Sunset Behind Mission San Xavier del Bac

Founded in 1692 by Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino, a Spanish Jesuit spreading the word of God in the “new world”, Mission San Xavier del Bac is the oldest European building in Arizona still in use today. It has been affectionately nicknamed the “White Dove of the Desert” for its striking whitewash walls and graceful beauty set against the beautiful hues of the Sonoran Desert. Protected from vandalism by the local Pima and Tohono O’odham Indians for over 200 years, even the attacking Apaches left the “White Dove” untouched. As beautiful as the outside of the mission is, the interior is equally impressive. Due to both the sanctity of the place and the fragility of the 200 year-old frescoes, photography is not permitted inside. Yet another incentive to go see this unique Arizona landmark for yourself!
Being one of the most photographed buildings in Arizona, I was faced with the challenge of finding a new and unique perspective. Drawing from its nickname, I also wanted to show the mission’s setting in the desert. I climbed to the top of the hill on the Eastern side of the mission, which lends itself to great panoramas of the mission and surrounding desert. Shooting during the “golden hour” of dusk, I noticed that the sun’s trajectory would place it right behind the mission by the time it reached the horizon. Having lived in Tucson for three years during college, and knowing that Tucson has some of the best sunsets on the planet, I was definitely going to see how this one played out. I found the perfect spot for my tripod that placed the sun directly behind the main dome of the mission for the added halo effect, waited for the colors to peak and simply did what I enjoy doing the most.

Time

In honor of the president's visit yesterday to the Park, we're going to revisit this one...

The Grand Canyon; Earth's most spectacular example of what happens when you combine the perfect combination of geology, erosion and a whole lot of time. As magnificent as the canyon is, it can be a "grand" challenge for photographers to capture images that provide scale and depth to a wonder filled with superlatives. Of course, we will never be able to to re-create the awe that one is overcome with when standing on the rim and gazing into the vastness of this world wonder but the joy of photographing the canyon is to try and capture a semblance of it's beauty and grandeur on a two dimensional medium. There are different techniques you can use to achieve to this aim and in this photograph I combined two of them. First of all, it is necessary to place something of interest in the foreground to give the image depth. Secondly, I sometimes like to use something in the foreground of the photo that acts as a sort of natural border to create a "frame within the frame". This will draw the viewers eye through the photo from the foreground to the background. Thus, you can not only have a striking image framed beautifully and naturally but you can also achieve a sense of depth at the same time.
This all came to mind instantaneously when I came across this dead tree while hiking into the canyon via the South Kaibab Trail. It caught my eye because it's lack of foliage not only lends itself perfectly to the afore mentioned techniques but it's apparent age also makes it the perfect companion to the the canyon and the theme of this photo, time.