Well, it’s Sunday and that means that I find myself flipping through the various collections of “Photos of the Week.”  There are invariably a number of moving or amusing images.  And, of course, I find myself reflecting on how much under image rapid-fire we all are. I found two images to share this week and they are so different, one sacred, one profane, that I feel I have to put them up on separate days.

So first – last week, brought the election of the new Pope amidst a pagent of sacred, yet ancient, ceremony.  And we could not help but think how different our cellphone-based world usually is.  This wonderful picture by Michael Sohn of the Associated Press seems to unify, if momentarily these two worlds. An expectant crowd gathers to witness the appearence of the new pope in Saint Peters square.  We see a constellation of lights, candles(?) symbolic of the human soul.  They seem infinite and just out of focus, just beyond reach.  But then we realize that they are not candles but cell phones and IPads – all photographing the event.  Indeed, the one in focus IPad in the center of the foreground, creates the sense of picture within picture, which like two parallel mirrors heightens our sensation of infinity.

It is a magnificent juxtaposition and excellently executed! The depth of field was perfectly chosen to contrast sharpness and fuzziness in reflief and beyond that to create a true sense of mystery of the infinite.