The most common monuments around here are, no surprise, cathedrals, churches, and other religious buildings. They're everywhere, and whether you're a believer or not, walking into one hits you. The stories around them, the grandeur or the decline, the art, the old-school architectural solutions — it's just overwhelming. So yeah, you can absolutely walk away with some stunning photos.
But keep in mind you've gotta shoot with as much respect as possible — don't interrupt what's going on inside, don't bother anyone, and don't break the peace and quiet these places usually have. So before you walk in, ditch the flash and silence the shutter .
Bad lighting, harsh backlighting, and tall or narrow spaces are a real challenge, so a bright ultra-wide is your best friend here. For this shot of the twin organ at Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, the Sigma 10-18 had my back.
R10, RF-S18-150 at 150mm, ISO 3200, f/8, 1/50
Stained glass — a lot of it gorgeous — comes with a backlight problem, so meter for the highlights. The window is the subject, and that's enough.
R10, Sigma RF-S10-18 at 18mm, ISO 1000, f/5, 1/60
This shot of the Church of San Francisco in Betanzos needed careful metering — tons of light pouring through the stained glass was putting the Christ figure and the altar into silhouette. So I metered on the shadows and tweaked exposure until the highlights still had enough punch. That tunnel effect rising toward the atrium dome gives it great drama and really sells how tall the place is.