Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Day of the Dead

Last night my wife Claudia and I attended the Day of the Dead celebration in Hornitos, a tiny town in the Sierra foothills. The Stellar Gallery of Oakhurst hosted a reception in town for a Day-of-the-Dead-themed exhibit featuring work by many talented artists, including our friends Penny Otwell and Ann Mendershausen. At six p.m., under the light of a full moon, over 300 people joined the silent, candlelit procession from the town up a hill to the church and graveyard, where Rev. Steve Bulfer led a ceremony honoring the departed. Then the participants scattered throughout the graveyard to place candles on unlit graves.


This was the first time we had attended this event, and found it truly moving and inspiring. We’ll definitely be back next year. Naturally I had to try to photograph the proceedings, but it proved difficult. It was dark after all! For this image I left the shutter open for three minutes as the processioners marched up the hill, their candles forming a stream of light.

2 comments:

  1. I also attended this Dia de los Muertos event in Hornitos and took photographs. I created some fine portraits of both Penny and Ann at the exhibit. I also took a photo of the Bauer gravestone that you have featured in your shot. They are posted on my gallery blog:
    http://www.farstudio.net/gallery/dia-de-los-muertos/

    It was a wonderful art event and ceremony.

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  2. Thanks for the link Lori Ann... nice photos of some of the artists.

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