As I was setting up to shoot at St. Mary’s, I asked Msgr. Corrigan if there were any particular shots he wanted me to get. One that he asked for, and understood to be a challenge, was of this painting. The problem is that the painting is behind glass, and is is situated such that any direct shot displays the reflections of the stained glass windows on the other side of the church. You can see these reflections below.

I tried a polarizing filter, which can cut through some reflections, but I was not surprised that it was unable to make these disappear. I also experimented with a variety of angles, going lower, going left, pulling back, and none worked well at all. Either the reflections persisted or you lost too much of the painting. To fully solve the problem, you would either have to move the painting, take it out from behind the glass, cover up the windows with heavy curtains, and shut off many or most or the church’s existing lights, replacing them with strategically placed studio lights. You probably would not have to do all of those things, but some combination would be necessary, and none were within the realm of possible that afternoon.

Eventually I settled on the angle shown above. It removed the worst reflections, and only obscured about 20% of the right of the image, including most of the figure in the top right, plus a small bit covered by the pew end in the lower left.  Apart from that, I simply tried to present the painting in context with no personal embellishments or modifications.

The painting is an oil painting on canvas, dating from 1650 by an unknown artist. The date and artist’s name are on the painting, but the artist’s name cannot be deciphered. Msgr. Corrigan found the painting hidden in  a back room of Our Lady of the Rosary Church, also in Yonkers. Our Lady of the Rosary was closed in 2007 and Msgr. Corrigan was appointed administrator, and St. Mary’s is the repository of the records of the closed parish. He had the painting cleaned and set it up for display at St. Mary’s.