“let it kill you and let it devour your remains
for all things will kill you, both slowly and fastly, but it’s much better to be killed by a lover”
― charles bukowski
why
tears or fears
no one
hears,
the dead
cry
(for lucile’s The Clinic – Photo Rehab)
(inspired by a post from morgane byloos photography, the abandoned crypt)
*shot with nikon d700, 16-35mm f4 lens, edited in aperture 3 and analogue efex pro 2, wet plate filter 9 adrenaline and fear applied*
belgianstreets 
I love the rebellious sentiment. And I adore the photos. Also, I’m slightly spooked. More than slightly, actually. These are likely your best photos, in case you wonder. Material for a new book?
Thank you Mara! I was very spooked during this shoot for multiple reasons…the book of the dead perhaps…
Very cool! I feel a Dr Who reference coming on but not everyone watches the show and might not get the weeping angel reference. Beautiful photographs.
Thank you! I certainly get the reference, the weeping angels were the best ever, and also reminded me of an old childhood nightmare, as indeed did walking around in an old abandoned crypt alone…
Yay! I couldn’t resist it. The weeping are my favourite part of the entire show, I only wish they where in more episodes. Your photographs would make a great short story.
Nice series of photos. They look creepier than the weeping angels because they almost look alive in that light,
Thank you! There were a few scary moments when I didn’t want to turn my back on one or two of these, especially the life size states in the chapel…and being underground in an abandoned crypt was quite an experience….
These photos have an unsettling effect, don’t they?
It was certainly unsettling shooting them, alone, underground in some cases…
I’m not sure I could have gone in alone but your photos turned out great.
Thank you…it was quite an experience…
I find a certain peaceful calm walking around in a cemetery, but I have never been underground in an abandoned crypt. I could almost hear the dead cry in these photos, Andy. Stunningly beautiful.
Lois, thank you so much…it was a very challenging experience but rewarding, although I may need to leave the light on tonight when I try to sleep…
I love this gallery. It doesn’t look creepy nor scary but divinely beautiful. I agree with Mara. It is material for a new book. Well done, Andy. Your day out paid off. Sleep well. With angels.
PS. I used to be scared of cemeteries and I’m not anymore. Actually I just wrote a draft post related to it.
Oh Lucile…thank you, I am very happy with this set of photos so I am delighted you like them. There were a few scary moments during the shoot but I am happy with how it turned out. Look forward to your post.
Changing tack for a moment, death is the only thing we can really be sure of, and yet it is the biggest mystery. So much has been invested by so many in the hope that there is something beyond life. So many wars, so much suffering, so much put off, because there may be better later. And yet, what if all there is, is darkness. So, maybe we should be kinder to each other. Whilst we can?
I love the one of the head in hands. So let me get this straight you were in a disused tube that is now a cemetery? X
Thank you Justine! It is an old and abandoned underground crypt at a cemetery…no trains involved 😉
ive absolutely no idea where i got trains from haha, must have had mara on my mind lol
Ps love the gallery I adore statues and these are a mix of haunting rather than scary and ethereally beautiful
Thank you again Justine…there are some amazing statues here. It was a bright sunny day. I think I will go back on a dark and rainy day to see how the atmosphere changes…
yes you should it looks like a fantastic place x
Beautiful photos, very moving but also rather scary. Did you use double exposure in some? It looks like you’ve captured another realm within your initial subject…
Thank you Laura! It was a very moving shoot, and I was largely alone in the location, apart from a very few visitors (above ground, I was too alone down below) so yes it was fairly scary… I used a “wet plate” filter in analog effect pro 2, the effect is one that I like and in this case it did feel relevant almost as if I was living the veil on another realm, as you say…
Very nice, Andy. I find these very alluring and somehow emotional. Don’t know why. But if art does that, it must be art.
Thank you, the location was very atmospheric, decayed but heavy with the memories of those who lie there, and those who left them there…
Love these photos. You have a great variety that keeps it interesting and not repetitive.
Very curious, what is a wet plate filter?
As far as cemeteries go, I’m generally not afraid of them. I think that after I die, I hope people will stroll through the cemetery and look at my headstone and wonder about my life. BUT, I’ve seen a few cemeteries that have become neglected in a way that makes them creepy. As if bad spirits force people away and encourage the neglect.
Thank you Lori. The wet plate filter is one of the filters in Analog Efex Pro 2, it’s designed to replicate the look of the very old cameras where the photographer would insert a plate in the back of the camera and take the shot with a blanket over his head and the camera.
This cemetery is particularly unusual as it lies next to the “royal tombs’ yet much of it is disrepair, the underground section is like nothing I have ever seen…
Thanks for the info. I looked at the programs. The website didn’t make it easy to find prices. $149 for a pack of 7? I’m fascinated by the effect.
Do you still shoot film? I love old cameras. I like the old TLR, rangefinders and SLR. Pre-70’s.
Do you use it in conjunction with Photoshop or LR?
Glad to help. I do shoot film every now and then. I have an old Olympus OM10 which I do love to use with black and white film, here’s an example from another of my blogs http://belgradestreets.com/2013/09/07/milesevska/
I use the filter as a plugin for Aperture 3 and Photoshop.
I remember using an old Voigtländer range finder that my Dad had, which was the camera I first really learned to use..
I just rescued a Minolta SR-7 from a junkbin for $5. I bought a lens for it which cost me $50! I bought the body to use for pinhole only, but took it shooting in the snow all day and that thing was a workhorse so I decided that it deserved the life it was meant to have and got it a lens. I get my first batch with the lens back next week. Some of the pinholes are https://thespendypencil.wordpress.com/2015/02/18/pinholes-and-ice-monsters/
What a great story Lori, I will go take a look 🙂
Impressive Andy, and the consistency of the processing brings a dusty unity of colour, texture and tone to this lovely collection. Methinks an exhibition ought to be on the cards, your work goes from strength to strength.
Thank you so much John, you and I have known each other here for a while now, back when belgradestreets was starting and as I have expanded into other areas. There is always so much to learn in this community, from you and others, and that is all part of the process of development. I really appreciate you taking the time to write and for you very kind words. After the exhibition in Belgrade, I thought that was my “15 minutes” but maybe I can find room for a few more minutes…
You are always very welcome Andy. Sometimes you earn more than your 15 minutes and well deserved it will be. It’s so good to friends grow in skill, confidence and stature. Your work and your writings show a maturity, and that is magnetic.
Regards
John.
Your comments mean a very great deal to me, especially at this time. Thank you so much…
this is such a powerful post, Andy… the images are very artistic, subtle and poignant… the words by Charles Bukowski you have chosen are very strong..!!! you keep exploring darker moods and it’s such a pleasure to follow you on this journey…
Thank you (again), the location was very moody and thought provoking, and had aspects about it of both darkness and light, the dark phase I am going through is very liberating in a photographic, and personal, sense…
it’s great you have found your creative outlet for emotional turmoil, Andy… this is exactly how and why I took to photography… crazy as it may sound, I have noticed crappy moods and their intensity really fuel inspiration… Stars can’t shine without darkness, I guess… and your ways of self-expression really shine… 🙂
the brightest light can be found in a black hole, but it has no way out…thank you Alex
Marcher a coté de la mort doit donner soif , je comprends mieux Charles .B …!!!
travail très soif … merci beaucoup laurent!