St. Francis Xavier Cathedral

About St. Francis Xavier Cathedral

The clock tower is what you see first at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral. This soaring red brick tower has a clock face on each side, a battlemented top and a small turret at each corner, making it eye-catching all over town. The rest of the building follows a similar design, filled with intricate details like a rose window in the gable, and buttresses stepping down the long sides, all in the same warm red brick. Fourth Street is narrow enough that the full height of the tower will need a wide lens and a tilted camera from the sidewalk on the opposite side of the road. You can back up into the parking lot across the street for a straighter view with the tower rising over the low downtown roof lines. If you have a long lens in your kit you can focus on the tower top where the clock faces, the battlements and the corner turrets make a tight, graphic frame. Red brick is forgiving in most light but goes flat and dull under fully overcast sky, so this is a place for direct sun, either early or late. An academy building that dates back to 1897 sits beside it, with arched windows and dormered roof, giving you a second subject and a wider streetscape without moving your feet. The exterior is free to shoot from the public sidewalk any time. The church is still an active parish so you'll have to time an interior visit around services. Downtown Alexandria is usually quite quiet on weekend mornings, so you will have lots of time and space to experiment with compositions from both sides of the street. (Alexandria, Louisiana, United States)

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