When this assignment appeared in my inbox, I admittedly didn’t have much faith in its potential. But then I arrived…

Built in 1967, Precious Blood Catholic Church, dubbed the “corkscrew church” was designed by Franco-Manitoban architect, Etienne Gaboury. The largely cedar structure inspired pause. It felt good inside.

Photographing the steeple was tricky, given its angle and the massive light shift from top to bottom. So I got to know the tiled floor well, writhing around and cursing (albeit politely) in my mind. Using HDR photography would have resolved some lighting issues, but there wasn’t time to make this “look” consistent through every shot. 

The story has since landed sporadically on the faith pages across Canada. Photog pal and Waterloo Record staffer, Melissa Tait, snagged me this snapshot of their layout: