Virtual Easter Sermon

Washington, Connecticut

Last Wednesday I spent the morning shooting in a nearly deserted Steep Rock Preserve. In my first two hours on the hiking trails I encountered only a pair of women jogging the opposite direction. I moved off the trail to give them plenty of room to come by and they waved and said 'good morning.' Later, when I climbed a very steep section of trail, up away from the river, ending at the south end of the 19th century railroad tunnel, I heard animated voices echoing from the tunnel, except it didn't really sound like a conversation. After making a couple exposures of moss and rock I entered the dark tunnel and headed north, listening. When I rounded the bend halfway through, I could see that two people were making some sort of video. I felt bad about walking into their background, but there's no other path to follow. The camera operator spotted me and signaled the man speaking to the camera to hold up.

When I reached them I asked what they were recording, and the speaker, Judah Thomas, said that he's a pastor and was recording Sunday's sermon to be shared over the internet. He told me it will be the fifth Sunday they've held services virtually. I responded that it was a great decision and a hell of a lot smarter than a few renegade pastors down South. "That's for sure," said the cameraman, "one guy even got arrested! Nobody wants that sort of publicity!" "Or to endanger your congregation," I answered. Then Judah explained that he had known vaguely about Steep Rock and had seen pictures of the railroad tunnel entry. This gave him the idea of using it as a backdrop for his Easter Sunday sermon, since it could metaphorically be taken for a tomb. I asked to take a couple portraits, then as they got ready to pick up where they'd been interrupted, I asked if I could stay and make some pictures as they taped the sermon, promising to switch my camera to silent mode so there'd be no clicking in their soundtrack. They were agreeable, and this shot is the result.