Visit MPB Visit MPB Visit MPB

Weekly #641 - Interesting graveyard headstones and epitaphs Competition

Competition Details
Closing Date: 03/11/2019
Judge: newbiek50user

Both Halloween and All Souls days fall during the week of this competition so I felt that this may be an interesting if spooky challenge. Interesting looking headstones certainly but also interesting epitaphs.
Normal rules apply, Pentax or other approved gear and photos from the week or your archive. I understand that someone else resets the end date.
Competition Entries
Posted 04/11/2019 - 13:11 Link
Congratulations JAK but I was conflicted about including this and the images from mr.mellow and MHOL. The title and brief this week was "Interesting graveyard headstones and epitaphs". I didn't think that memorials or war memorials should qualify technically but I didn't want to be nit picking. As it happens, I should have loved to choose the John Ruskin memorial at Friars Crag - one of my very favourite places - but I restrained myself.
JAK - The James Whale memorial - if not a headstone, without an epitaph showing and maybe not even in a graveyard - was certainly interesting, quirky, unique, was well lit and had a dramatic sky background.
Noelcmn - Organist maybe? is the purple the actual colour, a quirk of the light or deliberate post processing to add drama? Unusual, interesting and fits the brief - I think - provided that it's in a graveyard and is not just another memorial. It's just not my favourite photo.
johnriley - Ordinary lives. Certainly headstones, with epitaphs, in a graveyard - and interesting in that the headstones are nicely lit and composed in the image. However, within the submissions under consideration, they are too ordinary to win the contest.
Nigelk - So shall it be. A headstone in a graveyard with an interesting epitaph. This qualifies so completely that I was really tempted to award this as the winner. I certainly think that it deserves second place.
mr.mellow - Crypt of the iJzertoren. Not a graveyard, not a headstone and no readable epitaph shown. Interesting, unique and otherwise a good photo - just not a winner against this competition.
davidwozhere - There is a story here to be sure. A graveyard photo of a headstone with an epitaph. There may be a story but it's an all too commonplace history that can be accounted for in many ways given the dates and the historical context of housing mobility then. Otherwise a good photo, well lit, the epitaph readable and well separated from the other headstones.
MHOL -The John Ruskin Memorial. I don't know whether Ruskin was buried at Friars Crag - it wouldn't surprise me - and the memorial plus epitaph is attractive. I'd like the photo to have won - but that would have been for personal, selfish reasons. As a memorial, that of James Whale stands out.
Perspicador - Sir Walter Scott. This looks like a headstone but could be a memorial. It may be in a graveyard but it isn't obvious from the image. It may have an epitaph but it isn't shown. As a photo it works well but, for similar reasons that I mention for the John Ruskin memorial, it loses out to the James Whale memorial.

In summary, JAK wins, Nigelk second place and davidwozhere highly commended. Thanks to everyone who sent in photos for their efforts.
JAK
Posted 04/11/2019 - 13:54 Link
I'd have thought the subject this week would have drawn more entries. Thanks to newbiek50user for administering the competition and for the win. I can understand your thoughts. I too had similar ones. James Whale is best remembered for several horror films: Frankenstein, The Old Dark House , The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein. The epitaph is in the film frames. I also understand that the names of his famous films is etched into the cast concrete base but I didn't actually notice that at the time. While he was born in Dudley he passed away in Hollywood and was buried in California (Hollywood area.)
Certainly an unusual epitaph based on film frames from his creations. it was created by Charles Hadcock,

So congrtats to Nigelk and davidwozhere for their honours. Judging these things is always tricky as there is always someone who comes up with something totally different to what you were thinking!

Seems I need to conjure up a theme for this week now.
John K
Edited by JAK: 04/11/2019 - 14:03

Add Comment

To leave a comment - Log in to Pentax User or create a new account.