Lovely and Pleasant – Ross Bay Cemetery
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This is another post about Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria, with a picture taken the same day as the two other posts that can be found here and here.
I find this memorial unusual. The inscription around the edge is charming and reads:
“Here Rests A Pacific Family + They Were Lovely And Pleasant In Their Lives And In Their Death They Were Not Divided”
At least in my non-religious context these words are charming. The internet tells that this is a biblical allusion to Jonathan and Saul. In fact it is a quote from the King James version of the bible and the rest of the quote is “they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions”. My knowledge of eagles and lions would suggest that “pacific” and “pleasant” are inappropriate descriptors. But, I am ignorant of Jonathan and Saul, so won’t say much more than the bible does seem to have a lot of gore, death and destruction in it, so perhaps the backstory to the quote tinges it for people in the know.
Anyway, I like the words, the grave marker is unusual, it reflects the low evening light beautifully, and is surrounded by dandelion seed heads that also favour the light so I am publishing a picture of it.
I am not sure if one is meant to sit on it or if it alludes to an altar or something else. People do refer to it as a bench, and use it that way sometimes too.
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burnt embers 
Great shot, my friend, I love the shallow depth of focus.
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Hey Toad – you sure are making me feel good about my photos these days! Thanks a lot. I took several photos of the dandelions in the cemetery that day, but could not get one that really worked. When combined with this monument it worked out.
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I like the picture and the fall off in focus looks really nice. I too like the inscription but I wouldn’t get too hung up on the original context of it. Gore death and destruction eh, sounds like todays newspapers 🙂
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You’ve got that right. Some things just never seem to change. Death among them, and story telling around death, sometimes even etched in stone.
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I like this photo very much. Even without the point of interest it is mood evoking.
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Hi Joseph – thank you very much. I wonder if the person that chose the design of this headstone (or whatever it is) had this kind of mood in mind. I think it might be pretty hard to imagine through this shiny simple horizontal slab, especially with surroundings of upright and often highly complicated Victorian monuments thrusting upwards. If they did imagine it, then they had much greater vision than I do.
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I not only do I really like the composition, but the “feel” of the entire image!
Looks to me like a great place to take a load off your feet after wandering around for hours. 😀
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Hi David – you can wander for hours in this cemetery – its laid out beautifully and there is so much to look at. The feel of the entire place is hard to avoid – I am glad you have felt some of it.
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I like the words, too. It’s a wonderful way to be remembered, I think, as “lovely and pleasant.” Nice photo. I like the way you composed it and the DOF.
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Thank you Robin, the low light conditions and lack of a tripod left me no choice on the depth of field, I’m glad it worked out.
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