Magical Bell Tower in Mexico

There are some moments that photography is truly a magical art. On my last afternoon in Oaxaca, Mexico, I was wandering down one of the main streets... more

by Mark Tisdale

Title

Magical Bell Tower in Mexico

Artist

Mark Tisdale

Medium

Photograph - Photo

Description

There are some moments that photography is truly a magical art. On my last afternoon in Oaxaca, Mexico, I was wandering down one of the main streets in the historic city center. The light that afternoon was phenomenal and it felt like everywhere I looked some beautiful piece of Spanish Colonial architecture was bathed in a beautiful light.

When I looked up I spied this beautiful bell tower. I loved the crisp gold and red colors and the great sky that lay beyond it. I framed this picture in my view finder and fired off a couple of shots. I had no inkling that the second shot would capture this completely different scene with a flock of birds fluttering into the sky around the church's bell tower. Isn't it a magical moment? Literally, the shot before this is a pretty photo of a beautiful piece of UNESCO quality architecture, but the next shot.. This is the one that people always remark on when they see it. I don't know what set the birds in motion. I certainly don't think my shutter click was loud enough at that distances. Yet whatever reason there was, I appreciate the magic of that moment.

It was only when I got home that I started trying to uncover any history of this old church. Most of Oaxaca's city center is quite historic, being listed with UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. And this church is quite old, built in 1689 and named the Templo de la Preciosa Sangre de Cristo. I believe it must have been freshly renovated near the time of my visit as none of the pictures I found of it online matched the crisp stucco and paint on the day I visited.

Uploaded

April 6th, 2013