On Valentine’s Day while most people were thinking about romance, candy and flowers, we spent most of the day shooting the St. Bartholomew Chapel Dedication Services on the Rincon Indian Reservation in San Diego County. The original chapel was destroyed in the Oct. 2007 wildfire. The Chapel was rebuilt and reborn on February 14th 2010 with about 200 parishioners and guests attending. It was a two-camera shoot for the 2 hour dedication service with many interviews afterwards from everyone involved in the reconstruction and from the community.

After the fire.

This is one amazing piece of architecture with a precision designed ceiling for optimum acoustics. The Chapel is part of the Southwest environment with reinforced rammed earth walls. This allows for better insulation in the often hot, arid climate. The chapel is highly, fire resistant, understandably. From the recycled metal and steel to the drought resistant landscaping, the chapel is part of the land from which it was reborn. All these elements (and more) make this worship center a distinctive part of the Rincon Reservation.

The new chapel.

We were honored to be a part of the history, dedication and documentation of St. Bartholomew’s Chapel which will be featured in the video.

Now, who took my box of chocolates?