Creepy & Beautiful

As I have been editing this round of cemetery photos, I've been playing some more with adding textures and today I came up with one of my most favorite photos I've done to date. This is from New Hope Cemetery in Cooke Co, Texas. (This place had amazing trees!)



I love it so much I had to jump the gun and go ahead and share it here!

ALSO, my Sister-in-Law was looking at this same set of photos today and tomorrow we are going to go get two prints framed for her to hang in her home! I'll post about that once she makes her final decision on which images. I am so excited!

A Mother Remembered

So, you know how I told you that when I walk through a cemetery, some stones just seem to call to me and 'ask' to be photographed? Well, I was looking through the photos I took at Ables Cemetery near Bulcher, Texas and stumbled upon a small part of a Mother's heartbreaking history.



I was studying this photo, trying to read what the stone said. Turns out this is the grave of M.F. Jordan, (wife of W.T.) born January 10th 1856, died February 2nd 1885. A couple of photos later I came across this one again...



These are M.F.'s (I want to call her Mary for some reason) children, a daughter who died July 30th 1881 and her son who died February 2nd 1885. I looked at M.F's stone again and realized that she and her son must have died while she was in labor or shortly thereafter and I was just overwhelmed with sadness for her and her children.

And then I thought, how crazy it was that in my walk through the Cemetery I took a picture of both her stone AND her children's stone. So I wanted to take this moment to remember M.F. as well as her daughter and her son. May they rest in peace.

Smoot Cemetery

On the 7th of January my Sister-in-Law and I went in search of a small cemetery she had remembered seeing off the road out in the middle of nowhere a few years ago. We found it and the stones it holds are so interesting!



It's very unkempt and over-grown. There are a lot of small stones that you can trip over if you don't keep a very close eye of where you are walking. The stones are pretty scattered and there are lots of good finds lurking in the weeds.



One of my favorites from Smoot Cemetery was this one. Mirtle May Giles, a girl who died in 1906 at the age of 12. I wonder if the spelling on her grave is a typo or if they actually spelled in in an alternate fashion. Whatever the case, love her name.



These two stones kind of haunt me. The first of the two is the grave of James B Adair, a little boy who died just short of his first birthday in 1860. This is the oldest known grave in the cemetery. The second grave is James' twin baby brothers who died the day they were born, just a year after his death in 1861. I can't help but think of their poor mother Mary Adair and all the suffering she went through loosing three baby boys in just two years time.



This is one of the neatest graves there. The stone is hand carved and the first name on it is split into two lines. It reads exactly:

DAN
IEL
GRIFFITH
DIED
1893



And this is my self-indulgent artsy shot of the same grave. I asked my Mom what she thought of this photo and she said I would probably be the only one to "get" it. =)



Finally, this is the old home that we found just a short skip hop and jump down the road from Smoot Cemetery. It was guarded by a No Trespassing sign, so I didn't bother to jump the fence to get a closer look. There was a ReMax sign out front and after a few conversations with the agent listed on the sign, she claims it is not one of her properties. Blah. I guess I will have to do some digging on my own to get permission for some up close and personal time with this gem of a house!


That's it for now, these were my favorites from the day. I can't wait to go back to Smoot to see what new treasures are hiding out there!

Some may find it strange ...

... but I love cemeteries. The older the better. They are so serene and beautiful. From the old stones, rich history, gorgeous landscapes and magnificent trees - I just love everything about them.

Interestingly enough, photographing in cemeteries runs in my family. My grandmother, starting with her own children moving all the way to myself, sister and cousins - posed us with the stones of family members. I find this more odd than my own fascination with cemeteries. I do not normally photograph people in my shots of cemeteries, save for the last trip to the cemetery where my beloved Grandmother is buried. I took a picture of my niece by her grave, just cause I knew she'd get a kick out of it. This one was for you, Grandma! Love you!


:: Moore Memorial Gardens, Tarrant County Texas ::

Back to my captivation with cemeteries... as long as I've had a camera and a roll of film to shoot with, cemeteries were one of my favorite subjects. Walking around in the quiet tranquillity, surrounded by the stones and your own thoughts - taking pictures came quite naturally there. The scenic beauty was always the main focus of my shots...


:: Coker Cemetery, Cooke County Texas ::


:: Coker Cemetery, Cooke County Texas ::


:: Coker Cemetery, Cooke County Texas ::


:: Coker Cemetery, Cooke County Texas ::


:: Ables Cemetery, Cooke County Texas ::

But then there are always certain graves that beg to be photographed due to their ornate beauty...


:: Coker Cemetery, Cooke County Texas ::


:: Coker Cemetery, Cooke County Texas ::


:: Coker Cemetery, Cooke County Texas ::


:: Coker Cemetery, Cooke County Texas ::


:: Ables Cemetery, Cooke County Texas ::

And the ones that call out to me, all on their own that I feel just want their chance to be remembered once again...


:: Coker Cemetery, Cooke County Texas ::


:: Coker Cemetery, Cooke County Texas ::


:: Coker Cemetery, Cooke County Texas ::


:: Coker Cemetery, Cooke County Texas ::


:: Ables Cemetery, Cooke County Texas ::


:: Ables Cemetery, Cooke County Texas ::


:: Ables Cemetery, Cooke County Texas ::


:: Ables Cemetery, Cooke County Texas ::

I hope by sharing with you my personal allure to cemeteries makes you see them in a different light. They are not scary and morbid places - but beautiful and peaceful places of rest and reflection.

My Step-Dad and I have been seeking out a lot of cemeteries in the area so I will be posting a variety of the images I capture. If cemeteries still don't appeal to you, don't worry - there will be a wide range of my other work posted here for you to view instead! =)