Looking at the old timers in Michael Lesy's "Wisconsin Death Trip" makes me think this should be a market photographers should be rekindling and promoting, especially in this struggling economy.
Anyone do any of these lately?
Looking at the old timers in Michael Lesy's "Wisconsin Death Trip" makes me think this should be a market photographers should be rekindling and promoting, especially in this struggling economy.
Anyone do any of these lately?
You first.
Sorry Frank, I shouldn't be so flippant.
This is quite common in my wife's family. She has pictures of every deceased relative imaginable in their casket. All amateur, no professional shots.
At the last family funeral I noticed that the funeral parlor guys were a bit miffed at this behavior. But, then again, I found them to be quite odd anyway - in an intolerant sort of way. At the closing of the casket several family members wanted a last picture. I suppose what made the funeral parlor guys upset was when Cousin Millard pulled over a folding chair and hoisted all 300 pounds of himself onto the rickety chair to get a better vantage point.
In terms of professional services I suppose it would be a fairly easy job. I'd get in cahoots with funeral homes and offer the service through them if I were to consider such a thing.
I got the impression it was a Midwestern - Northern European kind of thing....
Southern too.
At the funeral of a friend's sister, I was asked,by her mother, (as she handed me a disposable camera) to take some shots for the family that "couldn't be there".
I told the funeral directors what she wanted, & they were very cooperative, we waited til everyone left, they even brought me a stepstool, then left me alone to do my job. I used my own camera, made a nice little album with pics of all the flowers , and the front of the church.
She loved it!
David Silva
Modesto, Ca
Frank,
Get on Amazon and order yourself a copy of James Van Der Zee's "Harlem Book of the Dead". A real treasure and very much in keeping with your idea.
As to my own family, I remember as a kid in the 50's, going through a chest of drawers in my grandmother's house and finding dozens of death portraits of deceased family members ranging from infants to elderly.....all taken by professional portrait studios in the Pittsburg Pa. area in the late 1800's into the 1920's.
Makes me think it was part of the trade in that era and has just faded from being in fashion, possibly with the advent of personal cameras.
Most of these images were absolutely elegant in their attention to composition and lighting. It was obvious that there had been both practice and compassion in the artist.
Tim
"One of the greatest necessities in America is to discover creative solitude." Carl Sandburg
Back in the sixties, I worked for a fantastic photographer, who quite often would be hired by families to photograph " grandma" in her coffin -- photo to be sent to the old country so that all could see that the family took good care of her.
The boss would take portrait lights and a Linhof hand held camera (4x5) . They would set up two step ladders ( one each side of grandma) with a board across between them. The boss would sit on the board - right over the coffin to do the " portrait".
One time, the family came back to the studio -- exclaiming that grandma had never had a portrait done -- and this was such a good likeness -- could we please open her eyes!!!
The boss's wife who was a wonderful retouch artist preformed the magic.
Who did you have in mind?
Wilhelm (Sarasota)
Good one, Bill.
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