Evangelical Light 6, photo by Harold Davis. View this photo larger.

Yesterday I drove over to Indian Rock on one of my frequent afternoon pilgrimages to honor sunset. It’s a few minutes from home, but by the time I got there a cold rain was coming down hard.

I gritted my teeth, pulled on the jacket I have stashed in my trunk, and climbed the slippery rock. It was beautiful at the top of the rock. And after a while the rain stopped. But I didn’t think there’d be much of a sunset to photograph because a huge bank of clouds was hanging directly to the west (and over the Golden Gate).

Around here the wind picks up a bit before sunset, and the weather can move surprisingly quickly.

Still, this afternoon looked to be disappointing. So I packed my soggy, sorry self up, and headed down down the rock for my car.

The attendant spirit of Indian Rock these days seems to be one “Grey Wolf.” He cleans up the place, helps keep it nice, complains loudly about people who litter, and generally hangs out. I was chatting with Grey Wolf before leaving when I glanced up and saw rays of the setting sun streaming down from the clouds.

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Of course, I hurried back up Indian Rock, and took these photos.

Looking at the photographs at home in Adobe Bridge, with the kind of grand streaming spectral lighting they show, I didn’t know whether to call the set “God Light” or a “Hallmark Special.” I guess it kind of depends how one looks at things.

Still, I can certainly see why light of this sort in a grand landscape appeals to our spiritual side. That’s why I’ve ended up called the series “Evangelical Lighting.”

“Evangelical” is not quite as specific as mentioning a deity, and this good, clear, golden light is evangelical in the sense that it recruits. It is a gift. This clarity, and this kind of vista is what beings visitors to the Bay area, and moves folk to move here in defiance of all economic common sense.

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