During May, I took a brief photography trip to St. Louis. I like to capture pictures of Places of Worship, so my first stop was the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis.

When I entered the church from the bright daylight, the interior of the church appeared to be pitch black. I could hardly see anything. So I asked if there was any possibility to get the lights turned on inside the church--or if there was a better time to visit when the lights would be on. I was told that the lights (and he was referring to the floods) are only turned on during mass. Since photography is prohibited during mass, it's impossible to take pictures with the lights on. In time, as my eyes began to adjust to the dark interior, I gradually could see more. And, it always amazes me what my camera sensor can see if the exposure is long enough!

In the end, I was pleased with the photographs from the Basilica. Click here to view 16 images from the cathedral.

While walking around the Basilica, I estimated that there must be a million mosaic tiles in the church. My estimate was low. In fact, there are 41.5 million glass tiles in the Basilica in more than 7,000 colors. The tiles cover 83,000 square feet. It's the largest collection of mosaic tiles in the world!

Cathedral Basilica of Saint LouisCathedral Basilica of Saint Louis at 4431 Lindell Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri on May 27, 2015 Cathedral Basilica of Saint LouisCathedral Basilica of Saint Louis at 4431 Lindell Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri on May 27, 2015 Cathedral Basilica of Saint LouisCathedral Basilica of Saint Louis at 4431 Lindell Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri on May 27, 2015 Cathedral Basilica of Saint LouisCathedral Basilica of Saint Louis at 4431 Lindell Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri on May 27, 2015