Photography in Jesmond Old Cemetery

By Neil Atkinson on Nov 21, 08 09:38 AM

Do you think someone who takes photographs in a graveyard - and I mean lots of photographs - is a bit strange? Because that's what I do. I take photographs in other places too of course, so strictly speaking, I'm only strange on a part-time basis. I also have to say, in my defence, that the graveyard in question is the most photogenic graveyard in the North East and that it has fans (can graveyards really have fans?) pretty much all over the world.

The graveyard I'm referring to is Jesmond Old Cemetery in Newcastle and for those who aren't sure which of Jesmond's cemeteries it is, it's the one that is sandwiched between Jesmond Road and Sandyford Road. If you've never been, give yourself a treat and have a visit...you'll fall in love with the place instantly, I promise.

For local history buffs, there are several graves of rich and famous Geordies from years gone by but for me, as a musician since toddlerhood, the most significant is that of Joe Wilson, the legendary songwriter and music hall entertainer. When I stand at Joe's grave, I try to imagine what it must have been like to be in the audience at Balmbra's listening to Keep Yor Feet Still Geordie Hinny sung by the great man himself.

So, you ask, why take photographs of graves then? Er...well, first of all, let me tell you that lots of people do...just do a Google image search on 'graveyard photography' and see how many thousands of images pop up. Having said that, I'm not interested in just the gravestones, although one is certainly spoiled for choice in that department...I especially enjoy photographing the way nature interacts with the monuments...the natural world side by side with the man-made world. I know that this could be said of almost any graveyard but trust me, this is different. JOC, as it's known, is a vibrant and flourishing natural habitat with stunning trees and plant life, and it's home to all kinds of animal and bird life too. No two days are the same in JOC and whatever time of year you visit, you'll find a thousand great photographs just begging to be taken.

Together with my friend and magical photographer David Lane, I recently launched a programme of landscape photography workshops called Shoot The North, and some of our JOC images can be seen on the website. David and I have some exciting plans for 2009 and over the coming weeks and months, I'll keep you posted.

So what kind of photographs do you enjoy taking and why? Why not use this blog to answer that question? Most importantly, why not take a camera down to Jesmond Old Cemetery and trying your hand at some seriously different shots? I'll be offering all kinds of suggestions, ideas and information through this blog so please feel free to visit often!