The Trip: Tucson 2014
The Story: As a teenager when I discovered Ansel Adams’ hallmark image of the Mission San Xavier del Bac, it was no surprise, in retrospect, that I gravitated toward it. I started traveling as a hobby at a young age; when I was four, my dad schlepped me across the country on Amtrak to Tucson, Arizona, to see the Cleveland Indians at spring training. We enjoyed following the Indians during the late 1980’s, even if they weren’t a front runner; plus, my dad can’t pass up a train trip. We trekked out to Hi-Corbett Field to watch Brook Jacoby, Joe Carter, Doug Jones, and the rest of the team.
While in the Tucson area, we visited Saguaro National Park, Kitt Peak National Observatory, and the Pima Air and Space Museum. We also made the trip to the Hall of Flame firefighting museum and a few locations in Phoenix. I can say this definitely cemented my love of the American Southwest; the terrain and architecture were incredibly complementary. Over the years between family trips and my own travels, I was able to explore the area more, but still had not ventured to the Mission south of Tucson.
During middle school, I spent plenty of hours reading through Schaefer’s Basic Techniques of Photography and Adams’ Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs at the local library, and I wanted to try my hand. In 2014, I had to make several cross country drives across the Southwest; I took the opportunity to emulate the image I had admired. My first attempt to visit this spectacular mission church was met with some disappointment: I arrived in the afternoon, and the shadows were not favorable for the north court. Additionally, from analyzing sight lines and points of view, the location where he photographed from has been occupied by a tree. It was late and I had to press on, but luckily I had a plan for my next time through: arrive in the morning, and take a slightly different angle.
Fortuitously, my next trip through the area allowed me to meet my goals; the lighting was great, and I captured several frames I was happy with. While nothing will beat the original, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the mission and attempting to visualize Adams’ process. The next year, while my siblings and I were out supporting the Indians at spring training, I took my youngest brother out to see the area around Tucson. Hopefully the experience will inspire him as well!
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