Cemetery Photography

[kyabetsu]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v517/kyabetsu/Baltimore%20Photography/Graveyards/ChinHandBW1small.jpg

Took a trip to the Baltimore Cemetery.

The graves are from the mid to late 1800's and in terrible shape. It's clear that if there is any surviving family, none of its members are visiting. However, the neglect goes further. The drainage in the cemetery is abysmal and all the gravestones are settling. Many are cracked in half, and from the moss growing, have been that way for ages. Others are piled in marble stacks, pipes jutting out from underground, rusting against the white marble. The thin grass squelches underfoot and the constant suction of the mud at your heels sparks superstitious uneasiness.

The photo was taken in the middle of the day on a high and bright winter afternoon. I was like a kid in a (spiritually guilty) candy shop. Eager enough to see it all that I completely forgot to note down whose graves I was photographing.

I will be going back and I will find out the names and dates. That kind of thing is important and respectful.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v517/kyabetsu/Baltimore%20Photography/Graveyards/MaryCrossBWsmall.jpg

I'm fascinated by aging statues. Especially statues that were erected with so much love and expense. The graves I photographed were long-since given over to the perfunctory efforts of the graveyard caretakers. It makes the hills in the cemetery feel very lonely.

I could not make up my mind about Mary at the cross. It was hard to tell if she was tired, but glad of its strong support--or if she was exhausted by holding it up. Either way, the sensation of an interminable wait, whether for visitors or for God, made me take her picture.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v517/kyabetsu/Baltimore%20Photography/Graveyards/BrokeninTwo.jpg

Some of the pictures just look better in color. I love the deep brown of the dirt, and the hazel of the moss across the break in the stone.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v517/kyabetsu/Baltimore%20Photography/Graveyards/CrackedinTwo.jpg

This one came to life in black and white, though. I didn't like the picture at all in color. Yet, in grayscale, the reflection of the stone in its puddle is nice and sharp and the grass takes on a new texture.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v517/kyabetsu/Baltimore%20Photography/Graveyards/Feet.jpg

Nothing says 'unsettling' like bare feet in a graveyard. This is an extreme angle of a statue of a woman kneeling almost as if she's pleading with a cross. She's positioned on an unevenly shaped boulder with the cross towering above her.

Far from being a comforting image, the whole statue seems designed to make God the only potential refuge in a terrible and impersonal world. With the harsh lines of the cross, the images of crucifixion echoing in the composition, and the pleading posture of the woman, one questions whether or not God is listening to the poor soul buried there.

I've included another straight-on shot of this tomb for context. I may try to photograph this one again. I want a photo that shows all that without me having to spell it out or provide source material.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v517/kyabetsu/Baltimore%20Photography/Graveyards/FeetContext.jpg

Context to the crazy-foot photo. The words on the cross, "Simply to thy cross I cling." Not really a headstone of comfort and mercy. I wonder if she was on good terms with the folks who picked it out for her.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v517/kyabetsu/Baltimore%20Photography/Graveyards/HeadstonesPipesColor.jpg

This is the pile of headstones with pipes. I had a hard time making up my mind whether or not I liked it in color. The black and white suits the mood, but the color shows the rust better. You can see the one I ended up picking: rusty pipes and flooded graves.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v517/kyabetsu/Baltimore%20Photography/Graveyards/JoAnna.jpg

I couldn't leave the puddles alone. The reflections of the markers in the water was so 'life/afterlife', duality, boundaries, tangible/immaterial.

...Also, I'm a bad person and I couldn't help but think that if any of these folks had died of drowning, they might not appreciate the irony.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v517/kyabetsu/Baltimore%20Photography/Graveyards/Panorama.jpg

My home-made panorama shot didn't work out quite like I'd hoped, but you still get a feeling for the size of the place. Now imagine it continues to the left another 3 photo-lengths.

I'll make another attempt at this next time I go. The place is huge.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v517/kyabetsu/Baltimore%20Photography/Graveyards/SnowmanGrave.jpg

They're buried in a pair of buckets. Ha Ha! Um... Gallows humor? No? Too soon? Right.

[XERO]

They're coming to get you, kyabetsu!!!!

[kyabetsu]

The Snowmans? Probably. After spending a lifetime with a last name like that, you know they're fed up with folks like me pointing, laughing, and taking tourist photos.

If you see something in the news about some lady stabbed to death with a carrot and buried in lumps of coal, you'll know they got me.

[XERO]

Sounds like a Jersey Shore episode.

[WinterMorning]

These are gorgeous photos! My favorite so far is the fallen headstone in the puddle with JOANNA spelled on top of it. It's eerie, and so beautiful. I really can't wait to see more! :3

[kyabetsu]

I've been talking to lots of local friends, and it seems that poking around graveyards is an acceptable and exciting way to spend an afternoon. (Who knew?) We're going to go back to the one in the photos and probably check out some others as well.

There was this huge mausoleum with ornate ironworks across the door, so you could see in. It dipped down into the hillside with stained glass windows on the walls above ground. The windows were covered on the outside with more ironwork, but if you looked in the front door, you could see the outside light streaming through them into the remarkably deep chamber. There were stacked vaults from floor to ceiling. I wish I could have gotten a good shot of it. All I have are pedestrian exterior shots. :\

[XERO]

I'm not a big fan of hanging around graveyards and the likes, but those are awesome shots.

That should be a website pitch, actually: www.deadspace.com.

[discordiatookie]

that be some great shots you got there!

I especially like the second one down, looks like it could be used for a book cover or something.

Its ashame that some of them are degraded so much, but they are pretty old. But to be flooded, with rusty pipes sticking out, etc, just seems wrong.

[OA]

Great photos!

I really like the 2rd one down and also the Joanna pic alot. Something about it is so striking. I also feel like I want to like the feet one, but something is not quite there yet for me. All in all, though, very nice.

[RAM BAM]

Great pics!

I always think the cemetary is a great spot for photography.
One of my favourite album covers is that taken in a cemetary -
Dead Can Dance - Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun

[Ninjinister]

I've always found cemeteries fascinating (and eerie), and older ones even more so. Your photos do a good job of capturing that. The condition this one's in is disrespectful, though. Caretakers better run during the zombie apocalypse, 'cause they're first on the... er... Chew... List?

[kyabetsu]

Thank you for all the complements, guys.

We had a huge snow storm (as did the rest of the east coast, I know) but I was looking forward to getting photos with the graves against the snow. Then it rained. All the snow is gone. I didn't even get to build a snowman!

I'm looking forward to the next snowfall.

Rather than keep spamming the forum with photos (I'm not sure if they belong in here or in the art thread--though that's for tmnt-related arts, so i'm thinking 'no'), I'll just recommend my deviantart: Kya-Kyabetsu on Deviantart (http://kya-kyabetsu.deviantart.com).

Hope y'all have a Happy New Year!