NOTES
Wandering the Old Streets of St. Augustine, FL
Anthropological photography through the historic streets of St. Augustine, Florida.
My shadow and I walking the grounds of the old Spanish fort, Castillo de San Marcos.
After a ten hour drive from New Orleans, I was in St. Augustine, visiting family. Although it took a few days to get going with my camera, I imagined the kinds of photos I wanted. The best part of photography is the time alone when it's just you and your camera, wandering a street, looking for something that tells a story. A detail such as a wall marked with old graffiti or a wall pocked with bullets from musket fire due to the executions that occurred on the side of an old fort.
It’s an old, old city, the oldest, continually operating European city in the United States of America. If you turn a corner and you’re paying attention, you could be treated to artifacts left behind from people who are no longer living. This is the kind of anthropology I love. The leftovers of our existence, resisting the change of the years. St. Augustine's rich history includes a significant role in the colonization of North America, the tragedy of the plight of Native Americans and the Civil Rights movement, from Frederick Douglas to Martin Luther King, Jr. and more. So much more.
One hypothetical thought that haunted me throughout my day of shooting in St. Augustine was of time travel. Can you imagine if a Native American or a Spanish colonist was resurrected from the 1500s and taken on a tour through the northeast coast of modern Florida?
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The Haunting Tourist
The biggest challenge of shooting at Saint Louis Cemetery #1 is the tourist walking into the frame. But maybe it actually enhances this collection? A before and after is included in the post. Feel free to tell me what you think.
What is the tourist's role at Saint Louis Cemetery #1?
This is what I'm considering today as I finish up shooting at Saint Louis Cemetery #1. The biggest challenge of shooting at one of the most essential visits of anyone's vacation to New Orleans is this cemetery, which leads to the inevitable, "Shit! They walked into my frame!" At some point, I said, screw it, I'm going to photograph them away. The first time I did this, I returned home, uploaded and scanned through my photographs and found that the tourists who walked into my shot actually gave the scene an eerie feel...as if they were the ones haunting the site.
I've never felt or seen any spirits at the cemetery. Who'd want to linger with such massive crowds? Nope. What has happened, however is, on a few occasions, a tourist would walk past a corner I was shooting from, not expect me and become frightened. I've seen other tourists do it to each other, too. It's an old, crumbly cemetery and beside stories of hauntings it used to be a huge problem for safety. The crime used to be so bad that not even family members of those deceased would visit. Much of the reason why the cemetery looks as it does is because of the lack of upkeep due to the dangers associated with criminals. It's now relatively safe but I digress.
It's not certain whether these shots of tourists will end up in the final collection. I vacillate, considering whether it would be a distraction or enhance the narrative. In the pictures below, you'll see how the scene looks with and without the tourist. Which do you prefer?
I'm off to prepare for my last shoot day. Thanks for reading.
Any questions can be emailed to info@carlosdetres.com. You can read more posts and see more photos HERE.
The Last Week
Since there I have only have a few days to shoot this project before the cemetery closes for good, I took out my Lensbaby kit to see what kind of inspiration would occur.
After a very short work trip and an amazing shoot with Brugal and an hour and a half of sleep, I rushed to St. Louis Cemetery #1 to get what I could today. The temperature sucked and the sky was gray but I was glad to get an extra couple hours to work.
Since I have only have a few days to shoot this project before the cemetery closes for good, I took out my Lensbaby kit to see what kind of inspiration would occur. Well, it worked. It helped me find a mood that would underline my theme of a "haunting portrait of the ruin, mystique and beauty...".
So here's what I got today. In the photo directly below, I had my shutter open for about 25 seconds and caught this interesting, anomaly undoubtedly caused by something in the lens. Either way, it was a very nice, eerie effect.
My goal for this project has been to create a unique photographic experience that takes the viewer through an intimate journey into the heart of New Orleans' oldest and one of its most unique cemeteries (Holt Cemetery is probably the other one that comes to mind as far as uniqueness). If you'd like more photos and info, click HERE.
Please feel free to forward any questions to info@carlosdetres.com.
Thanks for visiting!
Day 2 of the St. Louis Cemetery #1 Project
My second day of photographing nearly every inch of St. Louis Cemetery #1 before it closes to the public on March 1.
I returned today to St. Louis Cemetery #1 to photograph as much of it as I can before it closes to the public on March 1, 2015 (you can still go with an Archdiocese approved tour guide). Since this may be my last chance to see it, I'm getting as much of it as I can. This is one of my favorite places to visit in my new home city of New Orleans but unfortunately some sick, twisted vandals and thieves decided to piss all over the city's heritage by kicking head stones, ripping through brick, grave rob, desecrate old tombs, etc.
My goal with this project is to photograph the beauty of St. Louis Cemetery #1. Much like its host city, it's beautiful, dilapidated and full of character and history. Here are a few of the several hundred shots I did today (I still have at least two more days to fulfill my goal of covering nearly every ground).
P.S. I wrote more details about the closure of St. Louis Cemetery over HERE.
PHOTOS ARE COPYRIGHTED 2015. If you'd like to reuse these images, please email info@carlosdetres.com.
