click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney
Natural late afternoon colors, with just a bit of "reduced clarity" for that somewhat "dreamy" look.
click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney
Converted to black and white; with reddish tones boosted and blues darkened. This is Church of Saint Raphael which towers over nearby San Rafael Arcangel, a historic adobe built in 1817--the second most northern mission of 21 on California's "Mission Trail".
from Wikipedia:
The Spanish missions in California comprise a series of 21 religious and military outposts established by Catholic priests of the Franciscan order between 1769 and 1833 to spread Christianity among the local Native Americans. The missions were part of the first major effort by Europeans to colonize the Pacific Coast region, the most northern and western of Spain's North American claims. The settlers introduced European fruits, vegetables, cattle, horses, ranching and technology into the Alta California region; however, the Spanish colonization of California also brought with it serious negative consequences to the Native American populations with whom the missionaries and other Spaniards came in contact.
The government of Mexico secularized the missions in the 1830s and divided the vast mission land holdings into land grants which became many of the Ranchos of California. In the end, the missions had mixed results in their objectives: to convert, educate, and "civilize" the indigenous population and transform the natives into Spanish colonial citizens. Today, the surviving mission buildings are the state's oldest structures and the most-visited historic monuments.
2 comments:
To me, the reduced clarity makes it look like a vintage postcard., but I prefer it to the b&w. BTW, that church was rebuilt in the 1940s I believe, not the original structure.
I think I like the color one a bit more as well. The black and white is lovely but the other has that extra oomph.
Post a Comment