Sveti Tomaz or St Thomas Church is a favourite photographer’s location in Slovenia, with images often showing it in snowy winter scenes or photographed early in the morning with autumn mist in the valleys. The small church dates from about 1500AD and sits on a small hill backed by the impressive Kamnik-Savinja Alps. The best time of day to photograph the church is at sunrise, however the viewpoint is not easy to find, and any attempt to arrive at sunrise without a prior reconnaissance visit is probably doomed to failure.
The church is about a 45 minute drive from our base at Lake Bled, and we made a visit to the church late one afternoon. Our intention was to visit the church itself for some close-up shots, then find the viewpoint for some sunset shots, then return early one morning. However in the small village of Sveti Tomaz, the houses are strung out along the road as it winds its way up the hill towards the church, and there are no obvious places to park. We therefore carried on right up to the church, where there are no parking signs. So we gave up on the idea of some close-up shots, and made our way back down through the village to search for the viewpoint instead. This was also difficult to find using the car GPS, as it is simply a spot on a small road, with no obvious address to search for, but by studying the map, we succeeded in navigating our way there and were pleased to at least find a lay-by to park the car.
Sveti Tomaz Church
There is really only one view of the church, and quite a wide framing is required to show the mountain backdrop. Unfortunately in the late afternoon sunshine there is little depth or recession to the view. Whilst waiting for the sunset, I looked around for other views, and there is a farm in a clearing which is also worth photographing, especially as the setting sun began to cast long shadows.
Farm Near Sveti Tomaz
Of course the main view is the church, and we waited as the shadows gradually crept towards the church. Just before the shadows reached the church, there was a small amount of pink colour beginning to appear on the mountains, however once the church fell into the shadows, the view looses its interest. So at least in the autumn evenings, it is not really possible to get good light on both the church and mountains. As we had a long drive back to Bled, we decided to pack up once the we lost the sunlight on the church.
Sveti Tomaz Church
Unfortunately we did not get the opportunity to re-visit Sveti Tomaz again on our holiday, but at least we now know where the viewpoint is and maybe on some future holiday we may make a visit in the early morning for sunrise.