Stars glitter overhead. Candles flicker. A gentle waterfall blocks out the sounds of surrounding campus. Mary’s Grotto at night envelops its visitors in stillness.
Raphael Grothues, a freshman at Benedictine College, endeavored to capture this stillness through a recent collection of photos. When challenged to capture the sense of a place on campus, he chose the grotto.
“I spend a lot of time at the grotto, especially at night,” Grothues said. “It’s a nice place to be. So I wanted to capture how it was to be there at night. The feeling of just looking at the candles, the statues, just being there.”
For Grothues, photography is more than a hobby. It’s a way to capture and share the beauty he finds in the world.
“I received a camera when I was like a kid, probably about 10 or so. And I just liked taking photos. And then I just got a slightly better camera and went off from there.”
Now, Grothues is taking his first official photography class at Benedictine College.
“For this class, especially it touches on the people aspect of photography,” he said. “So it teaches you the human connection side of photography. That’s kind of what stood out to me the most.”
For this collection, Grothues went beyond human connection. His photos give the viewer a sense of place, immersing them in the grotto by starlight.
“Just in terms of the senses, you have the lights and then you have the waterfall in the back. It’s very accessible, but still quiet.”
While the grotto is lovely at night, capturing that beauty takes some special considerations. To capture the stars, Grothues used long exposure shots and a tripod.
“For the sky, you usually want around like two to ten minutes. So I think for these I had, some photos that were about 60 seconds, some that were about two minutes. So that way, we can kind of capture the dark night sky.”
Grothues captured much more than the night sky. He captured a place of peace, prayer, and great natural beauty. Places like the grotto remind us to wonder at the surrounding world, and be grateful to its Creator.
