Nikon D90 Announced—with High-Def 'D Movie' Mode

Today the Nikon D90 (a digital SLR camera) was announced, and I think it will be a game-changing camera. It not only has the same image sensor as the excellent Nikon D300, but it has a feature that sets it apart from every other digital SLR on the market—a movie mode.

I think this is a revolutionary, rather than evolutionary, change. I have been wondering when something like this would happen. I had a Canon S2 IS, and have used the S5 IS, and their movie modes were quite excellent, but with their small image sensors, recording in less-than-ideal conditions meant a lot of digital noise, and very control over the depth of field (for that nice blurred-out background or foreground effect).

I had wondered if Nikon or Canon would ever think to take one of their high-end SLRs and incorporate a good movie mode—I mean, they can already shoot 9 or 10 fps... what's so hard about just leaving the mirror up and recording at 24 or 30 fps? Well, Nikon finally made my dream camera (almost); the D90 shoots at 12.3 megapixels (still), or in the movie mode, at a maximum of 1280x720 (720p resolution) at 24 fps. With the excellent image sensor on this camera, the movies recorded on it promise to be of the highest quality... and you can use any Nikon lens for the recording!

There are still a few sticky points, though. One is the fact that there is no microphone-in port on the camera. This means that for good on-location recordings, one will have to bring separate recording gear then mix down the audio later. Also, there is no electronic zoom control, so you have to try to have a steady hand if you want to zoom in or out during the video (I assume the autofocus still works). Finally, I don't know what kind of damage video recording does to battery life, but I have high expectations.

The positive aspects far outweigh the negative, however—not only is this an excellent still camera (the third best in the Nikon lineup!), it is also a high-resolution video wonder! I'm actually considering finding some way to get this camera, as it would be considerably easier to take pictures in all the dark environments I usually shoot in—but it probably won't happen for a while. I'll putz along with my old D40 for a while yet!

Farewell Archbishop Burke! You Will Be Missed! [UPDATE: Pictures Posted]

[UPDATE: Pictures have been posted.]

This morning and afternoon, Kenrick-Glennon Seminary was graced with the presence of the Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal, Archbishop Burke. This week he's been saying goodbye to all the faithful of the Archdiocese, and he finished his public farewell Masses with an eleven o'clock Mass at the Seminary. I took some pictures at the Mass, which will be posted soon, but I and my fellow Seminarians are sad to see him leave—he was a father to us all, and a great pastor of the flock in Saint Louis.

We wish you well, Archbishop Burke!

"Choose Life" License Plate for Missouri Vehicle Owners!

It has been a while since I last heard about the efforts of some Missourians to create a license plate with a positive message in clear support of human life. In the past week, I noticed my Mom was ording a 'Choose Life' license plate, but I didn't even know they were available!

Apparently, though, they are available, and you can get a set for your car if you donate at least $25 to 'Choose Life of Missouri' and pay the $15 Department of Revenue fees. You even get a customized plate, to boot! I have given my donation and eagerly await the paperwork to order the plates, and I hope that anyone else reading this in Missouri might do the same. Pray for an end to abortion, euthanasia and all other offenses against human life!

Study Materials for New Ordo Missae Released on USCCB Website

The USCCB website released a variety of study materials (in PDF format) for the upcoming revised English translation of the Ordo Missae (the translations we use for the English-language Mass). You can browse through their 'Roman Missal Formational Materials,' or just read the whole White Book here.

A Pictoral Walkthrough of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Well, at long last, here are my impressions and pictures (click the link for a full album) of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, WI. (Unfortunately, the weather wasn't that great, so I have few outdoor pictures). We arrived after a good night's sleep at the Shrine for Morning Prayer and a reflection (one of two for our Day of Recollection) from Archbishop Burke. We then attended Holy Mass, ate lunch at the wonderful Shrine restaurant, and returned to the Church for Daytime Prayer, a Holy Hour, the Rosary, another reflection from Archbishop Burke, and the Stations of the Cross (the Shrine has a beautiful and contemplative hillside walking path with the stations and mysteries of the Rosary).

Our day was fairly packed, but I was able to spend a few minutes taking pictures of the Shrine and the beautiful artwork contained within. (As an aside, this Church is living proof that there are still artists alive that can produce works of actual beauty and not just all the modern ugliness that typically goes into modern Church buildings!).

First, an overview of the whole Shrine—notice the traditional cruciform layout of the Church, with a transcept in the middle, and the altar and tabernacle in the top/front area. The pews are all polished wood, and there is marble almost everywhere:

Now, here's a picture of the Baldaccino and sanctuary—notice especially how everything directs the eye towards the altar of sacrifice. This is the focal point of the Church (as it should be), and, as Archbishop Burke reminded us today, "the purpose for the building itself."

And you may notice the angels on the four corners of the Baldaccino—these are styled a little differently than most of the angels I've seen in other similar Churches, as they have grapes, wheat, and something else, and are in a very 'organic' pose (rather than the rigid pose I'm used to seeing). Here's a detail picture of one of the angels:

To support the singing of sacred music, a mighty and beautiful organ was constructed for the Shrine. It covers the entire back wall of the church, and includes another set of ranks directly in the front of the choir loft. (Also note the words underneath—these are words Our Lady spoke to Juan Diego):

Also towards the back of the Shrine are six large devotional areas with depictions of many saints, including St. Maria Goretti, Blessed Miguel Pro, St. Thérèse of Liseux, St. Faustina, St. Peregrine and St. Gianna (detail of her painting below).

There is no area of the Shrine (including the staircases and even the basement, which will soon be a crypt church!) that was not made to worthily support the worship of the pilgrims who come to visit the Shrine; indeed, here is a detail picture of one of the many columns around the Shrine:

The Shrine is dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, and to commemorate her apparitions to St. Juan Diego, there is a very beautiful bronze statue of the scene of Our Lady's image appearing on Juan's tilma for the first time in front of the Church (just in front of the heavy solid bronze doors!):

The Shrine is one of the best places to make a pilgrimage to in the United States, in my opinion. The facilities are well-maintained, the staff is friendly, but most importantly, the presence of Our Lord and Our Lady can be felt throughout the Shrine's grounds. I wish I could write more on the Shrine, but for now, a full album of all my pictures from the Shrine will have to do (each picture deserves a long caption, but I simply don't have the time!).

Leaving for Wisconsin! (Watch the Twitter Feed for insta-pictures)

All of the St. Louis seminarians and I will be leaving for Wisconsin around noon today to travel to the Our Lady of Guadelupe Shrine in La Crosse. Most of the trip I'll be away from the computer, so I won't be able to upload any full albums of pictures. However, if you watch the Twitter feed on the left side of my blog's home page, you will be able to click on some links to find individual pictures of different people and places here and there!

A Preview of Things to Come...

If you've been following things in the Twitter feed on the left column pane of this blog's homepage (or if you click here and visit my whole Twitter feed), you'll notice that I'm on the verge of getting an iPhone 3G... this will likely happen tomorrow morning, if things go as planned. This will help me start remembering things a little better than my current system of post-it notes stuck in every nook and cranny of my wallet and desk (hopefully!).

I just returned from Omaha yesterday (in the late evening), and I'm relaxing and visiting a few people in St. Louis before all the St. Louis Seminarians and I will be traveling with Archbishop Burke up to Wisconsin to visit the beautiful (and finally complete!) Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I still haven't posted pictures from the beautiful chapel dedicated to St. John on the Creighton University campus, though I should have them up before I leave on Sunday. Also, I will be posting Twitter updates (with some pictures!) from Wisconsin, so be watching the Twitter feed during the next week!