You Are My Sunshine

You are my Sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are grey
You’ll never know, dear,
How much I love you
Death can’t take my Sunshine away.

Remembering my husband, James Cantrell, on this 1st anniversary of losing him to cancer.

“James” [Click the image to enlarge/reduce its size.] Nikon D800, ISO 100, f/2.0 at 1/5000 sec., 50 mm

Idol Hope

“Whatever controls us is our lord. The person who seeks power is controlled by power. The person who seeks acceptance is controlled by acceptance. We do not control ourselves. We are controlled by the lord of our lives.”
― Rebecca Manley Pippert, Out of the Saltshaker and Into the World

“Idol Hope”, Nikon D800, ISO 200, f/8 at 1/125 sec., 78mm
Click the image to view larger size.

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Photographing people, places, pets and ponderings.

Booking family, personal, business and pet portrait sittings throughout Central Florida

Be sure to visit my booth at Space Coast Pride this Sunday, May 25th!
Wickham Park Pavilion, 3701 Wickham Road, Melbourne, FL

Done Monkeying Around

The child’s grave this remembrance occupies bears no marker nor name, providing no details about the story it tells. For me, this is the saddest photograph I captured while photographing the series I’m calling A Grave Image. I’ve tagged each of the 15 posts in the series with “A Grave Image”, too, so they can be viewed easily and dynamically as a complete collection at any time using that tag.

Some of you might be pleased to hear that this is my last entry for a while in this series. It was never really meant to be a series, but since people seem to like the photos I kept them coming. I will most likely post and append additional photos to it from time to time moving forward, but for now I wish to move on to some other (potentially brighter) subjects. Although grave decorations are a gloomy topic, they offer an interesting look at grief and one aspect of our attempts to honor the memory of a loved one. The experience of taking (and processing) these photos has included some significantly cathartic personal moments. Others readers have seen something appealing or curious about these images, too, because the number of daily blog views has been up more than double the recent norm on some days. Perhaps it’s foolish of me to switch my focus when it’s having a positive impact on blog exposure, but I’ve spent enough time haunting the local cemetery for a little while.

“Done Monkeying Around”, Nikon D800, ISO 200, f/8.0 at 1/100 sec., 68mm
Click for enlarged view and available print options.

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Photographing people, places, pets and ponderings.
Booking family, individual, business and pet portrait sittings throughout Central Florida.

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Details of My Social Life

You’ll find me on Instagram at @earlharrisphoto, posting photos captured and edited on my iPhone. I post a lot of photos of cats there, too. #herekittykitty #instagramcats

I tweet and Twitter from @earlharrisphoto

And I have a page on Facebook

Please vote for this blog in the Cool Photo Blog Awards – just click here and it’s done. Many thanks for your support!

Grief Evolved

Overgrown and long neglected, Nature is working to reclaim this Rose Hill Cemetery grave decoration. My imagination takes note of the leafy cluster that has formed under the left eye, like tears, reflecting the sorrow of having been forgotten. It’s a striking reminder that “gone but not forgotten” is an epitaph that’s only valid for as long as there’s someone around who remembers.

“Grief Evolved”, Nikon D800, ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1/160 sec., 150mm

Click for enlarged view and print options.

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Photographing people, places, pets and ponderings.
Booking family, individual, business and pet portrait sittings throughout Central Florida.

If you enjoyed today’s photo, please share this post. There are convenient buttons below for the big social networks that make this really easy to do.

A Light Touch

“I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty every day.”
— Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Canadian teacher and author, excerpted from the poem The Invitation

Today’s photo is another in the new series I have spontaneously found myself working on, and which I’m calling A Grave Image. Let me know what you think.

“A Light Touch” Nikon D800, ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1/80 sec., 300mm
Click here for a large view.

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Photographing people, places, pets and ponderings.
Booking family, individual, business and pet portrait sittings throughout Central Florida.

If you enjoyed today’s post, please share it with somebody. There are buttons below that make this easy to do. Thanks!

Details of my social life

You’ll find me on Instagram at @earlharrisphoto, posting photos captured and edited on my iPhone. I am posting a lot of photos of cats there, too. #herekittykitty #instagramcats

I’m tweeting and Twittering at @earlharrisphoto

Like my Facebook page

Grave Offerings

As I wander through cemeteries, I am always struck by the variety of offerings to the dead that I encounter. Sometimes they are simple: a flower; a photo; a favorite toy; bottles of soda or alcohol; a statuette… In other cases, they can be quite elaborate. I am most intrigued by those things left behind that imply an element of ritual, and I wonder if they are meant to appease a potentially restless spirit or an angry god/God. For one who believes the spirits of the dead are wandering around in the ether or that God demands appeasement rather than having a character of love, I suppose these gifts serve both a symbolic and a functional or practical purpose. I am intrigued by how they are often indicative of a broader culture or faith while simultaneously revealing the very individualized and personal ways we employ to cope with the death of a loved one.

“Grave Offerings” Nikon D800, ISO 320, f/4.0 at 1/25 sec., 85mm
Click here to view a larger size.

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Photographing people, places, pets and ponderings.
Booking family, individual, business and pet portrait sittings throughout Central Florida.

Keep Shuttering

If you enjoyed today’s photo, please share this post. There are convenient buttons below for the big social networks that make this really easy to do.

You’ll find me on Instagram at @earlharrisphoto, posting photos captured and edited on my iPhone. I post a lot of photos of cats there, too. #herekittykitty #instagramcats

I tweet and Twitter from @earlharrisphoto

And there’s always Facebook

Please vote for this blog in the Cool Photo Blog Awards – just click here and it’s done. Many thanks for your support!

He’s Stoned

“Stand Up Tall: To become a real boy you must prove yourself brave, truthful and unselfish.”
– Pinocchio

“Let’s get human’d” [Click the image to enlarge/reduce its size.] Nikon D800, ISO 200, f/7.1 at 1/80 sec., 300mm
Click here for large view or to buy a print.

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Photographing people, places, pets and ponderings.
Booking family, individual, business and pet portrait sittings throughout Central Florida.

Be Social
If you enjoyed today’s post, please share it with somebody.

You’ll find me on Instagram at @earlharrisphoto, posting photos captured and edited on my iPhone. I am posting a lot of photos of cats there, too. #herekittykitty #instagramcats

I’m tweeting and Twittering at @earlharrisphoto

And of course, I’m on Facebook

Touched by a Toy

“There is no greater sorrow than to recall happiness in times of misery.”
— Dante Alighieri

We buried my great aunt on Monday, who died in her sleep after 103 years of remarkable life. Walking through the cemetery, I came upon this marker for an 11 year-old boy who died in 1965. Uncomfortable, isn’t it?

“Sleep Companion” [Click the image to enlarge/reduce its size.] Nikon D800, ISO 200, f/8.0 at 1/125 sec., 160mm
Prints are available here.

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Photographing people, places, pets and ponderings.
Booking family, individual, business and pet portrait sittings throughout Central Florida.

Let’s Get Social

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with others! Thank you. (I’m desperate for an audience! 🙂 …)

Follow me on Instagram at @earlharrisphoto, where I am posting photos (and a bunch of kitty pics!) captured and edited on my iPhone. #herekittykitty #instagramcats

Tweeting from @earlharrisphoto

Facebookery happens at earlharrisphoto

Eggsistential

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
Four-score Men and Four-score more,
Could not make Humpty Dumpty what he was before.
      — Samuel Arnold, Juvenile Amusements, 1797

I am a few days early for a new year’s eve message, but today’s photo prompts me to get on with it. As I was walking along a sidewalk downtown, I came upon an egg that had fallen out of a nest built on a street light above. The sun had dried out the splattered yolk and a few ants scurried about the broken shell, feasting on misfortune. It struck me as a fitting reflection and symbol of the year that now comes to a close.

Despite the many advances in GLBT rights, I will forever equate 2013 to loss, destruction, pain and death. It is the year that shattered my life of happiness with James, watching him so cruelly and horrifyingly being eaten alive by cancer. Like a new and long-hoped-for egg, we embarked on the adventure of marriage on July 29 – after 21 years together – only to have that monumental accomplishment tossed out and splattered across the sidewalk a month-and-a-half later. Now, I sit alone in a nest that echoes with emptiness while hell taunts me with thoughts of what was and what never will be.

Goodbye, 2013 – and good riddance! I pray that 2014 will be a year that holds some hope of starting to heal from the experience this egg and I have shared. Perhaps my hopes are tainted by knowing all-too-well how Humpty Dumpty turned out.

“Eggsistential” [Click the image to enlarge/reduce its size.] Nikon D800, ISO 320, f/2.0 at 1/350 sec., 85mm
To purchase a print click here.

Please vote for this blog in the 2013 Cool Photo Blog Awards – just click here and it’s done. Many thanks for your support!

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Now booking individual, couples, family and business portrait sessions for 2014

Current Social Engagements

Find me on Instagram at @EarlHarrisPhoto, where I am posting photos (including lots of kitty pics!) captured and edited solely on my iPhone. #herekittykitty #instagramcats

Tweeting from @EarlHarrisPhoto

And, of course, I’m on Facebook.

Stone Mourning

“Death abides by no one’s rules…it takes what pleases it without consciousness to its decisions. It destroys what it will. It took the pieces of perfection I once knew and shattered them. Now what remains are shards of a dream, drawing blood with every step.”
― Cassandra Giovanni, “Pieces of Perfection”

One of the hardest things to face since losing James has been that every morning when I awake, he dies all over again.

“Stone Mourning” [Click the image to enlarge/reduce its size.] Nikon D800, ISO 320, f/2.0 at 1/1250 sec., 85 mm

If you like this post/photo, please consider sharing it on your social networks. Thanks for your support!

COUPLES PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: I need a couple, or two people who will pose as a couple, in their 20’s or early 30’s, who are comfortable in front of the camera and want to model for an outdoor concept photo shoot in exchange for digital copies of their images. If you are in the Kissimmee/Orlando area and want to know more about this opportunity, please contact me via the form below ASAP. Serious inquiries only, please.

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