Blog Archives
White on white, 6
The calendar led me to believe it might be warm; it was the third week of April, after all. It was not warm; it wasn’t even cool. So my day of photographing rural Michigan devolved into whatever I could shoot in brief forays from the car.
Fortunately, the caretaker’s shack at this cemetery was close by and I was able to get a few shots before my fingers got too cold to work the shutter release. (And, yes, I DID have gloves. But gloves that are really toasty in Texas are mostly just decorative in Michigan.)
This side of the building, the west, had a lot more peeling paint than the other sides. That, plus what I observed that day, make me think that harsh winds from the west occur with some degree of regularity. In that way, it was a lot like home.
Oak Grove Cemetery
Manchester, Michigan
photographed 4.19.2013
Slowly, she dissolves
The carved angel at the Kimball grave holds her contemplative pose as she is slowly dissolved by acid rain.
According to Jonathan Appell of New England Cemetery Services, acid rain is the fastest growing destructive force affecting cemeteries today; when left unchecked, acid rain can completely destroy a gravestone.
Poor angel: her face is already gone.
Graceland Cemetery
Chicago, Illinois
photographed 4.16.2013
Madonna of the Sun
On that cold morning, the Madonna looked liked she’d climbed atop the urn to better catch a ray of sunlight, as she tried to warm her marble bones.
St. Thomas the Apostle Cemetery
Ann Arbor, Michigan
photographed 4.20.2013
Star-shaped holes
The book Exploring the Big Bend Country (by Peter Koch and June Cooper Price) describes the cemetery in the border town of Lajitas as a “poor man’s cemetery.” The authors go on to state:
“The graves in the Lajitas cemetery are mostly simple mounds covered with a layer of heavy rocks. Here and there a wooden cross is held in place – almost – with blocks of heavy limestone.”
At this particular grave, the sun had baked the white stars completely out of what was left of the flag as it flutters itself into nothingness above the grave of one of the poor men of the border.
Lajitas, Texas
photographed 1.20.2013
Terlingua cross: back and front
The back of a long-armed cross in another shot from the Terlingua cemetery.
And, because I think you want to know what the other side looks like:
This might be a good time to mention that, in addition to looking in alleys for things to photograph, I also like to walk behind things, too. Many times, I like the backs better.
Terlingua, Texas
photographed 1.20.2013
One Day | One Image 