Mogno, Ticino, August 5th 2012

Canon EOS 5D MkIII, Sigma 15-30/3.5-4.5
1/60 second
ƒ/16

About these Pictures

The Chiesa di San Giovanni in Mogno was built between 1992 and 1996 following the destruction of the old church by an avalanche in 1986. Designed by the famous architect Mario Botta, the church is made of marble and granite from the area.

The building is a fabulous subject for architecture photography, and in my opinion is particularly inviting for wide-angle shots. The small picture below was taken in late April 2006 with a Canon 20D and a Sigma 15-30 lens at a focal length of 15mm, which corresponds to 24mm on a full-frame camera. That was the first time I visited the church carrying a camera. The picture has an interesting quality of line and beautifully plays with curves and straight lines.

I visited the location again in 2010 and took some more pictures, again with a Canon 20D, but this time mounting an 8mm fisheye lens (i.e. 13mm on full-frame). One of these pictures is shown at the top of this page. The fisheye lens allowed me to include many more details (including the cross) and emphasize the strong symmetry and lines of the building in a much stronger way than the Sigma 15-30 lens had. The new picture thus has a more powerful graphical impact and conveys a much stronger sense of space.

In August 2012 I visited the church once again, this time carrying a full-frame Canon EOS 5D MkIII. I mounted the same Sigma 15-30 as in 2006. The second picture shown above was taken at a (real) focal length of 15mm. What really makes the picture stand apart from the previous ones is the warm light, though. The weather conditions were very different from previous visits at the church—the sun was shining and cast a warm and soft light over the scene. Notice the sun flare result from backlight conditions and the cross, which is almost shining in gold.