Headstones & Heat...

(Photo:  Lisa Erin Brown)

The hot temperatures of Summer have kept me indoors most days. With heat indexes hovering in the vicinity of the upper-90's, to just around 100 degrees, staying in an air conditioned environment is much more preferable to the suffocating humidity of the southern coast. For a time, anyway.

Then a slight case of 'cabin fever' came to call. Stress has been getting the better of me over the last couple of weeks, it's presence being felt through some really horrible dreams that were plaguing what little sleep I had been getting. My tortured sleep kept me clinging to the preferred state of being awake, and that coupled with the heat wasn't making me a happy camper.  

It was also effecting my regular photography outings. My influx of new photos was slowed, and my head was far from feeling 'straight'. Photography has become my chief form of personal therapy. Whether I'm discovering a new place, or revisiting an old one, the creative and therapeutic values of photographing those things that move me to photograph them, are endless.

(Photos:  Lisa Erin Brown)

A regular haunt of mine is one of the oldest cemeteries in Savannah, the Laurel Grove. (I have posted about my visits there before.) I have visited there a bunch of times, and always see something new. Sometimes it's a new headstone, or statue that catches my eye. Other times it's something I have seen and photographed before that I am seeing in a different way. The main constant of the time I spend there is the sense of peace and calm that pervades the place. Through a kind of spiritual osmosis, I draw on that energy. There in that historical 'gateway' of sorts, the quiet, calm, and beauty, make it my favorite place to escape into myself.

(Photo:  Lisa Erin Brown)

I realize that some may think it macabre that I choose to walk among graves and mausoleums. If those people would do some Googling, they would learn that I don't stand alone.  Far from it.  Cemetery Photography is a huge interest, and there are many photographers that do it. My involvement in that niche of photography just started about 5 or so years ago. A trip to the Bonaventure Cemetery not long after I moved to Savannah started my interest. (I have also posted about some of my trips there.) Then I would find my way to the Catholic Cemetery, which has a much smaller old section (it's still in use today), but incredibly beautiful, too. Then I discovered Laurel Grove, and it has become my most visited place in Savannah.

(Photo:  Lisa Erin Brown)

Yesterday, I was beyond ready for a trip into the heat to snap some pictures. The only way I was going to satisfy my antsy mind, was to brace myself, step out into the furnace, and head for some place quiet.  The first place that came to mind was the Laurel Grove Cemetery, but that is what usually happens. It's peaceful, gorgeous, and no one bugs you. There are times when there are a couple of groundskeepers about mowing and the like, but for the most part it would just be me and my camera. The time was more than ripe, so I readied myself. After stopping along the way for a frappe, I headed over to the cemetery.

(Photos:  Lisa Erin Brown)

Almost from the moment I pulled my car onto the grounds, I felt a sense of calm drape itself over me. Slowly turning onto one of the dirt drives, the first thing I noticed was a large tree that had fallen. A little work had been done to start the clearing process, but it was all there. The bulk of the trunk had fallen over a plot of graves, and although it looked to have knocked over some small headstones, the main damage was to the corner of an adjoining plots fence (above).

(Small frieze type sculpture on a headstone;
Photo:  Lisa Erin Brown)

(A corner piece to one of the numerous old wrought iron fences that fill the cemetery...
I love the varying grades of patina on most of them;
Photo: Lisa Erin Brown)

(Photos:  Lisa Erin Brown)

I made my way through the lower section of the cemetery as it is the part less traveled by me. I would explore an area on foot, and move my car...repeat as necessary. (I passed a homeless dude who was napping shirtless under a tree...I was glad that I was in my car at the time.) When passing along one plot, I saw...well, I wasn't sure what I saw, so I checked it out.  It looked like something draped over a wrought iron fence. When I pulled close enough, I could see that it was a huge weathered tree trunk. As I approached it on foot, I could see what I would have not seen had I not walked over to the trunk. The tree that had been standing there obviously had done so for many, many years.  The tell was the corner of a fence it had grown around. I tried to get some good shots of it, but there was a concrete pole facing it which made my job difficult. I had to hang myself over the concrete pole and wall in front of it at chaotic angles to get the above shots.  

(Photo:  Lisa Erin Brown)

(Photo:  Lisa Erin Brown)

The grounds are filled with an array of different trees, so that helped with the intense rays from the sun. About halfway through my visit, some darker clouds started to move in and mingle with the white puffy ones. A slight breeze began to blow, which was very welcome. Distant thunder also grumbled in the distance. In a couple of areas of the cemetery there are sections of soldiers. As I was passing by one of those sections, the lines of small uniform headstones standing at attention, the thunder reminded me of distant canon fire. I almost expected to smell the hint of gunpowder in the breeze.  

(Another small frieze on a tall headstone;
Photos:  Lisa Erin Brown)

(Photos:  Lisa Erin Brown)

Many of the older trees on the grounds show signs of wear. Battle scars from their various wars with the elements. The photo at the top of the above trio is of a rather large Crepe Myrtle. It caught my eye because of the heavy shroud of Spanish Moss (which covers most trees in Savannah), and the fact that it was the only pop of color I saw. 

(Photo:  Lisa Erin Brown)

By the time I left, roughly an hour and a half later, I had a wealth of new photos and was the epitome of calm. The sky had started to sprinkle me as I left Laurel Grove, and by the time I had gotten on the road home, the bottom fell out. A perfect ending to my therapy session. 

I look forward to the next one...sooner rather than later. 

(Photo:  Lisa Erin Brown)