Statue at Sunset

I got out tonight and took some more pictures. The setting sun was giving me a great sky to work with, but I was in the car and running out of time. I made a quick stop at The Shrine of the Holy Relics and captured this.


Sun Set and Statue  Shrine of the Holy Relics  Maria Stein Ohio

Cemetery at Twilight

The phone rings, I pick up and it's our oldest son Ryan. "Get your camera and go outside the sunset is awesome." That was pretty much the whole conversation. So I grab my gear and head outside. My son lives in town, we live in the country. Were not that far apart (15 miles) but I wasn't seeing what he was seeing. Still maybe just on the other side of the tree line. I decide what the heck I'd drive west and see what happens. I figured I'd go as far as McCartyville and if nothing was going on I'd just return home and watch NCIS.


The Sacred Heart of Jesus is in McCartyville and has a wonderful cemetery. The Station 12 of the Cross or as I like to call it memorial to Calvary is one of my favorite subjects. This one came out very muted in twilight.

The picture at the top was taken when I first got there while there was still quite a bit of light. I think it came out with a very spooky feel. Of course I wanted to try and capture some of the sunset so I turned my attention on the monument that first caught my eye. On this shot I experimented with my flash compensation and backed my flash off by about 2 stops. The resulting picture is not too bad, but still not quite what I wanted.


This last picture is another twilight shot. Shooting late at night is a bit of a challenge but can produce some interesting images. All these pictures were taken with my trusty Canon f/2.8 100mm Macro lens. By the time I got there; its about a 15 minute drive, I did not have time to setup a tripod. These were all taken hand-held so I was not sure if I would come back with anything I could use. Over all I was happy with the outing. The top picture is my favorite out of the bunch.

Cemetery Crosses
Cemetery Crucifix
Sacred Heart of Jesus Church
McCartyville Ohio

St. Francis

One of the surprising features of this church are its large stained glass murals. This is just one of several you will find on your visit here.

These pictures were taken early in my exploration of the byway. At this point in time I was still trying to get by without using a tripod. In fact it was these pictures that made me start lugging it around and using it. Case in point this altar picture was taken at ISO 1600 to get the shutter speed fast enough so I could shoot hand-held.

The image quality on my camera at ISO 800 is barely acceptable....1600 just was not going to cut it quality wise. This picture looks fine for the web, but trying blowing it up and you get grain and loss of detail. Live and Learn.

Fort Recovery

Fort Recovery is home of the Fort Recovery Indians and a great place to visit. Historical information and sites abound here. It is the only point of interest on the byway that is not church related.


According to their web site this historic village is built on the sit of General St. Clair's defeat in 1791 and General Anthony Wayne's battle (recovery) in 1794. The fort built under Wayne's command was called Fort Recovery which remains the name of the village today. To truly appreciate this place you have to spend some time reveling in the history.




This monument is not hard to find and stands as a tribute to those who have fallen. It's the center piece for a very nice park.

The fort complex has several buildings one of which is the museum. Unfortunately it was not open while I was there. The Front of the fort is pretty much all that remains fort wise.

This old Shell station serves as the Visitor Information Center and is just one of many nostalgia type buildings you will find in the area.


I wish I had more time while I was there to do more exploring. There is plenty I did not see. I am planning on coming back for some fall pictures later next month and hopefully tour and see the museum.

Saint Rose (Stained Glass)

All the churches that I have been in on the byway have wonderful stained glass windows. St. Rose's are exceptional. Because of their humanistic quality I couldn't help but frame them.

The original posted pictures were low-res because of the framing process I used and concerns about space. I decided to replace them with these High-Res non framed images. I may make a slide show with the Low-Res Framed ones. I will work out the space issue some other way. If you left click on these you will get a very large picture to view. These were taken hand held and are not as sharp as I would of liked, but still beautiful non the less.




I have been to this church several times and have been wanting to feature it for sometime. These are not all the stained glass windows in the church but a fair sampling. I wish I new what Saint was being portrayed in each scene. They definitely have a portrait look to them. The detail is remarkable.



I have found the best time to photograph stained glass is late afternoon/early evening. Otherwise I have problems with blown out high-lights. It really depends though on where the sun is in relationship to the windows and how much of the window is in direct sun. I normally have to change my camera settings when I move to the opposite wall.


I have always been intrigued by the beauty of stained glass. The colors when their lit by the sun are so vibrant and the surrounding patterns just fascinating. I like to study them to see what all is hidden. Not hidden really, but the things you don't see right away. The things you have to look for that a casual glance would miss.


This church also has an old fashion type iron gated cemetery that I've been trying to get a really nice picture of. So far I haven't succeeded but I did add a picture of it to the (Description of the ByWay Pictures)

These pictures were taken hand-held at ISO 200 f/2.8 1/90 sec. using the Canon 100mm Macro Lens.

Hope you enjoyed this post of Stained Glass Windows.

St. Francis Memorial Crucifix

I found this church while detouring off of 119 on my way to St. Henry. It's not on the byway map but definitely worth a look. Take 127 South off of 119 then West on Cranberry Rd, just out side of St. Henry. This church like so many other rural churches is adjoined by a cemetery. I just love shooting these Calvary Memorials.

Taking pictures of The Land of the Cross Tipped Churches has been and still is a learning experience for me. So I don't always leave with what I came for. I am sad to say I did not get a decent outside picture of the building.

Update 2012 - I recently revisited the church and sadly it is no longer their. Not sure why it was removed.

Memorial Crucifix

Saint Francis Catholic Church

Cranberry Prairie, Ohio

Immaculate Conception Church Celina Ohio

The immaculate Conception Church in Celina Ohio is not on the scenic byway but is part of The Land of the Cross Tipped Churches. I took the opportunity to visit it on my way back from taking pictures at St. Anthony. I had never been to Celina before and was surprised by the number of photo ops it offered besides the church. I am definitely going back to spend some quality time walking around and taking pictures.

While swapping out lenses a most unfortunate thing happened. I dropped my lens (While standing on the concrete sidewalk). The lens survived but my circular polarizer did not. I guess I should not complain as it probably sacrificed its life to save my lens. If you only have one filter the circular polarizer is the one to have....so I will have to replace it. It's greatly responsible for the nice blue skies that I get. I also use it in place of a Neutral Density Filter when I have a need for one.

This year I have lost one 2GB Compact Flash Card to the Laundry, One lens Cap in Cincinnati and now one Polarizer Filter. Not too bad but it still hurts the pocket book.

This is just a beautiful church. The three cross tipped domes definitely make it unique. The church was not open while I was there but you can check out fellow blogger Kyle Gase's post on pictures he took inside with his Cell Phone. Elsewhere in Ohio Immaculate Conception, Celina