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.