Angel
Covenanter Cemetery, Bloomington, Indiana
This was one of those “switch everything to auto, set the camera on the ground, and hope for the best” photos. It took 10-15 shots before I got something halfway useful.
Category: Photography
Mount Gilead Cemetery
Charley Harden, Indiana PVT 70 FIELD ARTY, JANUARY 9, [1930?]
GOODMAN
John J Lawrence 1840-1935, Union Veteran Civil War
Skirvin, Tilford L., Sept. 22, 1850 – Jun. 24, 1913
Mary M., Oct. 14, 1853 – Dec. 23, 1929
Grave Marker with Red Lichen (Caloplaca)
Clara
Clara, Mount Gilead Cemetery, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana
There are actually three graves here, but the stones are worn smooth. The only identifying mark is the name Clara, on the center stone. It’s etched deeply, as if it had been re-carved at some point. The graves are clearly old, but someone still keeps it decorated with plastic flowers and tchotchkes.
There’s a new grave, just a few feet from Clara’s. It wasn’t there the last time I visited the cemetery. A young man is buried there, and the grave is packed with flowers and mementos. It’s interesting to see new graves jumbled in with the old ones.
Another weird thing about this cemetery–there are new stones in the old section, right next to the dry stone wall. A couple of them are facing the wall, with only a few inches of empty space between them. The old church is directly on the other side of the wall, so there’s not a good way to look at those backward headstones. Why on earth would they be placed facing out like that?
Grave Decoration
Angel Grave Decoration, Mount Gilead Cemetery, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana
This, and several other decorations and flower arrangements, were sitting on the back sides of their headstones. I think that’s a little odd, but there must be a reason for doing so.
Daisy
Mount Gilead Cemetery, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana
It was supposed to rain today, but the weather ended up being gorgeous. Highs in the 50s and only partially cloudy. Since I’ve been a little cabin fevery, I decided to run out to Mount Gilead and take some more photos. Besides, I haven’t really had a chance to play out-of-doors with my new camera.
Altogether, I took about 60 photos, and only a few were real duds. I’m well pleased! This one, of a lone, plastic (not even silk!) daisy near a plain, little headstone, is one of my favorites. This graveyard was established in 1845, so it’s not all that old, but some of the oldest stones–like this one–have already been worn smooth.
Dried Roses
These are the same roses I photographed a few days ago. They’ve fallen off the stems and are pretty much dried through. I took this one yesterday, so I’m cheating, but I didn’t have a chance to take photos today. I got sidetracked dying paper for a new journal.
My hands are now stained a disgusting shade of brown, but the paper is cool looking, and that’s all that matters. I hope my idea works. We’ll know tomorrow, when it’s dry. Right now, it’s layered between sheets of waxed paper, in my high-tech press (a large hardback atlas and an iron skillet).
And now, it’s time to go watch Survivor and Lost.
Sink
And an unbagged sink, no less! I don’t know what they clean our sinks with, but it’s super abrasive. Steel wool, maybe? Not only is the older hardware scratched and oxidizing in spots, but there are areas where the base metal is patinating.
Another Sink in a Bag
This sink was bagged a couple of weeks ago, then unbagged after a couple of days. This morning, it was bagged again, only this time with duct tape securing the bag to the sink. I have no idea why. Does the Rogue Sink Bagger think the bag will cop an attitude and run off? (More sinks in bags here.)
Tea Light Holders
This was taken indoors, on a table in front of the window. With onboard flash. Please to notice that the lovely back-lighting was not swallowed up by the aforementioned flash, nor is the foreground washed out. It’s not a great photo, but for illustrative purposes, it’s just about perfect.
The point? Somewhere, I came a cross a link to DIY Photography. There’s an article there on how to use a business card as a flash bouncer. I used one of those fake cardstock credit cards, because I didn’t have a business card handy. Any piece of heavy, white, stiff paper that’s roughly business card size will work.
You can use the same basic principle with any point-and-shoot camera, but you’ll have to either hold the card at an angle with your hand or use Scotch tape. Just don’t get it too close to a high-powered flash, especially if the paper has a plastic coating, because it might start to burn. Trust me on that one!
Foo Dog
I was hoping that the snow we’re getting would provide a little bit of traction on the ice, but no. It’s actually slicker with the snow, than it was without it. When it was just bare ice, every place you stepped, your shoes melted a thin layer of it, which made it slightly sticky. As long as you stepped carefully, you’d be okay. The snow has basically added a nice polish on the ice.
Even the dog, who is half mountain goat, has trouble staying upright on this stuff.
Ugh.
And, it’s warm enough next to the building that the area just outside my patio door is still a swamp. An icy swamp. Mr. Foo Dog sits under the most drippy part, so he’s sporting a long beardsicle.
red paper boat 