Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2004
Pentax ZX30 35mm, T-Max Film
More than one person told me they didn't see anything special in this shot, mainly because they couldn't tell what it was. I got it enlarged and posted it in my room anyway, 'cause I like it...and I remember exactly how it happened.

We had taken a few hours off from exhausting work to run some errands. Bev Warren (missionary) and I were running around town in their diesel van to buy coffee (best in the world) and to look at one of the Orthodox churches in town. Ethiopia is not only rich with culture, but very religious as well- as there are quite a number of churches in Addis.

We had just walked out of the church where we had a mini tour. We had to take our shoes off inside as it was a holy place and they take that very seriously. The ceilings were high and intricate, and as the light poured in from the tall skinny windows, you could see the fog of incense swirling around above.

After we stepped out of the church we walked across the courtyard to the church's museum. On the left before the large wooden doors was a huge bell tower. The guide asked me if I wanted to go up...so of COURSE I did! I am not very scared of heights, but I tell you thought I was going to die! Imagine this: I walk in the door and notice that not only are the stairs about to fall apart, but they are very narrow, steep and uneven, sometimes even slanted towards the center. There is no guard rail at all, and it spirals all the way up to the top. With my camera in my hand I dug my fingers into the bell tower walls and dared not look down. Well, I did look down..bad idea! The tower was at least 50 feet high, which doesn't sound high, until you're 6 inches away from falling to your death if you step wrong.

Ethiopians often times wear thin throws that look sort of like a blanket across their chest and shoulders. In front of me was a boy of about 13 who was actually the bell boy. He rushed up the stairs in front of me with his white throw, brown tattered shorts, skinny legs and skimpy sandals which were brushing against the stone before every step. He was up there long before I was as he'd done it a thousand times before.

As soon as I stepped foot on the top, with a huge smile on his face he began ringing the bell as hard as he could while looking over the edge to the city. The space was tight, perhaps only 6 feet in diameter with an enormous bell over top of us. At the time my lens only went to 27mm so that's why it seems a bit too zoomed. Regardless, I like this one.