Did I ever tell you

Burial is one of the oldest of human rituals. From simple stone dolmens to the glory of the pyramids, humans have spent a lot of time and energy providing the deceased with a decent send-off. Flowers, flags, statues and figurines are the final gifts family members give to their departed. To pick out a gravestone for someone that we love, is the last gift we can give them, and often people chose something that really represents the person that has passed and how he lived his life, so that, when we visit their burial site, our spirits are touched even if we did not know the person who lied down there. These are the kind of markers that make us feel some of the pain the ones who were left behind must have felt.

While cemeteries are often only visited after a loved one has passed, they not only serve as important places to mourn. A cemetery is often filled with artistic sculptures that leave us with questions about our own mortality and our relationship with death. Graveyard monuments, headstones,sculptures and figurines stir our imagination and powerful emotions, and, with the help of composition and lighting, some of these century old statues seem stunningly alive. There is an inherent fascination in cemeteries. The gravestones are so varied, and some of them are quite old and tell a rich history.

'Taphophile' is the name given to someone who takes an interest in cemeteries, tombstones, or memory of past lives. I consider myself a bit of a taphophile, and I'm in good company: Famous historical figures including Friedrich Nietzsche and Mark Twain are said to have been fascinated with graveyards; Amanda Norman is a well-known English tapho-photographer; some say William Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe were taphophiles, all ruminating over life's unanswered questions as they strolled through the hallowed grounds.

- Cemetery near Silver Springs, Florida

© CT-Graphics - Christine Till

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