aspects associated with handling their DSLR and Mirrorless cameras.

Responding to the light, as it began to illuminate the spire at sunset, I made a few adjustments to my camera, raised it upwards and used the shaded parts of the cathedral and the silhouetted tree to frame the church’s sunlit spire.

The fact that the perspective of the spire, as well as the tower on the left hand side of the photo, is somewhat skewed doesn’t bother me.

However, there are ways to fix these sorts of issues with perspective. If you’re interested in learning more, feel free to check out this post featuring images from the fabulous Faroe Islands.

While an interesting and visually attractive building, it isn’t easy to make great photos of the exterior of St Paul’s from street level.

This photo was made near the back corner of the cathedral, from where there’s only so much that can be included in your composition.

However, as you can see, it’s a good spot to photograph the spire, particularly at sunset.

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Warm Colors Advance and Cool Colors Recede

Can you see how the natural yellowish hues of the spire stand out against the cool blue color of the sky?

There’s a simple rule in art that’s worth remembering.

It’s the relationship between warm and cool colors and how, when juxtaposed against each other, a more visually dynamic image is produced.

This is evident in greater visual separation between warm and cool colors, particulalry when they’re situated directly opposite each other on the color wheel, and the impression of extended three dimensional space within the photo.

While the subject matter in a photo is important, how you go about making that image is often the difference between success and failure, and your ability to lift a photo from snapshot to art.

And this photo of the sunset lit spire, at St Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne, is a good example of that fact.

Wouldn’t you agree?

Making Something Out of Nothing

While not a portfolio standard image, I knew I had the advantage of two important elements that would allow me to produce a successful result of this particular spire at St. Paul’s Cathedral: light and color.

It’s the color of the light, illuminating the cathedral’s spire, that’s the dominant element within this image.

Filling the centre of the frame, the eye can’t help but be drawn towards this attractively lit structure.

Practice Will Make You A Better Photographer

The entire process involving in taking this picture was probably completed in less than 30 seconds, which was the point I was trying to make at the time.

Understanding the key controls on your camera and how to use them is essential, particularly in time critical situations like candid photography and when making photos at sunrise and sunset.

Needless to say, theory alone is insufficient without confidence. And confidence is built through repetition of effort.

As they say, practice makes perfect. So, please, get up off the couch and go for a walk with your camera in hand.

Without expecting to make great art, simply enjoy your walk and employ your camera to respond to interesting visual stimuli you see on your walk.

Just as a walk around your own neighborhood can inspire you to explore your own neck of the woods in a more concentrated, contemplative manner, that initial photo of the sunset illuminated spire of St. Paul’s Cathedral motivated me to return and explore the building’s interior with my camera.

It was a smart move and I very much appreciated the opportunity to be allowed to purchase an inexpensive AUD $5 photography permit which allowed me to photograph, in a more considered and contemplative manner, inside St Paul’s.

While I’m capable of working quite quickly it is, nonetheless, helpful to have a few moments of quiet before starting to take photos.

Of course, churches and other sites of religious practice, are perfect places in which we’re able to turn down the noise of the world, quiet our mind, take in the serenity and beauty of the location and simply be in the moment.

Once you’ve soaked up the serenity you’ll be ready to create carefully considered compositions, while also dealing with the range of technical concerns you’ll likely experience in these typically low light and high contrast environments.

*Gold and red dominant this altar scene in St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne.*

Photography Is A Celebration Of Light

While I found the inside of St. Paul’s Cathedral to be beautiful, to my way of thinking the outside is no more impressive than so many other large religious buildings I’ve had the good fortune to visit around the world.

I can certainly appreciate the monumental nature of the cathedral’s construction, but it’s the interior space of the building that, from an architectural and spiritual point of view, I find to be particularly inspiring.

That was certainly the case when I approached this luminous, golden alter on one side of the cathedral. The light, while low in its intensity, beautifully illuminated the fine textures and shapes within the altar and the background panel.

Gold, particularly yellow gold, is gorgeous to behold. That’s probably why I’m such a fan of gold painted icons, in both the Christian and Orthodox Christian traditions.

I’d entered St. Paul’s Cathedral, on a couple of previous occasions, each time being impressed with the quiet and contemplative ambience within the space.

Sacred spaces really are wonderful places to behold and great places in which to sit and meditate.

The sheer scale of larger sacred spaces, such as churches, temples and mosques, can be awe-inspiring. It’s a little bit like looking up at the night sky on a clear, cloudless evening.

It’s at times like this that we begin to consider our own place and purpose in this world.

And that can only be a good thing.

*Candles providing illumination, both actual and symbolic, at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne.*

Complimentary, Monochromatic And Analogous Color

Remember the photo at the very top of this post that showcased the complimentary colors of the sunset illuminated spire, against the cool, blue sky.

Well, the photo of the candles, burning brightly inside St. Paul’s Cathedral, is based around a very different approach to color.

I’ve employed Monochromatic Color, in this case yellow, to enhance the richness and expressive qualities of the scene.

Please don’t confuse the term monochromatic (mono meaning one and chroma meaning color) photos with black and white photography.

While many camera manufactures use the term monochrome to refer to black and white photos, the term is also used in color photography to describe a photo dominated by one specific color.

As in all things, context can be critical.

Some of my favorite photos over the years are monochromatic (i.e., one color). They’re just so visually evocative and expressive of mood.

For example, yellow is a happy color while blue can be considered to elicit feelings of serenity, peace, sadness or melancholy.

It’s true that there are other colors in this scene, mostly orange and red. It could be argued that the color palette is not, strictly speaking, monochromatic.

I think that’s a little pedantic but, for the sake of clarity, let’s drill down to a more exact definition.

Rather than contrasting with each other, like the warm and cool colors of the Cathedral’s spire photographed against a bright, blue sky, most colors in this image of the lit candles are close to each on the color wheel.

Painters would referred to this as Analogous Color.

Whether warm or cool, analogous colors exist adjacent to each other on the color wheel and are, therefore, considered sympathetic to each other.

As a reminder, contrasting color, more commonly known as Complimentary Color, refers to two colors that, existing opposite each other on the color wheel, produce visually dynamic results.

Well, by comparison, analogous colors tend to produce a quieter, more harmonious image.

And I think that’s completely appropriate when it comes to describing how I felt when I employed a shallow depth of field to photograph these candles inside the beautiful St. Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne, Australia.

*Beautiful painting featuring a warm color palette inside St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne.*

Here’s another example of analogies color, this time featuring a beautiful painting inside St. Paul’s Cathedral.

I remember being drawn to the warm color palette and luminous tones within the original painting.

While post processing the image, I ensured I was able to further enhance those already deeply etched textures within the painting.

I’m really quite happy with this photo as I feel it conveys the poignancy of the moment that’s depicted in the original painting.

*Brass eagle lectern at St. Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne, Australia.*

Photography and the Power of Metaphor and Symbolism

The photo of the eagle in front of the altar was surprisingly difficult to make. That’s because the eagle’s eyes are turned away from my camera’s lens.

I could have moved to the left to make my photo. However, as the background wasn’t as interesting from that position, I decided to stick with the angle of view you see above.

The fact that the eagle is highly textured and, dare I say, golden in color, might be enough to ensure that the misdirection of it’s eyes in this picture won’t be noticed by the viewing audience.

Nonetheless, I’m disappointed.

You just can’t go past good eye contact in a photo, even when it features an inanimate object.