The news of the fire that has destroyed Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral really has effected me more than I expected.

SHOCKED AND PAINED

That's over 800 years of history gone in a single day. It took about 100 years to build it.
Over 10 Million people visit every year. And i think of those who are inspired by it's beauty and inspired by the symbols that point them to God.

And now it's mostly gone... and it really does bring tears to my eyes.

WHY RELIGIOUS BUILDINGS MATTER

One year of my life I dedicated completely to photographing religious buildings in the United States and I gained an appreciation for what the buildings mean and how they help people in so many ways. They teach archetypal stories in their symbolism. They provide gathering places for communities. And more and more I realize how art and beautiful creations can really lift and inspire the human spirit. Notre-Dame was one of the most recognized works of beauty in our world. This is no small thing what happened today.

I think of the thousands that no doubt worked to create this symbol of their faith and love.
I think of all those who go and feel inspired by the spirit or even just the beauty and the capacity of the human creativity.
It's really quite sad to me...

MY IMAGES

In any case I'll share some pictures from past trips. I really haven't gone in almost 7 years so these are all quite old.

2012

I went to photograph a wedding for a french couple and while there I spent a couple days touring the city.

2010

I photographed another wedding ... and also got opportunities this time to go inside

One of my favorite experiences that year (9 years ago) was playing with long exposures and focusing on the birds of Notre-Dame which if anyone has gone you know it's kind of a part of the experience in a place like this.

2006

One year after getting my very first DSLR i made a trip to Europe ... plenty of bad/blury shots but there's one redeemable image I liked

I don't have any pictures from my 2004 trip... I would guess that I went and visited Notre-Dame but back then I was taking like 1 megapixel images with my first camera... a Casio. haha

2010 Wedding

In 2012 we didn't get much at this location at least not that made it to my collection gallery that I had access to today.
But in 2010 there were a couple of images with the building that I thought i'd also share.