Tuesday, April 07, 2009

JazJaz - 40 Hauntingly Beautiful Photographs Taken In Graveyards

I love graveyards, and these pictures are awesome - there are 40 at the page, so here are just a few.

40 Hauntingly Beautiful Photographs Taken In Graveyards

Onkel Wart

Photo Credit: Onkel Wart

Last week, I spent a few pleasurably-languid hours reading Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book. Gaiman’s wonderful tale of a young boy - Nobody Owens - who is nurtured and protected by the ghostly denizens of a graveyard, transported me into another world, and made me contemplate about life, death and the afterlife.

I had experienced the same feelings once before. That was while reading Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death.”

We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.

Since then ’tis centuries; but each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses’ heads
Were toward eternity. (Lines 13-20)

Graveyards are oases of tranquility in this chaotic world. They are places where some people finally find - in Earth’s welcoming bosom - the peace and solitude they craved for their entire lives. Is there really an afterlife? No one really can tell for sure. But it sure would be great if there were one.

Here are a few images inspired by the evocative imagery that Gaiman conjures up in his book. All the images were released under various Creative Commons Licenses by their photographers.

Image Credit: E3000

Image Credit: Hugovk

Image Credit: Snake Eyes

Image Credit: Rachel Sian

Image Credit: Shots at Random

Image Credit: Anders B.


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

these images are fantastic and just as I pictured Bod's graveyard.

Ruth King said...

Absolutely beautiful. Graveyards have always been one of my favorite things to photograph -- there's a serenity to them that's unmatched by almost anything else.

Gina Sackman said...

Ditto, anonymous. :)

These are gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

Neil has linked these images on his Twitter page...and they are beautiful, haunting and enchanting. Exactly as I pictuered Bod's home.

Anonymous said...

PS he actually linked to them about the time of the first anonymous comment...and the phrasing sounds like Neil, so high praise indeed!

leia said...

Wow, these are awesome. Thanks for sharing. (Found this through Neil Gaiman's tweet)

Unknown said...

I wish graveyards where I lived were this beautiful. I love living vicariously through photographs.

Yoga Gal said...

Just beautiful photos, like most people I fonud this page through Mr. Gaiman's blog! Thanks Mr. Gaiman, thank you for sharing your wonderfully poetic eye! Love & namaste - Geri

Maree said...

Beautiful photos. If there is an afterlife, I kind of hope it's like Bod's graveyard _ full of friendly (and some not so friendly) spirits.