Mission San Miguel Arcángel Photo

Photographer’s Note

San Miguel Arcángel, the sixteenth in a chain of twenty-one Franciscan missions was founded by Fray Fermín Francisco de Lasuén on July 25, 1797. The father, the second president of the California missions, chose this site because there were many Salinan Indians living in the area.
The mission, visible from Highway 101, has long attracted our attention so on one of our trips from Oregon to San Diego, we stopped. The two things I found most attractive about the mission were the blooming cactus garden outside the walls and the fact that it is an active parish. Since it was Sunday, services were in session, so we didn’t enter the grounds.
According to this website, an earthquake in 2003, damaged the church, so services are being held in a portion of the museum. Many of the original decorations and paintings in the mission have survived until today. The decorations make the church appear much more ornate than it is. The "all-seeing eye of God" is above the altar. This is the only on of the California missions to have original un-retouched paintings. The website also has a nice photographic tour of the inside of the mission. Actually this website has photographic tours of almost all of the California missions.
According to Wikipedia, on July 15, 1836, the Mexican government secularized mission lands, including Mission San Miguel, andYgnacio Coronel took charge. In 1846, Governor Pío Pico sold the Mission for $600 to Petronillo Rios and William Reed. Reed used the Mission as a family residence and a store. In 1848, Reed and his family were murdered,[ leaving the Mission vacant for a period of time. The Mission was a stopping place for miners coming from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and was consequently was used as a saloon, dance hall, storeroom and living quarters. In 1859, President James Buchanan returned the Mission to the Catholic Church. In 1878, after 38 years without a resident padre, Father Philip Farrelly became the "First Pastor" of Mission San Miguel Arcángel. Through all the years the priests kept the church in condition and it is called the best-preserved church in the mission chain today. After the earthquake, the Catholic Church considered closing the parish due to the extensive damage and the estimated $15 million cost of repairs. Work has since been completed and the Mission is to reopen on October 2, 2009.
The paintings were made by the Indians under the direction of Esteban Carlos Munras (1798–1850) Having studied art in his native city of Barcelona, Spain, Munras immigrated to the United States as a young man, ultimately making his home in the town of Monterey. Munras was a dealer in cattle hides, the products of his Rancho San Vicente in Monterey. He also imported fine household furnishings and necessities to the earliest settlers in California's first capital. He was also the last Spanish diplomat to California.

xuaxo, bakes888, JCG, josepmarin, portmanndominic, paura, denisn72, danos, s_lush, wojtpod, jwmunro has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

xuaxo (5835) 2009-10-03 11:34

Olá Pat,
The Spanish/Mexican missions are a very interesting historic and cultural heritage in California. I visited only two, but if I'll have another opportunity I'd like to see more.
This one seems to be in poor condition, at least comparing with San Diego de Alcalá and San Luis Rey de Francia (the two I visited).
I like your composition, with a good view of those plants in foreground.
SAA,
Francisco

pajaran (3817) 2009-10-03 12:13

Pozdrav iz kisovite Cuprije.
Stara arhitektura ...
Dobra fotografija, dobre boje i ostrina snimka.
Svidja mi se red kaktusa izmedju dve ograde.
Lep dan, zeli vam Paja.

Waylim (11147) 2009-10-03 15:24

Hi Pat,
Really beautiful warm tone here, before ready your note, I thought for sure this is out in Arizona or New Mexico somewher. Love the desert landscaping surroungind the mission. Very lovely details and texture of the mission. Good composition, good sharpness and clarity, and nice rich warm tone. Have a good weekend.
Way

Dyerco (9288) 2009-10-03 16:21

Hi Pat
A good choice to crop out some sky and fill the frame with the mission. Excellent POV with the crosses on each tower showing.
Phil

ribeiroantonio (21967) 2009-10-03 16:22

Very nice shot. Interesting to see the very same colours in both the ground and the walls. The diagonal is great and the close POV too. Well done.
Antonio

pablominto (41314) 2009-10-03 23:21

Hello Pat,

Interesting to see remains of the old missions that forever put their mark on California, and live on in the many names of towns and cities!
The solid wall tell the need for protection back then, and the cross was always present...
Well framed, good colours and details!

Greetings,
Pablo -

bakes888 (18327) 2009-10-04 0:56

Hi Pat. Great photo, you have an almost 3D effect in that front cactus plant. Well saturated colours and excellent details also. Strong diagonal composition is good for depth too. Nice work and thanks for sharing.
Have a good Sunday, Paul.
PS Got the film, trials to follow ;-).

JCG (25741) 2009-10-04 2:11

Hello Pat,

We see well on your photograph that this earthquake left some visible traces on the architecture of this parish. The wide-angle lens here gives a beautiful prospect on this part of the mission, the cactus give color and recalls that we are in the arid American desert. Beautiful and interesting photograph, thank you for the instructive note.

With all my friendships and very good Sunday,

Jean-Charles

TopGeo (22181) 2009-10-04 4:54

Interesting picture of an architecture popular or your image gave a little church..I like your composition, with a good view of those plants in foreground.The diagonal is great and the close POV too. Well done.
Com0liments
Ciao
Georgios

josepmarin (34063) 2009-10-04 9:12

Hi Pat,
This so wide angle allows us to see all the details of the magnificent architecture of this Mission.
The plants and the flowers contrast with the tones of the adobe and of the bricks, and the perspective is very elegant and dynamic.
Also I like the panoramic format.
Nice work.
HLJ
Josep

stelli (2959) 2009-10-04 10:29

Unique photo! Interesting earth colors with great sharpness!!! Thank you for sharing! Regards Stella

Angshu (34089) 2009-10-04 21:24

Hello Pat
Good perspective created by the wall. These brick and mud structures...are they common in these parts of your country? Like the use of the flowering cactus in the FG which pivots the picture well. Contrast between the earthen tones and the clear blue polarised sky is excellent. A fine informative note as well
Best Regards
Angshu

portmanndominic (2388) 2009-10-05 3:04

Hello Pat

belle architecture aux couleur de la terre , bon choix de format panoramique , belles couleurs bien saturés
Bonne semaine
Dominic

paura (39170) 2009-10-05 5:37

Pat,
The framing is perfect with an excellent POV to show very conveniently the beautiful details of the construction. Very beautiful photo job.

Regards

Paulo

feather (50122) 2009-10-05 14:08

I love the vibrant colours. Everything looks so rich, and the plants are almost 3D. We can see the unfortunate effects of the earthquake on the old walls. The letterbox crop emphasises the length of the wall. Well done
Kathx

denisn72 (7043) 2009-10-13 17:14

Hi Pat,
The point of view you chose is very interesting. The brown colour of the building fits well with the ground. The different plants and flowers add a bit of colour. Instructive note! Well done!
Best regards
Denis!

lestans (15486) 2009-10-13 22:53

Ciao Pat!!

an interesting place, a nice picture. I note that here there are nearly no shadows,
I like also these plants growing in the heath.
Ciao!!

Livia

danos (33192) 2009-10-14 7:37

Hi Pat,
nice presentation of San Miguel Arcángel,with the side wall to creates perspective and depth in the scene.I like the poles,the different colours of the side of the wall,as the brilliant light of the scene.Informative your note too.Well done.

Regards,Dnaos

s_lush (2512) 2009-10-15 5:07

Hello Pat,
History of this mission is very interesting. Thanks for the informative note! Your shot is the excellent illustration, showing this beautiful old architecture and nice elements of local vegetation. Very good composition and quality! Perfect job!
Best regards,
Sergiy

wojtpod (223) 2009-10-19 10:00

Hello Pat!
I like this long composition. Beautiful wall, colors are perfect. Very interesting and useful note.
Best regards,
Wojtek

jwmunro (6251) 2009-11-04 18:12

Hello Pat -

I don't think I have ever visited this one. I had to look it up for sure but this one is well south of King City? We tried to visit a mission just north of King City and could not get to it because of CalTrans road closures the last time we were this way.

The tones and colors of this image remind so much of the Arizona and New Mexico missions. I like the pano format, but feel that just a touch more room at the top would be nice. (The nearest cross is pushing up against the edge of the image.) The cactus and yucca garden in front of the adobe wall is a very nice leading line into the image and the diagonal composition works very well. Well done!

Thank you for sharing.

John