funerals, graveyards, etc

[false_Aesthetic]

Hey,

I was recently asked to photograph a friend's deceased parent before the funeral home closed the coffin. . . I ended up making several albumen prints for my friend and his siblings.

I know that there's a history of doing this type of portraiture and, as morbid as it may sound, I think its really interesting.

I've thought about exploring and expanding the idea of photographing the deceased into photographing the burial services, the grounds, the facilities etc.

Does anyone know of a photographer that has done something similar? I don't care if someone's done it before, I just want to see how others have tackled this.

Thanks

T

[Michael Gordon]

here ya go: http://www.photoeye.com/templates/mS...?Catalog=PX063

[John Kasaian]

It used to be quite a business. I've seen several photographs from the 'oughts, 'teens and twenties, most of them shot outdoors with the coffin propped up among the floral sprays, and some even with the mourners(immediate family? Funeral procession?) Looking on. In view Camera a few years ago there was an article IIRC on a forgotten gold rush era cemetary that was dug up in Golden Gate Park where the tenants had thier daguerrotypes entombed with them.

[Downix]

A friend of mine does just this. It's a facinating business, and people do, infact, pay for it.

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

Check out Jay Ruby's book Secure The Shadow: Death and Photography in America (1995, MIT Press).

[John Kasaian]

Hmmmm...what if the act of making a photograph actually does steal the soul of the subject? Wouldn't it get a bit crowded in your camera after awhile? Then again if the souls already moved on I guess it wouldn't be an issue.

I smell a potential doctorial thesis here!

[Terence McDonagh]

I can't find the link right now (I believe the link was on the photo.net medium format forum), but there was a current photographer who specializes in photographing mothers with their deceased babies as a memorial/memento. The babies were made to look as if they're just sleeping. Touching, but creepy with a capital C.

[false_Aesthetic]

Hmmmm...what if the act of making a photograph actually does steal the soul of the subject? Wouldn't it get a bit crowded in your camera after awhile? Then again if the souls already moved on I guess it wouldn't be an issue.

I smell a potential doctorial thesis here!

Good reason to shoot digitally then? It'd be kind've like Ghost Busters... I'd keep all them spirits in a flash card. If I took picts of really fat dead people I'd have my own Stay-Puffed ARMY!!!1 MUAHAHAHAH

[tim atherton]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Post-Mortem-Dag-...QQcmdZViewItem

[BrianShaw]

Then again if the souls already moved on I guess it wouldn't be an issue.

I believe most of the World's major religions would agree with you that it isn't an issue at that point.