At Your Service

My job often results in me having a ringside seat to events that I wouldn't otherwise witness, which is a fortunate and fantastic part of my profession. Although not completely ignorant to the religious world, last Saturday I was commissioned to photograph an ordination service at St Mary's Cathedral in Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough.

I’m familiar with the general stages of a church service such as the readings, hymns, prayers and communion, indeed, I sung in my local church choir as a youth. However, the ordination service created added interest as it was far less familiar to me. From the minister in question lying prostrate on the ground to the laying of hands by fellow priests, and the anointing of hands. Such rituals are steeped in history, meaning and tradition and have probably changed very little over the course of time.

Paramount to my coverage of this progression into priesthood was that I blended into the background as much as possible. So I depended heavily on a long lens and spent a great deal of time squatting or on my knees to avoid distracting the congregation. Other than being asked to move by the organist when unintentionally blocking his view to musical prompts from the choir leader, I hope I succeeded in covering the event as unobtrusively as possible.