It was a treat to spend last Sunday evening photographing Chris and Danielle. They have been dating for 7 years and are tying the knot in August. If there’s one thing I noticed about these two, they really understand one another. When we were taking casual portraits of them talking in the park, they were totally at ease and you could just see the love. They first met downtown and share a lot of memories there, so the parks and plazas of Pittsburgh were a sentimental backdrop for this lovely couple.
https://www.captivatingimagery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Web-Use.png00kmillerhttps://www.captivatingimagery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Web-Use.pngkmiller2009-06-06 10:54:172013-11-18 16:24:20Danielle and Chris
I’m expanding my scope for the Churches of Pittsburgh project to the neighborhoods east of the city. There are so many magnificent and well-maintained churches concentrated in Oakland, Shadyside and Squirrel Hill that are very much a part of these university communities. The first stop on my expanded list is the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh. This Shadyside church has a beautiful stone exterior that I hope to get around to photographing one of these days, but for now, I concentrated my photography on the sanctuary. It is a moderately sized church, considering the number of neighboring churches per capita. The most beautiful feature in this church’s sanctuary is the ceiling. I’m finding that to be a theme in this project. The ceilings in many of the older church buildings are a work of art. In many cases, they rival the stained glass windows and effectively focus the attention upward—very fitting for houses of worship, right? Anyhow, let’s get to the photos.
https://www.captivatingimagery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Web-Use.png00kmillerhttps://www.captivatingimagery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Web-Use.pngkmiller2009-05-26 09:41:302009-05-26 09:41:30First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh
I visited the Church of the Assumption in Bellevue, Pa., on Saturday and was amazed by the beauty of this Roman Catholic church. It’s easy to see from the church’s exterior that it is a beautiful church, but I did not realize how breath-taking it really is until stepping inside.
My footsteps echoed in the large sanctuary. I can only imagine trying to keep children quiet during a service, because whispers are easily audible in this vast space. I found myself tiptoeing to keep from making too much noise.
This beautiful organ and stained glass window shine brightly at mid-day.
One thing that struck me about this church is that it had deposit boxes built into the walls with hand-painted letters that read, “For the poor.” They were located near all exits. It was surprising in such a grandiose building and comforting all the same.
https://www.captivatingimagery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Web-Use.png00kmillerhttps://www.captivatingimagery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Web-Use.pngkmiller2009-05-18 09:38:302009-05-18 09:38:30Church of the Assumption
Bellevue Christian Church is a non-denominational community of believers with a heart for outreach. The church recently started an annual turkey give-a-way in which hundreds of frozen turkeys are given away several days prior to Thanksgiving. They do this with “no strings attached” as a way of reaching out to the local community and demonstrating Jesus’ love. That is just one of the many efforts of the church. It also owns and operates The Shepherd’s Door, a book and gift store that sells Catholic and Protestant items and donates 5 percent of sales to a local organization each month. The store also offers a meeting room for use by organizations and groups that align with the mission of the church.
Here are a few photos of the church’s interior. The church recently renovated its sanctuary and fellowship room with a blend of traditional and contemporary decor. The beautiful stained glass window and mosaic mirrored cross are uniquely modern elements compared to some of the other church interiors I’ve photographed for this project.
https://www.captivatingimagery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Web-Use.png00kmillerhttps://www.captivatingimagery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Web-Use.pngkmiller2009-04-28 16:53:192009-04-28 16:53:19Bellevue Christian Church
Danielle and Chris
/by kmillerIt was a treat to spend last Sunday evening photographing Chris and Danielle. They have been dating for 7 years and are tying the knot in August. If there’s one thing I noticed about these two, they really understand one another. When we were taking casual portraits of them talking in the park, they were totally at ease and you could just see the love. They first met downtown and share a lot of memories there, so the parks and plazas of Pittsburgh were a sentimental backdrop for this lovely couple.
First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh
/by kmillerI’m expanding my scope for the Churches of Pittsburgh project to the neighborhoods east of the city. There are so many magnificent and well-maintained churches concentrated in Oakland, Shadyside and Squirrel Hill that are very much a part of these university communities. The first stop on my expanded list is the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh. This Shadyside church has a beautiful stone exterior that I hope to get around to photographing one of these days, but for now, I concentrated my photography on the sanctuary. It is a moderately sized church, considering the number of neighboring churches per capita. The most beautiful feature in this church’s sanctuary is the ceiling. I’m finding that to be a theme in this project. The ceilings in many of the older church buildings are a work of art. In many cases, they rival the stained glass windows and effectively focus the attention upward—very fitting for houses of worship, right? Anyhow, let’s get to the photos.
Church of the Assumption
/by kmillerI visited the Church of the Assumption in Bellevue, Pa., on Saturday and was amazed by the beauty of this Roman Catholic church. It’s easy to see from the church’s exterior that it is a beautiful church, but I did not realize how breath-taking it really is until stepping inside.
My footsteps echoed in the large sanctuary. I can only imagine trying to keep children quiet during a service, because whispers are easily audible in this vast space. I found myself tiptoeing to keep from making too much noise.
This beautiful organ and stained glass window shine brightly at mid-day.
One thing that struck me about this church is that it had deposit boxes built into the walls with hand-painted letters that read, “For the poor.” They were located near all exits. It was surprising in such a grandiose building and comforting all the same.
Betsy’s shower
/by kmillerI brought my camera along to a bridal shower in April and I’m glad I did. This was a fun group and there were lots of photo opportunities.
This cake was delicious with a white chocolate, butter cream icing. Yum!
These cookies were adorable. The bridal silhouettes even had edible pearl necklaces!
The bride-to-be strikes a pose.
Betsy's friends traveled from out of town to attend her shower.
Betsy's future mother-in-law made mango margaritas.
Soon-to-be-sisters.
One of the games was a competition to make the best bridal gown our of toilet paper.
This cake was just one of the dessert options. There was also peanut butter chocolate cake and strawberry Jell-o salad. Why not try all three?
So happy!
She's telling the story of how she met Steve - hilarious!
Bellevue Christian Church
/by kmillerBellevue Christian Church is a non-denominational community of believers with a heart for outreach. The church recently started an annual turkey give-a-way in which hundreds of frozen turkeys are given away several days prior to Thanksgiving. They do this with “no strings attached” as a way of reaching out to the local community and demonstrating Jesus’ love. That is just one of the many efforts of the church. It also owns and operates The Shepherd’s Door, a book and gift store that sells Catholic and Protestant items and donates 5 percent of sales to a local organization each month. The store also offers a meeting room for use by organizations and groups that align with the mission of the church.
Here are a few photos of the church’s interior. The church recently renovated its sanctuary and fellowship room with a blend of traditional and contemporary decor. The beautiful stained glass window and mosaic mirrored cross are uniquely modern elements compared to some of the other church interiors I’ve photographed for this project.