In a nutshell, a "Dear Photograph" photo is when you find an old picture, you go to the same spot where the photo was taken years ago, you hold up the photo and frame it in the same perspective, and take a new photo! Very cool idea.
My entry, which I've already shared on my "Graveyard Hopping" blog, is absolutely genealogy-related as well as cemetery-related. The vintage photograph shows my great, great, great grandfather standing at the grave of my great, great, great grandmother (his wife of 52 years), circa 1893.
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| John Mann at Nancy Mann's grave. |
I got this fabulous photo from a distant cousin I met on Ancestry.com. She lives in the Pacific Northwest. I, however, happen to live just miles from the very cemetery where these ancestors are buried! I made the hop, took the photo, and here is my "Dear Photograph," past-is-present picture:
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| The grave of Nancy Power Mann, circa 1893, and 117 years later in 2010 |
In the present, the plot looks a little forlorn. The stones surrounding Nancy's grave and the small headstone on her plot are gone, as is the urn that stood at the top of the family headstone. Originally there also seem to have been one or two small trees or ornamental shrubs planted on Nancy's grave; those are gone as well.
I felt an awesome connectedness with my 3x great grandpa as I looked at the spot from the very same perspective as the picture of him standing at the grave.
This kind of past-is-present photo is a really neat thing to try, and is an especially good project for the genealogically-minded person. If you'd like to see lots more of these, be sure to visit The Family Curator blog on August 19th, when the Curator will post a round-up article of contributions in honor of World Photography Day. I know I won't miss it!
Along these very sames lines, I have an awesome new website to share with you in my next post!
Your photos are absolutely eerie, Kim. It looks like you have cemetery visiting in your genes. Thanks for joining in the Past is Present Photo Challenge.
ReplyDeleteThe angle of the new photo is so perfect with the old one.
ReplyDeleteWow. I have stood at so many very old graves and tried to envision the bereaved family that once stood in that spot, and this photograph really captures that feeling so well. You can still feel his presence looking at the more recent photo. Incredible.
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