The Story Behind The Image: St. Ignatius Chapel And Cemetery

St. Ignatius Chapel and cemetery, Port Tobacco, MD (click to enlarge)
Nikon D700 w/Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 48mm; ISO 400; 1/400th @ f/11

Several years ago, for about thirteen months, I was assigned to work in Washington, D.C. I live in southeastern Virginia so commuting 350 miles to D.C. and back each day was out of the question. For practical purposes, I rented an apartment in the D.C. area but I did drive home every weekend, leaving work on Friday afternoons, then returning to the apartment Sunday evenings.

Because northern Virginia, suburban Maryland and Washington D.C. traffic is so notoriously heavy, and I detest (let me reiterate how much I hate traffic) driving in traffic, I scoured my maps to find a way to drive back and forth that took me from northern Virginia, through the back rural roads of Maryland, back across the Potomac River into Virginia and again, through the countryside until I reached my home.  Not only did my unusual route avoid traffic, but it allowed me to wander and explore, two of my favorite things to do.

Each time I would drive home I passed this scene.  Let me describe the area.  As one drove south through rural Maryland, the narrow country road made a sharp bend to the left, then the road went steeply up a hill.  This is what one sees as one rounds that bend and starts to ascend the hill.  What initially struck me when I first saw this scene was these six headstones.  They were set off by themselves, larger than most other headstones in the cemetery and perfectly planted in a straight line.  They looked like military sentinels guarding the cemetery.  From the road, the names were on the opposite side so they appeared just as slabs of granite.  As I drove by each Friday, I thought to myself that those six headstones with the church up on the hill in the background would make an interesting image.  It looked okay each time I passed but not remarkable.  The light was never right.

I must have driven by this cemetery and church 25 times before, one Friday afternoon in early spring, just as the sun was very low in the sky directly behind me, I came around that sharp bend and saw what you see above. Directly above me and in front of me were heavy clouds of a fast moving spring storm. You know the kind, when the heavy storm clouds race across the sky.  Behind me the evening sky was clear.  The sun had almost set over a distant hill behind me and blanketed the scene in intense warm light.  The warm light, intensity and contrast just popped.  I have to say, it was striking.

Immediately I pulled into the lower cemetery driveway and parked.   As I often do, I just didn't whip out my camera and start photographing.  I walked around for a few minutes just looking and thinking how I should record this scene. I wanted the scene to soak in and really see the possibilities before committing to making images.  After a while, I made several variations of this composition before I left with a slight smile on my face.

I never did see any good light on this scene for the remainder of my weekly commutes.  I guess it pays off to be patient and persistent and also ready when an opportunity presents itself.  Alternatively, I could have photographed this scene in other light, but it would have just been ordinary and I would never have looked at the image again.

Practice patience, persistence and be ready when the opportunity arises is my lesson to be learned here.

Thanks for looking.  Enjoy!

Dennis Mook

Many of my images can be found at www.dennismook.com.  Please pay it a visit.  I add new images regularly.  Thank you.


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