Mission San Jose

I like this photo of Mission San Jose in San Antonio, Texas. I was fortunate to have a day where the blue sky was accompanied by some puffy white clouds. I wanted to frame the structure in a way that included the sky but also with some foreground of interest. I chose the ground hugging palms with their spikes appearance that I think balances this photo well.

A few years ago I was in Austin, Texas for work and on a day off a friend who lives there and I decided to rent bikes and ride along the San Antonio Mission trail. It was a great way to see the 5 missions alongside San Antonio River – a mostly flat bike path where you can experience the well preserved & restored buildings.

I have to temper my appreciation of the architecture with the fact that the Spanish Missions caused great suffering among the indigenous peoples in the Southwest US.