Academy Chapel

The United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs houses one of the most fascinating chapels in the country. I had the opportunity to visit the Academy Chapel in 2012 while on a trip to the western states. I wrote about the chapel in a post last year where I showcased a ceiling photo of the chapel. I am fascinated by this structure, in particular, its symmetry.

The United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel was completed in 1962 at a cost of $3.5 million. The chapel is the distinguishing feature of the Academy. The most striking aspect is its row of seventeen spires. The original designed called for nineteen but this number was reduced due to budget issues. The tubular steel frame structure consists of 100 identical tetrahedrons, each 75 feet long. The tetrahedrons are spaced out leaving gaps which are filled with 1-inch thick colored glass. The chapel is 150-feet high, 280-feet long and 80-feet wide. I highly recommend visiting the chapel if you find yourself in the area.

This image was taken with my Canon Canon EOS 5D Mark III using my EF8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM set on 15 mm. The camera was set on Manual mode with the Aperture set at f/4, shutter speed at 1/15th of a second and the ISO at 200.  I took a total of 5 bracketed (-2, -1, 0, +1, +2) images and I used Photomatix to produce an HDR image.  Final work was done in Lightroom and Photoshop.  I used Nik Color Efex as well.

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© 2016 T. Kahler Photography

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