Many may have noticed that with my obsession with churches. I also have an obsession with graveyards. I think there are about as many reasons for this as there are cemeteries.
First as a friend of mine pointed out you can do any kind of photography that you want to at a cemetery. You can do portrait style. You can do landscapes, still life. You name it. So for a photographer like myself that likes to jump all over the place I love that I can do architectural and portraits in the same place.
Deeper than that I truly like to be face to face with mortality. It puts things into perspective for me. I can look around a cemetery and get reminded that my time is very precious and I should be using it wisely. It truly helps me put things in there proper place in my life. Suddenly the newest fancy gadget doesn't seem as important as enjoying a sunset or watching a child play, or noticing a leaf fall off a tree.
I also really enjoy the quiet of a cemetery, not very many people bother you when your walking around. It is a sacred place were we all greet the non-permanence of our existence and all that we love. It is a place that causes reflection and contemplation on its deepest level. It is only through death that we learn of life, the wise ones have a habit of saying. I find much truth in that.
I have a hard time passing up a cemetery for those reasons, old or new, big or small I will always try to walk through them and give my respects. I hope some of the images I capture will show the great many lessons that I have taken from them.
The Photo-Monk
Caleb Storms
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