Mission San Luis Rey

Between 1769 and 1823 21 Missions were constructed from San Diego to San Francisco. Growing up I was fortunate to take school trips to San Juan... more

by Spencer McDonald

Title

Mission San Luis Rey

Artist

Spencer McDonald

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Between 1769 and 1823 21 Missions were constructed from San Diego to San Francisco. Growing up I was fortunate to take school trips to San Juan Capistrano and watch the Swallow birds return every year on the same day.
On this trip to California I was able to visit Old Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside California. This mission was founded in 1989 by Padre Fermin Francisco de Lasuen. The mission was located inland due to the rich agricultural and water resources.

Throughout the history to this mission there were five periods of occupation: Luiseno Indian, Spanish Mission, Mexican Secularization, American Military, and Twentieth Century Restoration.
Originally, the mission lands ran 11 leagues north to south and 15 leagues east to west. In today's term this equates to 950,400 acres. That number has been pared back to roughly 56 acres currently.

Outside the church is a fantastic and beautiful cemetery with old stone crosses as markers, many statues, and a rich history of the past buried on the grounds. You will find some awesome photo opportunities in the cemetery.

All of my images are processed in HDR. For best and brightest image I recommend printing on metal. If you are interested in framing a print I recommend the following papers:

Picture Rag (low texture),
Sumerset Velvet (medium texture)
Watercolor (heavy texture).

Copyright by Spencer McDonald. No personal or commercial use without written permission. Please contact me through spencer-mcdonald.artistweb.com/contact to inquire about licensing any of my photos.

Uploaded

June 25th, 2015