Via Lucis Photography is about the art and architecture of Romanesque and Gothic churches in Europe. This blog highlights those photographs but also features the written word to characterize and give context to the images.
Photographers Dennis Aubrey and PJ McKey have photographed approximately 900 of these churches and captured over 125,000 images. We have created a library of more than 5,000 high-resolution images for licensing, many of which can be seen on the VIA LUCIS website.
We have a summary of all of the French churches that we have featured in this blog in an indexed list with links to the articles. If you look at the “Featured Churches” tab above, you can also access the churches in Germany and Spain that have been featured.
If you are interested, here is a post that lists some of our personal favorite articles on Via Lucis.
Please note that all images and text on this Via Lucis blog are copyrighted by VIA LUCIS LLC. Thank you for respecting this notice.
vialucispress.wordpress.com 
There are people who take pictures, there are photographers, and then, there is Via Lucis. This is THE most incredible collection of images from Medieval churches I have yet seen. These places are amazing to start with, but what Dennis Aubrey and PJ McKey accomplish in these spaces with a camera is breathtaking.
I’m slowly reading and looking at both your wonderful work, Dennis and PJ. This is a masterpiece of photography combined with history documentary and commentary.Thanks for the pleasure and knowledge. Pnina
I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your site. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more enjoyable for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a developer to create your theme? Outstanding work!
Beautiful work, especially as mixed with the music. Thank you.
Thanks, Lewis, for your kind words. This project is a consuming passion for both PJ and I. We are now planning our next trip for fall which will include churches in Burgundy, Auvergne, Rouergue, and Dordogne. Can’t wait!
Excellent article !
Merci pour tout ces partages, c’est vraiment super sympas de ta part :p
I love images of sacred places and Europe is a great storehouse of these images. Thanks for sharing these.
Dennis,
What truly sublime photographs you have here. THank you for sharing.
And thank you for the “like” on thatlou.com. Next time you’re in Paris, if you feel like going on a treasure hunt at the Louvre, you know where to find me!
Kind regards,
Daisy
Thanks, Daisy. The Louvre is such a treasure trove – last time we went we decided to just visit the Etruscan section and it still took three hours! Appreciate your kind words and who knows, we may end up seeing you at the Louvre.
Indeed, my husband and I have spent full days at the Gallery Campana (Greek pots — only a few rooms, but so rich!). Sadly there’s tons of construction about this year, so whole swaths of it are closed. Anyway, will continue checking in with your fine, tracery-filled project. Kind regards, D
Wow, what beautiful photography and sensational old architecture, thanks for shooting and sharing, kind regards, Dennis
Thanks, Dennis. This project is our ongoing passion of many years and will continue throughout our lives. So many churches left just in France, not to mention Spain, England, Italy …
Great work! I especially liked the interplay of light and shadow in your Side Aisle, Notre Dame de Chartres photo. From the PhotoLord website, the exposure time is 15 seconds. Did you use a tripod, and if so, do you establish your credentials in order to use a tripod? I’ve always assumed I couldn’t use a tripod. Charley
Charley, thanks for the kind words about the shot. We use tripods in all of the churches we shoot. In the case of Chartres, we were commissioned to shoot there for three days by the American Friends of Chartres. Tripods are not allowed normally, but I have seen people using monopods. And I hope you enjoy these best five years of your life.
Thank you for your prompt and complete response. Your work is very inspirational. And yes, I am enjoying these five years through travel, photography, and writing, as well as yoga for fitness to enjoy the next five years.
Charley, PJ and I are doing this Via Lucis as our life project. We have over 75,000 photos in the library already and who knows how many it will end up being. There are 5,000 Romanesque churches in France alone and our research map on Google Earth has 1500 in Spain. We will also be shooting in Italy, England, and Germany if we can ever tear ourselves away from France.
Very impressive! Great shots!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Great work you have here!
Beautiful blog.
A fascinating blog. Some of my art history studies focused on cathedrals etc. and I must admit there is something special in being able to capture the feeling of these beautiful buildings. Love your work!
Thank you, appreciate your visit and kind words.
Namaste from India…hey really excuse me for such a late response…have not been active on my blog….thanks for liking my last post …feels great that my architecture pictures were appreciated by someone so closely involved with architectural photography….you have a beautiful collection and I can learn a lot from them…following your blog from today….would appreciate your thoughts on my forthcoming posts
Absolutely stunning imagery!
wonderful blog and amazing idea. Love all the pictures, they’re beautiful and so inspiring.
Thanks for the like on my blog! You have some beautiful pictures. I have always loved the architecture of churches. I am happy you found my blog so now I found yours and will definitely be following your posts!
Dennis, your post today about St Michael’s Church didn’t work. Please try again.
Thanks for liking my blog, it’s new and I have a long way to go. You have some beautiful photos and I look forward to seeing more in the future.
Thanks, we hope to be living in France for part of the year soon. It will make it easier to photograph these churches that we love so well.
You have keen eyes to see and skiils to photograph them! Thanks for shsring your works.
Thanks so much. PJ and I have a great affection for this project which pretty much dominates our photography, if not our lives.
Thank you for stopping by to visit my blog and for liking my post of Florence. And thank you for sharing your amazing photos!
Photographing churches is like no other for me, because I can actually feel a sense of peace and power sometimes, depending on the church.
Your work is brilliant! What a joy and gift it is that you’re able to capture the beauty of so many amazing places of worship.
Thanks for your kind words. There is a real sensation of power and peace in these structures. We write elsewhere, “who can ignore the echo of a thousand years of hallelujahs?”
Hi Dennis, thanks for stopping by my blog http://reflectionsofchina.wordpress.com/ and for the likes, they are appreciated…Your connection has now given me the chance to connect to your site which if full of geat images and detailed information, thanks for sharing and please keep up your great work. Regards Mark
Mark, was very impressed by your blog on China and will continue to watch your posts. Thanks for your kind words.
Hi Dennis, thanks so much for visiting my blog and the like! Your blog shows amazing photography with a keen eye for detail, very inspiring. Keep up the great work!
Hope all is well with you and yours since you haven’t posted since my last visit three weeks ago.
Russel, we are doing fine and have posted about ten times since then. We have a “sticky” post in first position, though. Thanks!
Ah-ha! I’ll come back by today. Thanks!
Thanks for the visit and the encouraging ‘like’, Dennis, and well done with your religious architecture photos too. I’ve found plenty of religious art on my trek along the Camino de Santiago this week and will post about it very soon.
All the best, Richard
Looking forward to seeing your work on the Camino de Santiago, Richard. As you must know, a good percentage of the churches we photograph were part of the Camino in their day.
I am so going to love this blog!
Perhaps it is not necessary “to travel for days to meet another person whom he could embrace as a brother.”
🙂
Thank you for visiting my blog Dennis. I love your work. Although I’ll be back in Italy this fall for an extended time, your photos make my wait even harder… Jenn
Looking forward to seeing what you do in Italy. We’re preparing for our trip to France in September … very hard to wait!
You have some beautiful photos here.
Fantastic images. Instant bookmark.
Thanks, Matt. We have a passion for this architecture and it is our life’s work.
I suspect you are not into the whole blogging awards scene but I wanted to let you know I have mentioned your site as a ‘should visit’ – http://lynneayersbeyondthebrush.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/blog-of-the-what/
Photos looks grt and looks like I’m gonna have to spend some time on your blog..:)
Thanks, Pranesh. Glad to have you come visit here.
Excellent! Keep writing.
Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up.
The words in your post seem to be running off the screen in Chrome.
I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you know.
The layout look great though! Hope you get the problem fixed soon.
Thanks
Leta, I use Chrome on my laptop and haven’t seen this. I’ll pass it on to the folks at WordPress and see what they say. Thanks.
Good morning Dennis,
LinkedIn tells me that ViaLucis is now 7 years old. Keep up the amazing work! Hope you and PJ have a great new year 🙂
Happy New Year, Nathan. We’ve been off Via Lucis for ten days now, which is almost a record, but are preparing a post today. Look forward to following your adventures and seeing you in France this Spring!
I have written you PJ and Dennis on the an usual story about Jesus temptation, which adds to all your beautiful /interesting work . And again thanks for sharing !
I am looking to get permission to use some images used in the stations. The site vialucis.net can not be found.
Thank you for your help!