A got a good cemetery fix while in Boston. Unfortunately, though, the lighting was never ideal for photos–either rainy & dark or too sunny. I do like how this one turned out, though, because of the filtered sunlight on the headstones behind the one in the foreground. It gives the photo somewhat of an ethereal quality, I think.
I Died For Beauty But Was Scarce
I died for beauty but was scarce
Adjusted in the tomb,
When one who died for truth was lain
In an adjoining room.
He questioned softly why I failed?
“For beauty,” I replied.
“And I for truth, the two are one;
We brethren are,” he said.
And so, as kinsmen met a night,
We talked between the rooms,
Until the moss had reached our lips,
And covered up our names.
~Emily Dickinson
3 comments
Oh, so you “do like” how this one “turned out,” do you?
Don’t be coy. You know full well this is an awesome picture — perhaps the best you’ve ever taken. I won’t go into the this-and-thats of why this is unless you need me to, which I don’t think you do. Just look at the lighting… the color…. Absolutely terrific picture.
The tombstone belongs to a Jabez Smith who was a Lt. of Marines on Trumbull — one of thirteen ships built by the Continental Congress to challenge the almighty powerful British Navy. Trumbull fought battles with the Royal Navy and was finally destroyed in one of them in 1781. Was Lt. Smith killed in one of those battles? Or did he die a quiet death at home in Boston later. I don’t know, because I can’t make out the year of death in your photo.
Was Lt. Smith a distant relative of mine? I come from a line of Smiths of New England dating back to before the Revolution. Not likely, I guess, but possible.
That’s the real genius of this picture: It’s great in a photographic sense — lighting, color, etc. — but then the immediate reality of the details of this one man’s life visible on the tombstone’s face create a bridge between the ethereal artistry of the photo and the down-to-earth reality of a single real person’s life.
Great job. Although I think you know that already. But that doesn’t make it any less of a great job. Have I said great job?
gs:
you do know how to make a girl feel good, don’t you? :)
As always, thank you for your kindness….
It’s “just the facts, ma’am. Just the facts.” (And showing my age :)