About Us
The founder and her trusty Canon in Oxford.
A tripod among tombstones at Oddington Church.
Admiring frescoes in Spiez, Switzerland.
Conquering Casablanca Cathedral, Morocco.
Stalking standing stones: Hurlers, Cornwall.
In the mikveh of the Alte Synagogue, Worms.
Exploring a snowy Liebfrauenkirche in Trier.
Thank you for visiting Sacred Destinations Images! Here is some information about this website and its founder.
About Sacred Destinations Images
Sacred Destinations Images was launched in November 2009 by the founder and author of the Sacred Destinations website. It is a specialized image library focused on religious art, architecture, history, archaeology and travel. The collection grows almost daily, bringing us ever closer to our goal of creating the most comprehensive and highest quality image database of religious art and architecture in the world. We hope this database will be a useful resource to teachers, students, editorial publishers, researchers, religious leaders, or anyone who shares our interest in these fascinating places.
We began licensing our photos by request from visitors to Sacred Destinations, and many have already been used in university lectures, academic journals, editorial books and magazines. As our photo library expanded and licensing requests continued to increase, the need became apparent for a dedicated website where photos can be conveniently searched, referenced, licensed and downloaded. This led to the launch of Sacred Destinations Images.
The major of photos in this image library were taken by the "Sacred Destinations team" (see below) but also includes contributions from carefully selected contributors. Our contributing photographers - who include talented amateurs as well as professionals - are distinguished by their special interest and artistic eye for our particular subjects.
We believe Sacred Destinations Images is distinguished from most other stock photo agencies in the following ways:
Broader and Deeper Coverage. Our unique specialization allows us to cover more sites and more details than most stock image providers. We don't just cover the most famous monuments, but also lesser-known gems of artistic, historic or religious significance. And for most monuments we provide not only the standard views but also closer looks at sculptures, mosaics, paintings and stained glass in all their glorious detail.
Detailed Information. Because the contributors to this website are passionate about art, architecture and history as well as photography, our images have detailed, knowledgable captions and highly specific keywords that make it easier to find what you need - in addition to basic location data, virtually all photos are labeled with dates, artists, styles, and topics. Also, for western art, we use the excellent ICONCLASS system of classification in our keywords.
Quick, Personal Service. We have tried to make the Sacred Destinations Images website as efficient as possible, but this does not mean real humans are hard to find. We take care of all orders personally and you can e-mail us anytime with questions or requests for image research, details about a photo, special licensing needs, photo editing (we'll do most minor adjustments free with purchase), comments about the website or anything else. You can contact us here.
Reasonable Licensing Fees. We license our images free of charge for internal academic and religious uses. For editorial use, our licensing fees start as low as $50 and depend mainly on usage. Please see the Pricing page for more details. We do not usually license photos for commercial uses.
How it Works
- Find Photos. The online collection of Sacred Destinations Images is publicly available for viewing; registration is not required. You can find photos by consulting our Stock List, entering keywords in the search box at the top of any page, or try an Advanced Search. You can also contact us for image research or requests. For special projects, photographers may be available for hire.
- Request Licensing Information. If you find a photo you want to license, click the "Request License" button on the photo page and fill out a short form describing how you will use the photo. You can enter multiple ID numbers if you wish. You do not have to register to request a quote or license an image, but doing so has several advantages (see below). We will reply personally by e-mail, usually within 24 hours, with details about licensing.
- Order. If you would like to license the photo, just let us know by reply e-mail whenever you're ready. The original quote is valid for up to six months, provided that your usage does not change.
- Pay, if applicable. We'll e-mail you a PDF invoice with the license terms and an invoice link to PayPal or Google Checkout (your choice). The payment is handled entirely by these services and we will never see your credit card information. We can usually accommodate other forms of payment when necessary, such as check or wire transfer, but prefer these electronic methods for their efficiency and security.
- Download. After payment, we'll send you an e-mail with a direct link to the high-resolution image. Simple save the file to your computer.
- Publish. Once licensed, you may use the photo in the manner described on the license. We regularly check final publications to ensure they do not exceed the rights granted by the license and conform to the General Terms and Conditions.
- Register. Creating an account on Sacred Destinations Images has several advantages. It allows you to save photos to a lightbox, which you can access and edit anytime. This can be just for your reference, but it also functions as a cart - you can conveniently order multiple images by clicking the "License These Photos" button in your lightbox. And whenever you place an order while logged in (whether for one photo or several), the form will automatically populate with your contact information so you don't have to do it every time. You will also have your own account page that contains statistics on your pending orders, past orders, and preferences, plus direct access to high-resolution versions of all images you've purchased from us.
About the Founder
Sacred Destinations and Sacred Destinations Images are administered by Holly Hayes, with invaluable computer support and co-photography work from her husband David. We are both natives of the beautiful state of Oregon (USA), where we currently live. Below is a brief summary of my background for anyone who might be interested.
I earned my undergraduate degree (B.A. Religion) in Oregon in 1999, followed by a master's degree (M.Th. Systematic Theology) from the University of Edinburgh in 2000. I then returned to Oregon and worked in state government for a few years to pay off the student loans, while also teaching religious history part-time at a local university. David and I married in 2004 (in a historic chapel, of course) and in April 2005 I founded Sacred Destinations, an educational and travel website about religious places.
In September 2005, we relocated to England while I earned an M.Phil. in religious history at the University of Oxford. My area of emphasis was Early Christianity and my dissertation was titled The Transition from Paganism to Christianity in Ephesus. Meanwhile, David worked at the O2 corporate office just outside London.
After I completed my master's degree in June 2007, we spent a summer in a rented flat in the lovely Oxfordshire village of Great Milton, during which I worked full-time on Sacred Destinations and we traveled as much as possible. Most of our free time throughout our two-year stay in England was spent photographing sacred sites, with an occasional trip farther afield (including Wales, Ireland, Rome, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Morocco).
In November 2007, David and I embarked on a self-guided tour throughout western Europe that lasted nearly nine months. The main purpose of our European tour was to photograph historic religious sites to illustrate the articles on Sacred Destinations - with both of us wielding digital cameras, this resulted in approximately a gazillion photos. Then, after nearly a year on the road and three years overseas, we returned home to Oregon in August 2008.
In November 2009, I founded Sacred Destinations Images to facilitate the increasing number of requests for our images and display our best photos in a manner more convenient for research and licensing. The Newest page shows the most recent uploads. For a selection of some of our best shots, please see the Portfolio. The Stock List details all the places we have photographed so far, and you can read all about our travels on the Sacred Destinations Blog (it is extensive, so use the search box or Archives by Place on the right). And you can follow me on Twitter.