S o u t h w e s t   P h o t o g r a p h y

The marble image of Saint Francis of Assisi is the center piece of the mission church's courtyard at San Francisco de Asis.

This 229-year-old church, built in 1776, has been the subject of many artists, including Georgia O'Keeffe in her celebrated painting, Ranchos Church.

In the creation of this image, I was fascinated, as in the rest of the historical structure, by the almost spiritual luminosity of the tamped-earthen building, and icons of devotion populating the mission grounds.