Worn away

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

I find this to be a very sad and at the same time a gentle and heart warming image.

Dave

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

If only I could recognize what that thing is?

[RSL]

Very nice, Dave. The juxtaposition of the blooms and the decaying whatever it is is interesting. I'm not sure it's sad.

[David Eckels]

I wish I could agree, but it's not real enough for me to figure out what it is and not abstract enough for me to full appreciate simply line and shape and color. Sorry, not trying to be offensive.

[dmerger]

Really, guys?  Never seen a tombstone before? 

[wolfnowl]

Seemed pretty obvious to me, but I have shot tombstones before!    I like the snowdrops as an ephemeral contrast to the stone.  At the same time, I don't think it's sad.  I once saw a tombstone that was simply a large boulder of raw jade.  It obviously meant something to whomever had it placed there, but there was no name carved on it or any detail at all.  I thought it was among the best headstones I've ever seen.

Mike.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Really, guys?  Never seen a tombstone before? 

We obviously live in different worlds. Where I come from, this thing would never be used as a tombstone. Nor I see anything similar here, in the States.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

We obviously live in different worlds. Where I come from, this thing would never be used as a tombstone. Nor I see anything similar here, in the States.

I've seen many gravestones that look similar to this one here is Massachusetts, especially in 18th century cemeteries.

But maybe Massachusetts doesn't count, because it's a "Commonwealth" and not a "State?"

I like the image.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

I've seen many gravestones that look similar to this one here is Massachusetts, especially in 18th century cemeteries...

A tombstone without inscription?

[stamper]

Looks like a molar to me. Perhaps from a large mammal washed ashore and died. Happens a lot on the West coast of Scotland. There isn't anything in the image as to scale it to.

[rogerxnz]

I'm sorry this image doesn't work for me. I, like many, do not recognize the object. Dave tells us it's a tombstone but it does not look like a tombstone to many, mainly because there is no text on the tombstone relaying the message that death is involved here. Accordingly, many do not get the messages and imagery from the juxtaposition of life (the flowers) and death (the tombstone), and so on.

People who recognize that the white object is a tombstone, will appreciate the imagery. For the rest of us, I would have included more tombstones in the image in the hope that seeing more of them may make it clear to viewers not familiar with these objects that they are tombstones. Working more of the environment into the picture would in my opinion make it less of a "product" shot.

The small size of the posted image means it is difficult to tell if it is sharp. I consider the tombstone should be sharp. The subject matter may suit B+W better.
Roger

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

I find this to be a very sad and at the same time a gentle and heart warming image.

Dave

Yes it is a very old and worn away tombstone, it is so old and neglected and weather worn in fact, that all the words like the memories of the person buried there, have long since faded away.

The reason I find it both sad and heart warming, is because the story it tells to me, is that even though this grave still holds the remains of someone who was once loved and very dear to their family, that over the passage of time the grave has become neglected. No one comes to the grave anymore, no family visits, no flowers and no mourning for the life of the person buried there. In fact no one even knows who is buried there anymore, it's as if they never existed, just vanished with the passing of time. Yet heart warming because mother nature still brings flowers and tends the grave and gives comfort to the remains and will never forget.

Yes for some reason, this image seems to have uncovered the emotional female side of me (put me in touch with my feminie side I meant to say here and as the popular saying goes  - and as I also mentioned in another thread, this is the type of stuff/nonsense that goes through my head when I am working a scene. Who said you have to put something of yourself into the photograph? Well that is what I put into this one - it may be miles away from the reality, but that is what this image says to me and the emotion I was trying to capture when I created it.

Dave  

[amolitor]

The shadow makes the stone look more like a broken teapot, rounded in more dimensions than it is, which is possibly why Slobodan is puzzled. It took me quite a while to "see" it as flat, after my initial impression. The shadow on the stone is actually cast by some object out of frame, correct? It is so soft-edged that it appears that it is cast by a curve in the stone itself (a curve which does not exist).

[Patricia Sheley]

.... neglected...
uncovered... goes through my head ...... something of..... the reality, but......me and the emotion..... 

Dave  

I celebate this revelation...

[William Walker]

The reason I find it both sad and heart warming, is because the story it tells to me, is that even though this grave still holds the remains of someone who was once loved and very dear to their family, that over the passage of time the grave has become neglected. No one comes to the grave anymore, no family visits, no flowers and no mourning for the life of the person buried there. In fact no one even knows who is buried there anymore, it's as if they never existed, just vanished with the passing of time. Yet heart warming because mother nature still brings flowers and tends the grave and gives comfort to the remains and will never forget.

Very well written Dave. Lovely thoughts.

William

[RSL]

"For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more."

[Rob C]

I never visit cemeteries.

I’m definitely of the burn ‘em persuasion. Once dead, all that remains is spirit and that, much as with Tinker Bell, lives as long as one refuses to say fairies (spirits, here) don’t exist. If you see a dead loved one, you can’t avoid realising that you are no longer seeing the same person but a mere cold, almost impersonally sad shell of what lived within. I  believe it’s nature’s anaesthetic for the living.

That’s where eternity resides: in each one of us. And I think we can build chains of it that survive us. The horror of a life without love?

I’m happy enough with that warming concept… I think.

Rob C

P.S. I’m afraid I have no picture to illustrate the point.

[dmerger]

A tombstone without inscription?

Didn’t it occur to you that an inscription could be worn away?  I would have thought that the title of this thread, “Worn Away”, might be a clue.

[David Eckels]

Didn’t it occur to you that an inscription could be worn away?  I would have thought that the title of this thread, “Worn Away”, might be a clue.

Sorry, too subtle. Looked maybe like a pottery shard; we could be dealing with cultural differences. I understand the sentiment now that I know that this is a grave marker, but I guess I needed to be hit over the head with that

[amolitor]

I remain convinced that there are:

- people who see the object as it is, a flat slab
- people who see it as a rounded pot-like object, which is a very convincing optical illusion in this case

The first group have no trouble accepting it as a tombstone, and the second do. If you can't accept it as a tombstone, go look at the image again carefully, and try to envision is as a flat slab. It is! I promise!