Ancient Burying Ground

These two came from the same burying ground in Beverly, Massachusetts, that just so happens to be neighbors with a pre-school. It's called the Ancient Burying Ground, and it's a stones throw from Montserrat College of Art, which was my intended destination. A good find. I was amazed at both finds; a playground at one end, and a bedroom(sic) at the other.

Playground of the Perished

Someone's Been Sleeping On My Grave

Ladies of the Cemetery

I'm sure that these two Ladies are bearing great weight from our unending winters snowfall. But as Ladies usually will, they'll come out just fine. A couple of my Black & White pieces.

Mehetable - Corner Cemetery, Amesbury, Ma.

Mrs. Whipple of Ipswich - South End Cemetery, Ipswich, Ma.

Mr. Roberts' Cold Feet

Mr. Roberts' Cold Feet - St. Paul's Graveyard, Newburyport, Ma.

This one was taken quite some time ago. Considering the recent snowfall, I'm quite sure that Mr. Roberts has more than cold feet.

With Old Friends

I've stopped by this place several times over the past years. It's Milford Cemetery, Milford, Pennsylvania. It's a multi-level terrain with a whole lot of character if you're will to root it out. It's also one of my few black & white pieces. I'm doing more in B&W now, because, sometimes it just works better for me.

Samuel, Alone and Blue

Another of local interest as it was captured in the Cove Hill/Lanesville Cemetery, Gloucester, Massachusetts. For me, the interest lay in the layered lighting. It's actually a great little cemetery hidden at the backend of a short road behind houses along the Atlantic Ocean.

A Sled Riding We Will Go

If there's a photo that delivers me to the doorstep of my youth, it would be this one. The merry winters of days gone by were actually fun. As the maintenance men shoveled out the schools of my youth, I went sled riding down a rather long and adventurous hill by the Whitestone Bridge. Sledder beware was the word on the street, as it ended at the waters edge. Thankfully, I never combined sled riding with snorkeling. 
There was also a fine piece of real estate on 21st Ave. and 149th Street. It was short and sweet and steep! And close enough to home for lunch and a little TV.

Central Cemetery, Beverly, Massachusetts

Mrs. Whipple of Ipswich

I'd like you all to meet Mrs. Whipple of Ipswich. She resides in South End Cemetery. One problem though. The stone was leaning against the gate so I'm not sure as to where Mrs. Whipple is actually buried. A major problem in old cemeteries.
It's one of my black and white pieces. Enjoy.

Me and My Duck

Notice anything strange about this piece? Check the title and then take another look. Ha! I took this one quite some time ago in Old North Burying Ground in Ipswich, Ma. I was totally focused on the aged stone on a blue background with a yellow trimmed window, and that's all. I had not noticed my little friend until I loaded the capture on my computer for processing.

Flat on My Back

Lighting is everything in the trade, and this one works for me. It can be a subtle late day mask, or a bright mid-day spike of brilliance. Either way, opportunities abound if you're ready.
I simply added a bit of contrast & saturation to this one.
This piece was taken in Woodlawn Cemetery, Elmira, New York.

John Eugene at 3

I worked this stone from just about every angle. It was just perfectly placed, and I wanted to take advantage of my good fortune. My humble suggestion, take advantage of all your good fortune when you're keen enough to recognize it. Work the light; work the angle, and work that inner eye and emotion. Don't rush the process. If it isn't the right time then it isn't the right time. This was my third trip back. I had to take into account the time of year and, in turn, the placement of the sun. Yes, that's right, and that's what it takes to compose a perfect work.

Marcy Cemetery, Duryea, Pennsylvania

A Vacancy at Quiet Haven

It has recently come to my attention that the name of this little plot of hallowed ground is called Siegrist Cemetery; the final home to the Siegrist Family of Lancaster. It's located in Ronks, Pennsylvania, on PA896, just east of Lancaster. Lisa and I had just completed 3 or 4 days at our publishers office/warehouse, photographing her collection of Victorian Fashions and Accessories for her upcoming book, "The Fashionable Victorians and Edwardians," and we decided to take a scenic route home. I do love the back road scenic routes.
All things being equal, I was entitled to a little creative R&D&P (Research & Development & Photography), don't you think? It was my turn now and, obviously, I could not resist the temptation.
Regarding the work itself, as you can tell I took some creative liberties with it. It is actually one of the first pieces that I converted to B&W. The color, for some reason, I found to be a distraction from the overall humor, or melancholy, or message, whatever it is that the viewer may wish to extract from it, so in the bin went the color; except for the flashing 'vacancy' lure, of course.
"A Vacancy at Quiet Haven" is one of my favorites, and I know that it's a favorite of many. Thanks for looking.

To find out who is buried in Siegrist Cemetery, click on the following link - http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~millergonzalez/cemetery/SiegristCemetery/siegrist.html

The Search Family of Shickshinny

Funny thing about this family plot just north of Shickshinny, Pennsylvania. It disappears during the summer months, swallowed whole by the surrounding undergrowth. I should have called it "The Guardian Growth." You literally cannot see it from Rte. 11 just the other side of the tall trees. This particular capture was taken in late fall.
I mentioned nearby Rte. 11. Well, I removed it along with a roadside railing. And I removed telephone poles with running wires, a white metal railing that enclosed the family plot, and a bench that sat near the second tree on the left. It was a challenge, to be sure, but I knew the result would be most satisfying. I should have been a surgeon. LOL!
I fell in love with the sway of the dark trees, the continuity of the background brush, and doesn't that white tree just POP!? The old stones are humbled by their sparsity and weary incline against the hibernating woodland thicket.
The Search Family of Shickshinny is a favorite with many. It also took a "Highly Commended" award in the recent '2014 USA Landscape Photographer of the Year' contest. One of the judges was famed photographer Art Wolfe. I'm proud of this one.

More to come from my gallery.