The inspiration for Graveyards of Milwaukee began with a casual bike ride through Forest Home Cemetery on a sunny afternoon in March, 2002. It's a truly amazing place, rich with art and history. Not long after, I started wandering though other local cemeteries looking for hidden treasures and often finding more than I expected.
At the time, I didn't have a camera, so I started looking around the web for cemetery photos and came across Matt Hucke's excellent site, Graveyards of Chicago. Browsing through his work I thought "I could do that. In fact, I think I will!". Of course, it wasn't quite that easy, but 1 Sony digital camera and approximately 7000 pics later, Graveyards of Milwaukee started coming together. And so much for all of that.
Here's what you'll find on Graveyards of Milwaukee:
The Photo Galleries are GoM's centerpiece, featuring digital photos of Milwaukee's finest memorials, with a few graveyard curiosities featured in Cemetery Potpourri. The goal will be to feature a small, rotating selection from my archives (over 25,000 images as of September, 2007) emphasizing quality over quantity. For visitors on dial-up connections, this will mean a short wait for some of the larger photos to load. Apologies in advance for any inconvenience.
The Art page features original artwork inspired by my explorations of local cemeteries and funerary art on the web. It's also a good excuse to hone my Photoshop skills.
Do I really need to explain what you'll find on the Links
page? I thought not.
Graveyards of Milwaukee is designed and maintained (under the pseudonym
of Comb-R Designs) by Brian T. Komar, a lifelong resident of the Milwaukee
area (self-portrait, taken at Forest Home, 9/8/07. click the thumbnail
to see a larger image).
Graveyards of Milwaukee is dedicated to the memories of those whose memorials have succumbed to the ravages of time, the elements and the carelessness of the living. They live again, if only in memory and imagination, and I always thank them for their time.
Additionally, here's a big GoM "thank you" to everyone who at one time or another encouraged me in large ways or small as this project has developed. You know who you are.
And for those generous enough to have read this far, thank you as well.