I See Dead People

Cemeteries are neat places.  Burial practices and monument architecture vary with geography and cultures in interesting ways.

Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Paris (29 December 2009)

Ansel Adams had Yosemite.  Lewis Hine had his skyscrapers.  Some of us like to shoot flowers, landscapes, animals, buildings and structures and, of course, other people.  I shoot dead people…their graves, really.  I guess it’s a questionable subset of people photography…more about nature and architecture and culture, really.  Being the misanthrope that I am, I like that you don’t have to make appointments or pay them or have them sign releases.  They don’t blink or need meal or potty breaks and they remain very still when you shoot them.

I have always been fascinated by graveyards, different burial practices and the look of cemeteries one can see around the world.  I also like history and appreciate the contributions of people who have made an impact on civilization.  Since most of history’s impacts have been made by people who are no longer with us, the only way we can get close to them anymore is to visit their last resting places.  Thus the two personal interests are merged…‘I see dead people’, as the movie line goes.

Hancock Cemetery, Quincy, MA (16 November 2007)

As I matured and traveled more, I grew to appreciate history and the contributions of people.  That hit me when we were in Vienna in 2004 and visited the largest cemetery in Austria.  One of the neat things about Central Cemetery is this small section where you can find, within a few feet of one another, the graves of Brahms, Strauss, Schubert, Schonberg and Beethoven.  Standing next to Ludwig’s grave, I realized that this was as close as anyone will ever get to one of the great geniuses of western culture…being THAT close to his essence…or what’s left of it.  It seems that after that experience, my pursuit of graves took on an even greater interest.

Beethoven’s Grave, Central Cemetery, Vienna, Austria (28 December 2004)

Finally, I get satisfaction out of having complete collections.   For example, we have every ‘Best Picture’ Academy Award winning movie...from 'Wings' in 1928 to the most recent.  There's something satisfying to a collector when that happens...not the same with stamps or coins, where no one has every one that’s been made. 

In 1998, I happened upon the grave of Harry Truman in Independence, MO.  The experience made me wonder where the other American presidents were buried and thus began a personal Quest to find and photograph those sites.  The Quest was completed ten years later…complete at least until the next president checks out.

I will make posts about each of the grave sites as the blog goes on.  I hope the stories and images might encourage readers to pursue their favorite topics and create personal photographic goals. 

Places 1 - Chicago Reflections

Went to Chicago last month.  Great city.  We were there two nights and one of them was in a downtown hotel…better to experience the flavor and atmosphere of the place. 

While Manhattan has a fantastic skyline, one can’t really appreciate it when you’re deep inside its steel and glass canyons.  You have to be in Jersey or Brooklyn to do that.  Chicago, with its river and grand lakefront park space, allows you to see great swaths of its high-rise development and distinctive skyscrapers.  Also, as Central Park does for pictures of New York, the natural elements of Grant Park add a pleasant contrast to the vertical features of the buildings.

One of my favorite public spaces there is Millennium Park and the Cloud Gate sculpture.    Also known as ‘The Bean’, this huge, polished, stainless steel form sits in a much larger plaza where it can be approached from all sides.  What makes this sculpture so attractive is that it is a giant, curved mirror.  A total of 168 plates are joined so seamlessly and smoothly, all you see are the reflections of everything behind and around you.  I went to it on both days and there was never a time when visitors weren’t all over it.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_Gate for a picture of the entire structure in its place.

Since I flew to the Windy City, I packed just one camera and one lens…a Tamron 18-270 mm zoom lens I bought in February 2010.  There will be a future post about that lens but let’s not spoil this moment.  I was in compact, urban-visitor-on-public-transportation gear mode…as least as compact as a big, honkin’ camera can be, but that’s my choice.  I envy those of you who can pull a ten-megapixel camera out of your pocket and capture a winner…but that’s also another story.   

Naturally, when I was there, with 500 other camera-wielding visitors, I tried to find a different way to show this fascinating structure. 

Cloud Gate Behind the Wall (16 June 2011)

Because there are no flat surfaces on the ‘Bean’, it’s not always easy to find your reflection.  Plus, seeing what the city looks like in it is mesmerizing. 

Cloud Gate – The Bubble That Ate Chicago (16 June 2011)

Since the sculpture is large enough to allow people to pass underneath it, one can get an even freakier perspective looking up.  It’s as if you have been swallowed by a fun house mirror.

Cloud Gate – In the Belly of the Beast (16 June 2011)

Don’t miss your chance to see downtown Chicago.  The Loop and the lakefront alone can take up days, if you want, with the Art Institute, Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum and Navy Pier…all within walking distance of each other.  And don’t miss the ‘Bean’.

A post script for this entry. 

We were joined in Chicago by Beck’s brother Rod.  I realize I have never dwelled much on the fact that I have no brothers…but I do have nine brothers-in-law.  Rod’s a neat guy…doting father…successful businessman…amazing woodworker…former All Academic Big Ten basketball player.  We were together in Chicago and there was talk about how lucky the nine Ripley kids were.  The parents are still with us and none of the kids (the youngest is 44) has ever had a life-threatening event. 

Rod, Jennifer and Beck (18 June 2011)

A week after this picture was taken, he was badly injured while working alone.  A couple of Good Samaritans in Madison gave him the critical minutes he needed to survive.  It will be a long recuperation but he has a great family and a terrific lady to help him.  We wish for him a fast and full recovery.