There were skunks, four of them to be exact. It was late, around midnight and the entire town was dark and silent. I’m sure I would have looked a little strange walking around this little New England coastal town with a large backpack and equally large tripod tucked under my arm, but not a soul was wandering about as I was. Except that is for the four seemingly innocent skunks that decided to make their evening rounds in the one place that looked utterly amazing at midnight.
The sign at the entrance was a dilapidated ceremonial plaque dedicated in 1934 for the 300th anniversary of the cemetery. Within this place I saw an image I had had in my mind for years. This small cemetery, sitting by the ocean, had several small hills with dozens of headstones jetting out in all angles. Some were crumbling and unreadable, others new with textured wear. I found myself wandering in. Surrounding this colonial cemetery, were groves of hardwood trees, and behind them were streetlamps of all color temperatures pouring light into this place, creating mysterious shadows and highlights. Some of the headstones were completely black while others lit up in wonderful greens and blues.
I had my camera in my hand and had already set up my tripod without thinking. I set up slowly, methodically searching the angles, placing the shadows where I wanted them. I knew it was going to be a long exposure, so speed was not an issue. In the background was a simple colonial house, lit by an unseen light that made it stand out ever so subtly. It was in my West Coast eye, a New England I had envisioned all my life. And that’s when I saw them, all four of them.
It was going to be a long exposure, around an hour. There was nobody around and I was tucked in a dark corner of the cemetery so I figured the camera was safe. I turned to walk out, explore a little more of the town, and stopped dead. Staring at me with miniscule beady eyes was the one small creature that could make any grown man stop in his tracks, and it was staring directly at me. Not really sure how to handle this, I simply didn’t move. We stared at each other a few moments until it became disinterested and resumed its midnight feeding. Not wanting to draw its’ attention I stayed and waited for it to move on, but after it had gone I found myself enjoying the meditative night in this little cemetery by the sea.
Ingredients:
-Camera: Hasselblad
-Film: Kodak 160NC EI:160
-Exposure: F/11 @ 1hr15min
-Lens: 50mm
-Light: Streetlamps, Moonlight
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