Photo of the Day - Fort Bragg Angel

Photo by Heidi Utz. Please credit when using.

Urban development over time can create such fascinating juxtapositions. I shot this in a cemetery in Ft. Bragg, CA, in summer 2009.

Photo of the Day

Another moment in Ft. Bragg in early September. I spent a long time in this Nepalese man's shop looking for some nice beads with which to make malas. I was shocked to see all the packaging that said, "Made in China," and asked him if he had anything that wasn't, as the last thing I wanted to be wearing was a mala bearing a Chinese imprimatur. He looked at me totally unfazed, seeming like he'd hurried across that river in Egypt on his way to America. "Ah! It's all made in China! If you worried about that, you wouldn't have any clothes on your back!" he said, almost mockingly, in thickly accented English. Surely I did not have to educate a man with Tibetan gift items littering his shop on the state of Tibet v. China. Was his jadedness a form of battle fatigue, or does every culture spawn businessmen trying to make a buck, even if it's over the dead bodies of their friends, families, monks and nuns? I left empty-handed, sad, a bit queasy, thinking about my godson Tenzin, with a few extra prayers for his future and that of his country, which even the Dalai Lama can't seem to save.

Photo of the Day

"Refinery Angel"
Ft. Bragg, CA

A most refined burial, I must say. This is one of my favorite shots of all time. When you're standing in this cemetery, this Pied Piper-like angel really does appear to be walking out of the redwood. I hope poor Gino Cristani isn't too sad that these days his final resting place is a bit...crude.
Ft. Bragg is surprisingly photogenic. Its funky, gritty old streets house a million potential images, in lively contrast to the dramatic, sublime views from neighboring Mendocino, 10 minutes down the road. It's easy to fall in love with this area. I hope to return there this summer with a lot of film (and the discipline not to find a nice little rental...).