A Small Chapel in the Olive Groves

Agios Nikolaos (St. Nickolas) is a very old and small private chapel that belongs to the friend's family who assigned me with the task of documenting the olive harvest as in the previous On Assignment at the Olive Groves article.
Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Lens: Canon EF-S 17-85 f/4.0-5.6 IS USM
ISO: 100
Exposure: 1/1600 sec
Aperture: 4.0
Focal Length: 24mm (38.4mm)

The small church is located far high on the olive grove hills somewhere in the middle of the 100 Hectares property following the tradition of many generations devoting a chapel to the protector saint of the family and their crops.

Small Panorama of 3 frames in portrait mode from the Sun Sea and Olives... series HDR +/-2 EV
Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Lens: Canon EF-S 17-85 f/4.0-5.6 IS USM
ISO: 100
Exposure: 1/1000 sec
Aperture: 4.0
Focal Length: 20mm (32mm)

The church was actually reconstructed in the recent years based on the relics of a small 17th century chapel which shows below the new roof and the yard shade.

Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Lens: Canon EF-S 17-85 f/4.0-5.6 IS USM
ISO: 100
Exposure: 1/1250 sec
Aperture: 4.0
Focal Length: 17mm (27.2mm)

The building was also extended with a new room to house family festivities during the holidays of Christmas, Easter, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in August and St Nickolas day on December 6 to whom the chapel is devoted.

Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Lens: Canon EF-S 17-85 f/4.0-5.6 IS USM
ISO: 100
Exposure: 1/1600 sec
Aperture: 4.0
Focal Length: 17mm (27.2mm)

Latest addition was a belfry in memory of the grand parents of the family.

Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Lens: Canon EF-S 17-85 f/4.0-5.6 IS USM
ISO: 100
Exposure: 1/1000 sec
Aperture: 4.5
Focal Length: 28mm (44.8mm)

Another tradition that comes a long way from the ancient Greek years is the existence of a wild olive tree in the midst of the property, near a church or the owners house.
In the ancient years the wild olive tree was sacred and its twigs were used to form the wreaths for the Olympic games winners.
The tree pictured below comes also a long way dated back to the 17th century together with the old chapel.

Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Lens: Canon EF-S 17-85 f/4.0-5.6 IS USM
ISO: 100
Exposure: 1/640 sec
Aperture: 4.0
Focal Length: 17mm (27.2mm)

The afternoon sun rays from the entrance door give a special mystic glow to the old family icons as soon as one enters the interior.

Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Lens: Canon EF-S 17-85 f/4.0-5.6 IS USM
ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/640 sec
Aperture: 4.5
Focal Length: 28mm (44.8mm)

The new extension was added in the recent years in order for the chapel to house more persons in the winter. The family has enlarged notably, with many grand children and grate grand children since the chapel was first built.

Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Lens: Canon EF-S 17-85 f/4.0-5.6 IS USM
ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: 4.0
Focal Length: 17mm (27.2mm)

And although the old small room enclosing the iconostasis (wooden divider of the sanctuary) and the holy altar was completely dark as a glimpse of the doorway shows on the left in the previous photo above, I somehow managed to take a decent photograph without a flash or tripod as if it was evenly lit by daylight.

Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Lens: Canon EF-S 17-85 f/4.0-5.6 IS USM
ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/3 sec
Aperture: 4.0
Focal Length: 20mm (32mm)

Life is not always technical, so I felt like sharing the simplicity of this private chapel, which as many others in the Greek countryside and rural areas, shows the ancient urge of the owners to be thankful for their crops and communicate with the divine.

All Photos were shot in RAW and post processed in Canon's DPP 3.14 (Digital Photo Professional).
Thank you for viewing.
All Photos & Photosynths: © 2013 S.C.Vlachos

Relevant Articles:
On Assignment at the Olive Groves
Sun Sea and Olives...

Reference Articles:
Canon EF-S 17-85 mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM Lens Reference