In their own words – photographing Tucson’s historic murals

The “Goddess of Agave” mural, located at 440 North 7th Avenue in Tucson, was created by six different artists. Painted on a warehouse wall, the mural’s total size is 2000 square feet!

The “Goddess of Agave” mural, located at 440 North 7th Avenue in Tucson, was created by six different artists. Painted on a warehouse wall, the mural’s total size is 2000 square feet!

This mural is located in the El Rio Neighborhood Center, 1300 West Speedway Blvd. in Tucson.

This mural is located in the El Rio Neighborhood Center, 1300 West Speedway Blvd. in Tucson.

Robert Koblewski

As a photographer, I’m always looking for my next photo project. Early this year, I was photographing a number of great horned owl nests here at SaddleBrooke and the surrounding area before traveling to Mesa to photograph the great wild horses of the Salt River.

My current project for the last few weeks is photographing many of the historic murals of the Tucson metro area. I did a search for Tucson murals and came up with many sites listing the locations, some with pictures.

There is one site that listed three different tours with addresses. After doing the three tours, I found a site that listed an additional 879 more locations. That could keep us busy!

To photograph the murals, I use a Nikon D800 full frame camera with either a 24-120mm lens or a 15-30mm wide angle lens. I’m bracketing all photos to give me a choice of exposures or the ability to combine the three together for high dynamic range (HDR) photography.

My wife, JoAnn, and I have driven the streets of Tucson, and it’s proven to be very informative and educational talking to some of the people at various locations. At one location we talked to two of the artists that were completing their mural.

The best time to photograph the murals is early Saturday or Sunday morning as there is less traffic and fewer cars parked in front of the murals.

As of this writing, I have 350 mural photos. I also have made a DVD and produced a book with 250 photos over 92 pages that are for sale at the SaddleBrooke One gift shop.

What’s my next project? I’m looking.

My wife and I are part of the photography club called Digital Imaging Club of SaddleBrooke (DIGS) which, starting on Sept. 14, will hold its first monthly meeting of the 2019-20 season at SaddleBrooke One in the Coyote Room at 8:30 a.m. Guests and prospective members are  always welcome.