JD-0260
Drift Smoke from the Geysers Fire above St. Theresa of Avila Church, Bodega, California
© 2004 Jerry Dodrill

I have been photographing St. Theresa of Avila, a church adjacent to Dodrill Gallery, for several years, always looking for unusual lighting situations. The Geysers Fire, which began on September 3, 2004 was burning rigorously 30 miles to the northeast on the morning of the 4th. The smoke was blowing in a straight column to the South-southwest, blocking out the sun and coating west Sonoma County with a layer of ash. Under the cloud, a thick orange-amber light enveloped Bodega, giving it a foreboding mood befitting of Hitchcock's film "The Birds", filmed in this very location. Seeing a once in a lifetime situation developing, I walked to the church and made a number of photographs. This vertical image, loosely inspired by Ansel Adam's composition of the same subject, best captured the dramatic nature of this special moment.