Client Showcase: Lakewood Cemetery
Lakewood Cemetery
Client Showcase
I was nervous all freakin’ week.
I was just crossing my fingers that the weather would hold! Not only has this shoot been in my calendar for nearly an entire year… but I genuinely enjoy it and really look forward to it! This year was my third time photographing it!
Lakewood Cemetery’s annual lantern release blurs the lines of what it means to be a “cemetery.” It’s not just a place to go the day of a funeral to say good-bye and search for closure. It’s a place that’s for community… continual remembrance… history… stories!
This was my third time capturing the lantern release, and this one may be my favorite of them all!
The team at Lakewood decided just over an hour before the event’s planned kick off that they were going to brave the possible thunderstorms and still hold the event.
I couldn’t have been happier!
It’s such a powerful event— even for someone like me that’s capturing it from the sidelines and not actually participating. It’s incredible to watch people experience emotion in a real way in a very public setting— whether that’s laughter or tears.
The event starts with decorating the lantern sleeves. Then as dusk falls, the lanterns are lit and placed on the pond. A long list of names of those being remembered at the event are read while a bagpiper plays in the distance.
It’s the type of event that even makes those there on a professional capacity think twice. It’s hard to keep my mind on the task at hand… as beautiful as it is… because I start thinking about the loved ones I’ve lost. It also getting me thinking about how lucky I am to have so many amazing people in my life that are still on this planet.
I live for shoots like these!
These are the shoots where I leave with more than just a few full memory cards. I leave shoots like these full of gratitude and ready to embrace whatever it thrown at me because at least I’m lucky enough to be here to have difficult situations thrown at me.
It’s a powerful event that everyone should check out at least once!
Have you ever participated in a lantern release?
Or any other type of public memorial?
I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments section below!
