In preparation for a wedding I was documenting last month, I took an early visit to the Evangelical Methodist Church in Oblong, Ill., for some test images.

Upon my arrival, I met the Rev. Jim Williams who gave me a guided tour. After a great conversation about the church membership and his journey to this beautiful church, he gave me free reign to explore with my camera.

If you've never been in the stately church, it's absolutely beautiful and full of vivid stained-glass windows which accent the dark wood balconies, staircases, and trim.

​Stained glass windows can be a challenge to photograph at 2 p.m. on a sunny Tuesday afternoon. The light streams in hot and fast through the windows and can easily wash out all the details if you don't have the proper camera settings. In this case, the windows weren't my main focus (the shadow on the pulpit was). Had I been photographing this for the windows, my camera settings would have been different.

In my quest to find proper lighting and exposure for my upcoming event, I ended up with some images perfectly fitting the 52-week Shadowplay project.

As an added bonus, the stained glass gave my project tinted shadows.

I love the subtle color on the pulpit and in some of the other photos I made that day. Had the lights in the church been on, I would have lost this.

It's fun to play in the dark.