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Cellpic Sunday – Arizona’s Largest Mural

Arizona’s Largest Mural.

Tucson, Arizona.

On a beautiful spring Saturday in March, we went mural hunting. I’d discovered that a mural project would soon be completed in Tucson that would hold the record for Arizona’s tallest mural. In searching for information about the project, I discovered that there is a completed mural in Tucson that already holds the title of the largest mural.

Jessica Gonzales’s “Sonoran Skylines” mural is Arizona’s largest, covering an impressive 26,000 square feet (2415 sq m) at the Park Place mall in Tucson. This expansive artwork celebrates the beauty of the Sonoran Deser and offers a stunning representation of the region’s unique landscapes. Painted on the side of the mall’s theater complex, the size of the mural makes it a prominent landmark.

About the photo: Captured with my Samsung S23U, I wish I had a step ladder to get the camera further above the cars than I could reach with my arms stretched as high above me as I could reach. If only I had my drone with me. Ah, well, the best camera is the one you have with you.

There was very little processing to be done. The west-facing wall where the mural is painted was bathed in the afternoon sunlight. I used the ultra-wide lens on the camera to fit the entire mural into the image, then I cropped it to a 16×10 format to eliminate negative space on all sides of the photo. Exporting into Luminar Neo, using the Enhance AI tool, I masked out the sky and inverted the mask to only apply Accent AI everywhere but the sky. I closed the tool, then reopened it to use Sky Enhancer to make only a small enhancement to the sky. I posted the final image in 2K HD via my Flickr site, and also included images of the tallest mural in Arizona there as well. Next Cellpic Sunday, I’ll tell the story of one of Tucson’s newest murals.

I encourage fellow bloggers to create their own Cellpic Sunday posts. I never have a specific topic for this feature, and the only rules are that the photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or another mobile device… If you have an image from a drone or even a dashcam, that’s also acceptable. The second rule is to link your challenge response to this post or leave a comment here with a link to your post in the comment. Oh, you don’t have to post it on a Sunday.

John Steiner

34 comments

    • I just finished reading your post. I saw the photos of the fountain at Fountain Hills. We’ll be back in Tucson again next year. Let us know your schedule if you plan an Arizona trip next year.

      Reply

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