Blog Archives
the day the angel got cold feet
This statue, at the cemetery, is one of my frequent subjects. You may remember it from an intentional camera movement experiment a half-year ago. Or maybe you recall the time I photographed her sky-facing face?
Anyway, that day it snowed, I went back to see her again and this time her icy toes caught my eye.
City of Lubbock Cemetery
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 1.24.2023
the world as we knew it, 3
If you were to draw a line from Buddy Holly’s grave to my parents’ graves, it would intersect this statue by noted sculptor Charles Umlauf.
I’ve photographed it and written about the statue’s history in a previous post. This time, when I went to photograph it I was in a different mood than that post – less documentary and more emotional. And so that’s how this image earned a spot in my new series that I am calling “the world as we knew it.”
Charles Umlauf sculpture “Guardian Angel”
City of Lubbock Cemetery
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 7.21.2022
Angel
The sculpture, known as the Umlauf Angel, keeps watch over the front section of the City of Lubbock Cemetery. The Angel, by internationally known sculptor Charles Umlauf, was commissioned by the City in 1958.
By 1994, things were looking bad, as she had developed cracks due to weathering. Restoration in 1995 and 1996 was successful. Sort of: only a few days after the restored sculpture was complete vandals (two high school boys, later arrested) chipped away at the wing tips, causing $1,200 in damages.
She’s fine these days, casting her gaze skyward amidst the gravestones.
The City of Lubbock Cemetery
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 2.3.2009
One Day | One Image 