I cannot walk past Rosalie without taking a photograph. She is one of five children buried here, all lost to disease.
Her head stone is the most elaborate being a stone baby carriage and a ‘plaster cast’ of Rosalie’s face.
Face casts were popular in the late 1800’s. This one remains since the monument has an overhang of stone to protect it.
Toys are left here, the panda being one that comes and goes at times.
Charleston, South Carolina.
Personal space is not something very important to Spoonbills.
This guy did the usual ‘drop out of the sky on top of everyone’ landing.
Just as strange is the lack of any reaction they typically get when pushing in.
I comment often how this is normal behavior. Yesterday when starting the 2020 archive I came across several unpublished series of Spoonbill doing exactly this.
I plan on digging them out before any archives.
Some articles here are all about the images rather than any story.
Methodist camp meeting cabins South Carolina.
The water is closing in.
This plantation first set aside land for burials before the US Civil War. The marsh and ponds were not near as close to the grave sites as now.
Found on a walk.
This is Charleston, South Carolina. It’s not unusual to find grave sites, or whole cemeteries, of confederate veterans. Hey, the war started less than 10 miles straight down the road from here.
This spot was just a little different in the individuals buried together. It caught my eye since this was my first day out in a while and I was wandering (a bit aimlessly) slowly around the old stones.
In the 1800’s it was traditional to mark off burial plots with large, long, rectangular stone borders. The plots were for family, military regiments, or perhaps social groups like Masons.
But not here.
This small section (above) is all CSA, confederate soldiers with no other obvious connection. Also most were not killed during the war which is how the typical CSA cemeteries are laid out.
The obvious different age and quality of the head stones was striking.
The largest stone was a monument to someone killed and buried elsewhere early in the war. Probably during the first incursion north by southern troops. Seabrook is an old family name in South Carolina. Why is the monument almost hidden here and not in one of the big family church grave sites.
A few markers were for veterans that died many years after the war, the early 1900’s. All were CSA soldiers, but from different units.
The last little mystery is why at this spot, this group of men. Within this cemetery, the old Umbria Plantation land, is the CSA ‘Soldiers Ground’. It actually started during the Civil War because of the large number of troops needing to be buried. Many soldiers and sailors are buried there. This group could have been among them.
Just some thoughts and questions that occurred to me standing there, camera in hand, shooting outside in the nice weather.
All photographs taken at Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, South Carolina.
Most of the letters were worn away. It did start with ‘Capt.’ and the anchor carving was clear.
This is not the only old sailors stone, Charleston has been a seaport since the early 1700’s.
Magnolia Cemetery.
I thought the phrase ‘Leftovers’ would fit this article nicely. Typically it refers to eating what had not been finished from a previous meal. But we always have tons of images from architectural shoots that can’t be used.
A good example is photographing the old historic homes in Charleston. The first part of the day we look around gawking at what is all around us. The second part is shooting like crazy, kids in a candy store crazy. It’s easy to have several hundred good shots. However I might actually need only 10.
Hence the title of ‘Having Leftovers’ for photographs that just couldn’t be used but I can’t delete.
The room above has been preserved, not renovated at all. Pretty much as it was 200 years ago. Imagine turning a corner and walking into this. Yes, stop, gawk, then shoot everything in sight.
In the same home, the Aikens-Rhett house, this staircase takes you up to the main living quarters. The stair lamp now has electric bulbs, you don’t even notice that since it’s a work of art.
I rarely can use the small details, it’s all about the rooms, but looking up you can find ceiling lamps like this.
Each year I go through the archive process and find photographs I need to publish before they hit the hard drives and become history.
From the Aiken-Rhett House, Elizabeth Street, Charleston, South Carolina.
