Buried Secrets, a photo from New Jersey, Northeast

Photographer's Note

Yesterday I was standing outside in the yard of an old church where a wedding was about to begin, and I found myself looking into the church cemetery, which lay on a sunny slope bordered by a rock wall and woods beyond. The church was founded in 1848, so some of the graves go back that far, and apparently the wall was built then, too. I’m not sure why it was customary to wall in the dead, but all the old cemeteries, especially in churchyards, have one. I suspect it is simply to preserve its peace, since trespassers could hardly have been a concern in these rural parts...at least 150 years ago.

I found myself looking at this particular niche of the cemetery, tucked away in a corner of the wall with its view into the dark and quiet woods beyond the stones. I thought about how so many secrets of the heart are buried with the dead, and I liked how that sense of mystery seemed to deepen in the shadows of the woods.

This was originally a larger picture, cropped down severely to frame this detail. PP consists only of sharpening and sizing for web.

mumek, richtersl, maloutim, v_vicky has marked this note useful

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mumek (20226) 2005-05-15 18:56

Good evening Lisa!
Very nice capture of the cemetery from Hunterdon County.Good composition with excellent light and the details. Your note is very interesting and informative.Very well seen and done. I will return to your beautiful gallery. Thanks for posting
regards
ziggy

DigitalZen (62) 2005-05-15 19:12 [Comment]

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richtersl (3546) 2005-05-16 7:52

The exposure is perfect! I can see very well into the woods in this photo. Those flowers peeking out from behind the gravestone are a delightful accent to this composition.

I think, also, that walls like the one you have pictured may have also kept the dirt from eroding -- especially with an incline like the one in this cemetery.

maloutim (13617) 2007-01-18 15:43

I like cemeteries, as I think they are such peaceful places; and it's exactly the impression given by your photo.
I also think death is part of life ( if it happens at a normal age to die of course. )
You wonder why they always used to build walls around cemeteries. Well, I live in Brittany France, where traditions are very well kept and people used to believe in legends not so long ago. In fact, they still like to think the legends are true...
We have two reasons for walls around church yards: 1 very down-to-earth, was to keep the cattle away from the graves, and 2, to keep the souls of the dead from going away...
In Brittany, we still celebrate the cult of the dead very much, especially around the 1st of November, All Saints day. I posted the photo of our local cemetery around that time.
I have read your intro, and I like it very much.
You seem to be the exact opposite of what we Europeans think of Americans in general: you know, McDonald's, Hollywood, shopping malls....
Cheers for tonight.
Marie Louise.

v_vicky (1037) 2007-07-01 3:11

You can feel the silence of that place..I like it :)

Best Regards,
Vicky

Photo Information

Copyright: Lisa Milheim (Lisas_world) (1232)
Genre: People
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-05-14
Categories: Ruins
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): old stone, Green Country, All Saints Cemeteries I [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2005-05-15 15:57