B&W Challenge No. 38 - Cemeteries

[hmca]

Not that long ago I had a photography assignment to photograph trees.  Some of the most beautiful trees I found were by visiting local cemeteries.

I had been racking my brain to come up with a topic for this month.  When new member tonyb joined recently, I was especially interested in his black and white gallery.  There I found some images that 
had been taken at cemeteries.  It gave me the idea to use this as the topic for this month's Black and White Challenge.

To be honest, I've had reservations about taking pictures at cemeteries.  When I visited old historic places it seemed ok.  However, I found composing an image quite challenging.
The one below was taken in Bennington Vermont.



Doing some research for this challenge I came across a blog by Rachelle M. who has photographed cemeteries and offers her opinion as to why black and white is her preferred processing choice.
At the bottom of the page she links to three additional posts.   I recommend this post on the ethical issues to others who might have some reservations about taking photographs at cemeteries.

This past week, I went to a local cemetery and took these three images.  I am hoping to get to a few more interesting cemeteries in my area this month.  There is one "forgotten" cemetery that I have always been curious to visit.











All images were processed in LR or  DXO SE.

I look forward to seeing the images you choose to share this month.

[pontiac1940]

Thanks Helen. 
Cowley Cemetery in southwest Alberta. October 2018. 
(Previously posted this or others is this series...)
 

[hmca]

Thanks for getting this started, Clive. What a beautiful resting place with the wide open landscape in the distance.

[tonyw]

Was passing by a local cemetery with a camera today so dropped in and took a couple of shots. First one converted in Silver Efex Pro 2 (I just updated my Efex plug-ins so had to try it out) and the second was my usual Lightroom B&W profile.





Tony

[hmca]

I have a FB friend who frequently walks Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge Mass.   She recently posted an image that contained examples of four common stones used for markers there....Roxbury Pudding stone, Marble, Granite and Slate.   I am intrigued by the stone in your first image, tonyw .   It got me googling different kinds of stone used for markers but I can't seem to identify it.  Also found this article.   

[tonyb]

Hello Helen,

Here's a favorite "forced perspective" photography example. I recall the height of this cemetery statue being somewhere between three to four feet. The angle I selected and the inclusion of the background provide a sense of this angel towering over the environment. A storm had passed, which allowed the rolling clouds to add a bit of interest.

[hmca]

Thanks for joining in and telling us what your intention was when framing your shot, Tony.

[tonyw]

Sept 3, 2020 22:39:02 GMT hmca said:

I have a FB friend who frequently walks Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge Mass.   She recently posted an image that contained examples of four common stones used for markers there....Roxbury Pudding stone, Marble, Granite and Slate.   I am intrigued by the stone in your first image, tonyw .   It got me googling different kinds of stone used for markers but I can't seem to identify it.  Also found this article.   

Interesting question Helen!  I think it's granite and was there today so took a close up - most is rough but the inscription is polished and the pic shows both areas. Here's what the camera saw in colour and black and white.  I say "what the camera saw" as the colour shot has a lot more colour in it than I remember seeing with my eyes - to me it all looked a slightly bluish grey but the camera is seeing some red and yellow in the sunlit spots (the stone is under trees and the sun was overhead).  BTW the date on the stone is 1895.



Maybe your FB friend can identify and explain the colour?

Tony

[hmca]

Thanks for following up on that, Tony. I have actually asked my friend to take a look when she has a chance. It's the cross that caught my attention as it resembles tree bark. But I would imagine someone could chisel it
to give that appearance. I can see the rough surface in your close-up shot.

It really is an interesting marker.

[tonyw]

Helen really got me digging around after pointing out that the stone I posted earlier resembled tree bark. It's more obvious from the one below that I took on a cloudy day with real trees in the background. That took me to google tree stones and this blog post Those Amazing Tree Stones.  Having read that blog post I took another look around the cemetery and found (on another stone) one of the Woodmen of the World symbols indicating that the cost of the stone had been covered by a WOW life insurance policy.  BTW "dum tacet clamat: is Latin and translates to "though silent, he speaks"



Tony

[hmca]

That's such an interesting blog, Tony. Thanks for researching and posting it. So much information and beautiful examples of other markers that were made by the organization.
My friend from Massachusetts has now located some in Mount Auburn Cemetery. You have peaked her interest as well.


Your new image works well to illustrate the detailed work of the marker with the trees in the background. I'm going to be on the lookout for similar carvings now.

[whippet]

My mother's brother - Charles F Bean - died when he was 6 years old.
I don't know why he was buried in relations grave. I can only assume it was because his parents were still living.

[WayneS]

Last year, visiting New Orleans, we toured a cemetery, where all the tombs are above ground, because the area is below sea level. An interesting thing we learned, the tombs are usually re-used one year and one day after the body is placed, due to the extreme heat, and at that time, the decomposed remains are swept to the back of the tomb, where there is a hole, or the family can have the remains in a urn. The tomb is then ready to be re-used!
i.ibb.co/7gCKbVJ/20190222-150758-copy.jpg

[hmca]

Margaret.....it seems that the practice of burying families/relations together is not uncommon.  Thanks for sharing both the image of the marker and the close-up view of the details.

Wayne, we missed the cemetery tour when we visited New Orleans several years ago.  It is a fascinating cemetery and your image prompted me to find out more about it.

[WayneS]

Sept 7, 2020 15:52:45 GMT hmca said:

Margaret.....it seems that the practice of burying families/relations together is not uncommon.  Thanks for sharing both the image of the marker and the close-up view of the details.

Wayne, we missed the cemetery tour when we visited New Orleans several years ago.  It is a fascinating cemetery and your image prompted me to find out more about it.

Thanks for confirming that Helen, as there were a couple of points, I was wondering whether the tour guide might have been "exaggerating a wee bit"