I dislike posts which are little more than a collection of photos, without any commentary - these are fine for friends and family who were present, as a reminder of an event, but they're not much use as blog posts. I know, I know, I have done it on occasion, but, I hope, not too often.
But I like to take lots of photos.
And my snazzy bit of camera kit means that I can now try to catch more than the main moments during the Mass.
As it happened, I was very nearly reduced to using my mobile phone camera, as, just as the bell rang before the Consecration, my camera battery died. Fortunately, I had had the good sense to pack my spare battery (having charged it beforehand... what foresight!) but my fingers were shaking as I desperately tried to change the battery in time!
So, to celebrate my achievement, this is a post with a few of those extra moments...
This one was for the priest's Confiteor...
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And here I managed to catch the moment where priest, deacon and subdeacon all genuflected as they incensed the altar...
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The incensing of the priest at the beginning of Mass...
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The next two photos are ones I have often tried to catch, as I find them very moving, but I have rarely succeeded, mostly because the phone camera I have previously used just didn't have a fast enough shutter speed. First the priest blesses the deacon before he reads the Gospel...
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And then the deacon kisses the priest's hand, while the priest holds the Book of the Gospels...
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I was delighted to see that I had captured the bow of priest and deacon after the priest was incensed...
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Here, the thurifer incenses the deacon...
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Another rarely caught moment (well, rarely for me) as the deacon and subdeacon exchange the Pax...
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The priest gives the final blessing...
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I didn't manage to get the genuflection during the Last Gospel, as my hand slipped (I forgot my monopod!) but I did manage to get a shot from the beginning of the Te Deum, to show off the cope which was, I think, borrowed from Chislehurst...
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It really was awesome. Mass with all the trimmings!