John Thomas Grant

Damas y caballeros:

Hoy quiero presentarles la obra de un buen amigo nuestro, John Thomas Grant, que es a su vez la pareja de nuestra amiga Lisa Lewis.
John ha publicado un magnífico libro sobre cementerios titulado “Final Thoughts: Eternal Beauty in Stone”, editado por Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.

Aquí tienen algunos comentarios y a continuación una frase de John y varias fotos que me ha mandado. Muy recomendable.

“The story of life and death in America as told through beautiful cemetery art photography accompanied by meaningful epitaphs from cemeteries up to 300 years old. View 68 cemeteries in 224 beautiful photographs that breathe life into existence of those who have passed before us, and who are now enshrined for eternity in landscaped paradises. Within each placid scene and through heartfelt words displayed upon markers, join photographer John Thomas Grant in his one-of-a-kind study of an American tradition.”

“Final Thoughts: Eternal Beauty in Stone by John Thomas Grant is one of the most beautiful books on cemetery memorial photography that Ive ever seen. Mr Grant captures not just a memorial but see's a story behind his lens and brings it to life. You will truly be captivated as I was. It is a book that I look and read often. I enjoy it so much that it stays on my nightstand rather than my bookshelf.”

“The photographs in this book are so stunningly beautiful. I find myself going back over them again and again to take in every detail. The prose that goes along with each photo are thought provoking as well. A gorgeous work of art.”

On the subject of John Thomas Grant's, "Final Thoughts: Eternal Beauty in Stone", Douglas Keister, author of the "Stories in Stone" series writes:

"In the course of researching one of my books I stumbled upon the work of John Grant. Wow! I was stunned. I immediately wanted to see more. And I did. And I continued to be amazed. I'm a documentary photographer. I take good accurate pictures; sometimes I even take a great picture. I try to take the widescreen view I see with my eyes and put it into a much condensed form that attempts to communicate to people, "look, that's what I saw". I consider it a triumph when that happens. John Grant goes one more step. Grant takes what he sees with his eyes and feels with his heart and soul and somehow magically extracts the essence of his subject and makes a picture. His subjects come alive. Sure, he does what all good photographers do. He watches the light. He watches the shadows. He looks for the right angle; the right composition; the decisive moment. Then, snap! In the blink of an eye the image is rendered. It's captured. Stand behind John Grant and peer over his shoulder with your own camera and capture the same image. Your image may be similar, but won't be the same. Guaranteed. John Grant adds heart. His heart. And he communicates what's in his heart to ours.

It's almost a disservice to try to analyze John Grant's pictures with words. It may sound trite, but the pictures speak for themselves. They really do. There is an old saw that states, "a picture is worth a thousand words". John Grant's pictures aren't just worth a thousand words, they're little novellas. Each picture tells a story. A story in stone.
Slowly go through the pages in Final Thoughts. You'll see what I mean. A soldier steels himself to go off to war. The gravestones of a husband and wife lean together, reconnecting in the afterlife. A child prays. An angel weeps. The sad eyes of a maiden look onto the cold, cold ground. A young child is full of hope and a bride looks towards a life that will never be. A mother rests her head to sleep for a final time. A drummer boy proudly marches off to war, never to return. Hands clasp. A chain is broken. Lives are tallied. And then it's goodbye. Or is it? John Grant's photographs show us that cemeteries may be the realm of the dead, but they are for the living. Get thee to a cemetery. And see it through John Grant's eyes and heart. View the photographs in Final Thoughts with your heart. They do not speak of death. They most assuredly speak of life."

With my work I try to reach into the soul of the believer; the mind of the doubter; into the hearts of all.

John Thomas Grant

Parece muy interesante.
La verdad es tanto Lisa Lewis como Thomas Grant estan en lo alto del neo-victorianismo por algo.

Armando Valdemar escribió:Parece muy interesante.
La verdad es tanto Lisa Lewis como Thomas Grant estan en lo alto del neo-victorianismo por algo.

Sí y además son muy amables y accesibles

Preciosas las imágenes.

Un libro muy interesante. Me encantan la tristeza y el romanticismo del cementerio. Aquí una imagen del Père Lachaise (espero haberla cargado bien).
[img] [/img]

...qué grande...