San Antonio Missions National Historic Park
Description:
The Spanish Missions built along the San Antonio River, are now in metro San Antonio and are preserved as a National Historic Park. There are 4 missions in the park each at a separate location, so to visit them all you have to travel to 4 different places in San Antonio. The four sites are Mission Conception, Mission San José, Mission San Juan, and Mission Espada. The 5th San Antonio Mission and the best known, the Alamo, is not a part of the park. The missions are nearly 250 years old, continue to operate as active parishes of the Catholic church and all are open to the public. Through a cooperative agreement with the Archdiocese of San Antonio, the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park of the National Park Service administers and maintains these missions today.
The missions were much more than just churches, the were each self contained communities, with ranching and farming for food production.
Mission Espada, or Mission San Francisco de la Espada
was complete in 1756, located in the San Antonio Missions National Park, in San Antonio Texas.
Cost:
There is no entrance fee for the Historic Park.
Mission Espada, or Mission San Francisco de la Espada
was complete in 1756, located in the San Antonio Missions National Park, in San Antonio Texas.
Best Time to Visit:
Spring through fall you will have green grass and flowers to add color to your images, the missions make excellent subjects for B&W photos, that can be made at any time. The park hours are a great restriction on being able to shoot at the prime photography times of sunrise and sunset, but it is possible to photograph some of the missions after hours, others will have locked gates.
Where it is:
Mission Concepción
807 Mission Road
San Antonio, Texas 78210
Mission San Juan
9101 Graf Road
San Antonio, Texas 78214
Administrative Headquarters
2202 Roosevelt Avenue
San Antonio, Texas 78210
Mission San José
6701 San José Drive
San Antonio, Texas 78214
Mission Espada
10040 Espada Road
San Antonio, Texas 78214
The Convento at Mission San Hose at the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park, provided a residence for the missionarys.
Directions:
From downtown and the Alamo area:•Travel south on South St. Mary’s Street. Approximately one mile south of downtown, after passing beneath railroad tracks, South St. Mary’s becomes Roosevelt Ave. Continue on Roosevelt 4 miles, to a drive-in buy lorazepam online theater on your left, followed by a large stone structure: Mission San José. At the first stop light past the mission turn left onto New Napier Ave. Follow the signs into our parking lot or bus lanes, as appropriate.
Map:
Click here for National Park Service map
Interactive Google Map
Use the map + – controls to zoom in and out, click and drag the to move the map, use the Map drop-down to change to “Map”, “Satellite”, “Hybrid”, or “Terrain” views. Drag the little man icon from the upper left corner to a map location for street level view.
Links:
San Antonio Missions National Historic Park
Hours of Operation:
Open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Closed Thanksgiving Day, December 25, and January 1.
Inside the church at Mission San Hose at the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park.
Tips for the Photographer
Equipment:
There is no special equipment needed, you can get great shots with just about any camera and lens combination.
What to Photograph:
The mission buildings, churches, and grounds. Pay close attention to the detail and workmanship of the 250 year old structures.
Photography Tips:
Photographing during the midday outdoors can cause very high contrast and make it difficult to accurately capture the scene. Photographing on an overcast or cloudy day will help to soften the light. Using the technique of HDR or High Dynamic Range can also improve your photos. All of the photos I have posted here used HDR.
Bell tower at Mission San Hose at the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park.
More Photographic Destinations in Texas:
Interactive Google Map
Use the map + – controls to zoom in and out, use the Map drop-down to change to “Map”, “Satellite”, “Hybrid”, or “Terrain” views. Drag the little man icon from the upper left corner to a map location for street level view. Click on a pushpin for more information about the Photographic Destination, then click on the title to go to the location page.
Click Here for Photographic Destinations by State
Great Places for Great Photos
Let me help you to find a great location for your next photography adventure. I will list many lesser-known destinations, as well as the famous "Icon Locations" for photography. I will provide photos (Lots of Photos), location information, consisting of what there is to photograph as well as other information about the destination. I will give costs, maps, directions, contact information, and other essential information for a successful photo trip. I will only post for locations that I have personally photographed to ensure a quality guide to great locations for photography. If you know of great places that are not posted, please send me the details, I may just decide that is a place I need to go!
Greg Disch is a freelance photographer located in Arkansas. Greg specializes in nature, scenic, wildlife, and other outdoor subjects in Arkansas and other areas of the country. Most of the images on this site are available for sale as prints, personal use, or rights managed stock photos.
Greg offers both classroom instruction and in the field hands on photographic workshops. Classroom sessions are normally held in Fort Smith Arkansas, but arrangements can be made to bring a class to your group.
All classes and workshops have small class sizes designed to provide an optimum student to instructor ratio, where you can get the personal attention, you need. Most classes and workshops are limited to a maximum of six participants and will be held with a minimum of only two.
If you are looking for a wonderful opportunity to get personal individual instruction, I do private workshops and classes at a location of your choice, whether doing a location photo shoot, coming to your home or business, traveling across the country on a road trip, or at my classroom. This is a fantastic way to learn digital workflow and be sure that your computer equipment is properly configured for optimum performance.
Dear Greg,
Loveds you Missions Nat. historic park pics!!! How did you get all those great vantage points, doorway shots, interiors etc. without other people in the pics????!
I know you have been shooting for a long time, but I think you are getting better and better.
May see you at a full moon shoot in this area,
Bob Livesay
Thanks, Bob
The San Antonio Missions National Park was not very crowded even though it was Memorial Day weekend (everyone was at the Alamo), and with a little patience it was possible to get just about any area clear of people.