Hope Cemetery

The irony in that phrase appeals to me--especially right now as I'm in a somewhat morbid frame of mind.

Hope + Cemetery.

The two seem like an oxymoron, so linking them together, especially in this particular case, seems a bit naive. I guess this is living proof (haha, sorry, pardon the pun) that hope really does spring eternal. Those settlers back in 1836 must have had buckets of hope and probably not a whole lot more.

I guess if your choice is between nothing and hope, most people would choose hope. If only for their own sanity. And while hope can make you crazy, losing hope definitely will make you crazy.

I would think that most people probably hope that they don't end up in Hope Cemetery anytime soon, though.

Oh Frabjous Day!

Today has been a fabulous day! I took a walk downtown for a joint-shopping/errand/photo trip, and was fortunate enough to get several great shots of fall foliage and the beautiful afternoon light. I also received a phone call confirming me as an intern for a local paper! A paid intern! Granted, it's merely a free paper with a staff of (now) two, but I'll still be developing, researching, and writing stories which will then be published and I'll even get paid for it, which is the most unbelievable thing. Granted, it's only $20 per story, but that's a lot better than I was expecting--which is $0. Usually interns are granted the privilege of working for free, so any paycheck makes me happy :)

Dust of Snow

More Hope Cemetery. Sorry, I took so many pictures that one day that I'll be posting them for weeks. Plus I never have time to go out and take new ones, so these are all I have until I get another day off.

I'm going home next weekend. Well, more accurately, I'm going to my hometown next weekend. As my parents are no longer there and my old house now sits empty, it doesn't qualify as "home" any more. I'm staying with a friend while I'm there, and planning to meet up with all my other friends who will be home as well. I think it's going to be really strange, going back to my hometown where I grew up, lived all my life until I left for college (but still came back to for breaks and after graduation), where my parents grew up and lived all their lives, where my only living grandparent still resides, and where my dad's entire family lives, as a visitor. You know the old saying, "home is where the heart is"? Well, I hate that saying. It's corny and trite and cliche. But annoyingly true. My home is now wherever I am. I have my apartment, my cats, and (for now, at least) my roommate. THAT is home. There's another saying; "You can never go home again". I always thought that was crap, but now I know: it is true.

Art Deco

This is one of my favorites. 'Nuff said.

A sad tale's best for winter

The Unknown Soldier's grave at Hope Cemetery. Someone placed this clear plastic praying angel against it, which I thought was sad and sweet.

Winter's Walk

The sidewalk along Hope Cemetery.

Stairway to Heaven

Another picture from my jaunt to Hope Cemetery last spring. I have a question for any of you in the blogosphere that might have been reading my blog over the past few months. I'm in the process of deciding my future, and I've been looking over my possibilities. Photography has always been one of my interests, and lately I've been considering the field of photojournalism, and particularly war photography. That is something that I feel passionately about, I want to do something important; to show the complacent consumers in this country that bad things happen to people in other places and, hopefully, to take images that will affect some of them enough to do something to help stop it. The problem, however, is that while I have the will, I'm not sure I have the way. The talent, in other words. I honestly don't know if I have the creative ability to succeed in the arts. For any of you who have been following my blog, I ask: What do you think of my pictures? Do you think I might, just might, have the talent? And if not, please be honest. I'm asking because I genuinely want to know, so that I can make a decision one way or another.

More Hope Cemetery

Hope Cemetery

There's an old cemetery up the road from my building; I used to drive by it all the time when I was at at school but I'd never really been in. It's small, but pretty. Last spring I went walking there one day, on a gorgeous afternoon, to take pictures. Most of my shots didn't turn out too well, but several of the beautiful blooming trees did. This one, I was surprised and initially annoyed to find was blurry, but on a second look I realized I actually really liked it like this. If any of you think it's slightly odd that I patronize cemeteries, well, maybe it is, but I like cemeteries--for the same reason I like churches, even though I'm not at all religious and am in fact somewhere between atheist and agnostic. I like cemeteries. They're peaceful, and often beautiful: same with churches. Plus I just love the name of this particular graveyard: Hope Cemetery. How beautiful is that?