As I get older and closer to the grave, I have begun to avoid cemeteries as an object of photographic interest. But while Jackie and I were visiting Mady and Nate on Cape Cod last week, and having lunch (fried fish sandwich, rings, and slaw) at one of my favorite places of all time, Arnold's in Eastham
we did not encounter the usual crowds, so having finished lunch early, and with time on our hands, we agreed to keep heading north to see if we could make it to Provincetown. It was a quiet Monday, so smooth sailing all the way. Made it there in record time.
As we passed a few of the old burial grounds along the way, I got thinking about a most unusual tombstone I took a photo of about 6 or 7 years ago during our last visit to the Cape, that of one Mrs. Martha Holbrook. As we drove past the Truro Old North Cemetery, I was sure it was there, so I had Mady stop, and I looked for it somewhere in the front rows close to the road, where I remembered it would be, but it wasn't there. Not a total loss, however. Snapped these two stones before we kept going.
They are two great examples of the winged head style of tombstone art. At the time, I didn't realize how good they would be, and with Jackie and Mady waiting patiently in the car, I left it at that. But the sun was great, the sky was perfect and I should have shot a few more. Jackie said that Martha's stone was probably at the Duck Creek Cemetery we passed a few miles back and we agreed to stop there on the way home, which we did, and as soon as Mady slowed down I could see it from the road.
What fascinated me here was the face. Quite unusual. Never saw one quite like it on a stone. Is it a portrait? I tend to think so. I'm glad the day worked out as well as it did. Love the top two photos resulting from the wrong stop. After a little research on the taxonomy of tombstone art, I found that these three stones all fall into the same category (winged head), but there were many more great stones I'm sorry I missed, and I'm feeling the need to to get back to the Cape for a few more good shots, followed by a visit the bar upstairs at the Lobster Pot in P-Town for a few bloody marys overlooking Cape Cod Bay after a hard day's work in the field. As I was standing in front of the Pot taking this picture, I was thinking about the bloody marys, but was still pretty darn full from Arnold's and not ready for a drink.
Hopefully next time. Another project on my to do list.
Pablo
Addendum:
Always looking for a good place to post orphan photos that don't seem to fit into any other posting. Always liked this stone I shot at the Old Burial Ground in Halifax, Nova Scotia and it is another good example of the winged head motif.
Pablo
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