During my trip to Iceland, I visited the Reykjavik Cathedral. As with many of my photographs inside places of worship, I timed my visit to coincide with a service.

There are a few advantages to visiting a church during a mass:

• I'm assured that the doors will be open.
• The interior will be properly lit.
• There will be someone there to talk with about getting permission to photograph the interior.

As a result, I've sat through hundreds of services (especially Catholic masses) over the past few years. I have now photographed more than 200 places of worship!

My experience at the Reykjavik Cathedral was unique in that the entire service was conducted in Icelandic. Unfortunately, I didn't understand a word throughout the entire mass. Once the service ended, I met with the pastor and asked if I could capture some photographs of the interior of the church. As with everyone I met in Iceland, he quickly transitioned to speaking perfect English. My request was granted.

The Reykavik Cathedral is a historic site that is located right next to Iceland's Parliament building. The pastor pointed out that his Lutheran church is the one that is called a cathedral...while the far larger Lutheran church (Hallgrimskirkja) is not designated as such. When I explained that I've photographed more than 200 places of worship, he said that he's certain that I've never visited a smaller cathedral.

Following is one of the pictures that I captured after the Icelandic service:

Reykjavik CathedralReykjavik (Domkirkjan) Cathedral in Reykjavik, Iceland on February 18, 2018