You guys! I finally, finally, fiiiiinally have the last post from November’s trip to Savannah ready to go. I essentially shot nothing but photos of cemeteries which, tooting my own horn here, I think I’m pretty good at. I’ve blogged about it twice already how when I got home I wasn’t really happy with any of the photos. Slowly but surely, cemetery by cemetery, I’ve been editing them and falling in love. These ones from Laurel Grove Cemetery are the last of the photos. Ideally, I’d like to say I’ve saved the best for last but I think these are a happy medium, not my favorites but not the worst. I’m just happy to have saved some photos from one of my favorite places.
My first visit to Laurel Grove Cemetery was back in early 2014. I didn’t spend very much time there but I was instantly enamored. I was SO excited to get back and shoot it properly this last visit. I had two things working against me though. The super bright sunshine for one. Just like at Bonaventure, the sun and the huge trees created an absolute mess of uneven light. Secondly, I realized that my camera was malfunctioning. The shutter isn’t working properly so when it’s bright and the shutter needs to open and close super quickly… it just doesn’t. The result is a large black area in the corner of the frame. I first noticed this issue while shooting these photos so instead of worrying about getting great shots I was stressing about what in the heck was wrong with my camera. In some of the shots it’s very obvious and just looks like kooky editing but in a lot of the other shots, I feel like it kind of works. The sun and my funky shutter were my sources of frustration but with a little bit of patience in lightroom I feel fairly confident that they were salvaged.
Even though I so clearly struggled with all the photos I got from this trip I still really do think Savannah has some of the most beautiful cemeteries. That spanish moss just gets me every time. I can’t look at these photos without feeling a little pang of homesickness. I’m sure I’m not the only one to get this feeling, the yearning for somewhere that you’ve been before. Somewhere that isn’t home but still holds a special place in your heart for one reason or another. I’m sure there is some word in another language that doesn’t translate to English that explains this feeling. Whatever it is, these photos make me feel it.
xoxo
More from November 2016’s Savannah road trip – Bonaventure Cemetery, Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery, Old Sheldon Church Ruins + Colonial Park Cemetery.
10 comments
These are so beautiful! I’ve been to Savannah a few times but I’ve never heard of this cemetery – clearly I need to go back. My sister used to live there but then had to move to Dallas 👎🏻 There really is nothing like a Spanish-moss covered cemetery! I dream of going back to New Orleans / anywhere in the deep south daily.
I love these! Every time I see these pictures I think of the Beautiful Creatures series. Did you ever read it? There are a lot of scenes in cemeteries in Southern towns and it actually is one of the main reasons I always want to re-read them!
What software do you use to edit, by the by? 🙂
No, I’ve never read that.
I use lightroom (and highly highly recommend it!)
These photos came out gorgeous! I’m glad you were able to work with them. Camera problems are soo stressful
Thanks Kaili! 🙂
What a gorgeous cemetery! I love cemeteries like this, where each headstone is unique and different. I just visited a tiny cemetery that was in the middle of a Christmas tree farm, definitely the most interesting one I’ve been to so far!
Ah! That sounds so neat!
I feel the exact same way about Savannah. Was only there a couple days but it was such a charming place.
It really, really is!!!
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