While wandering around Inverness trying to find a restaurant one evening, we passed this church graveyard. I was fascinated by the old stones, you could read as far back as the 1800’s but there were definitely some that were older and unreadable. I could imagine people visiting here, searching out their ancestors and doing grave rubbings. I remember doing that with my mom as a child on a visit to her roots somewhere in the midwestern USA.
There is such a focus on heritage and history in Scotland, it made me wish I has some Scottish in me so that I could be part of it. Genealogy centers, clan history books and tartans… all welcoming people back to their roots. Patrick‘s great-grandfather was from Scotland, with the surname Barron. We had a time of it trying to find anything on this name, but eventually discovered it was part of the Rose clan and there was a tiny bit more on them. Apparently, Rose or Barron were not the most prolific of clans from the little we could find. But that small little connection for Patrick and Brandon made it a bit more fun.
The Picture Inspiration prompt this week was “double vision,” on diptychs using photos of the same thing from two different perspectives. I liked this gravestone from the two perspectives, and putting them together in this way created a stronger emotion. I couldn’t quite describe it, but one of my classmates commented, “I like the flare and blurriness in the one on the left. Reminds me of the mystery of death. And the one on the right is so black and white like life and death.” I like her description, it puts something concrete to the feeling of the images.
What feeling do you get when you look at this pairing?
The light and the fogginess on the left make me think that someone is passing over but not quite there yet. It looks like a journey to a final resting place.
The image on the right is really stark and makes me just think of death. Finite!
Great shots, but now I'm going to focus on Life and living for the rest of the day!! LOL from Germany, tj
They both give a totally different feeling don't they? The misty, colour photograph is what you expect – that slightly spooky feeling where I expect to see Pip from Great Expectations hiding behind one of the stones. Of course, I love the black and white one and the focus used and I love the low perspective – it almost looks as if you've popped out of the grave and taken the photo 🙂 Aargghhhhh
Love those images. To me the softer one on the left brings to mind the fog you're in when you first experience the grief of losing someone and the one of the right represents the stark reality when it sets in and everything becomes clear again.
To me–the foggy photo is more atmospheric and impersonal while the close, clear photo is specific and personal. 🙂
The color sets the tone for me. The one in color seems less scary, if you will, while the B&W one seems cold and harsh. Interesting contrast!
Serenity.
This is a wonderful diptych Kat!
Wow, the photo on the left makes me speechless. I love sunflares and that image just glows. Looking at the pairing I get a feeling of peace and calm. I absolutely would have stopped in that graveyard too.
The one on the right seems very Scottish to me – spare, a little cold, austere. (I'm allowed to say this because I grew up there!) In contrast, when I look at the one on the left it says hope – bright, warm, welcoming. They could symbolise heaven and earth – one looks upward towards the sun and the light and is quite ethereal,and the other is rooted in the firmness and solidity of the cold ground.
It's fascinating to see how we can get two such different shots in the same place, at the same time.