Here Lies David Sample, date unknown

A gravesite in a pioneer cemetery, so overgrown with weeds at the end of

summer that it's hard to walk through. Your comments and suggestions are

appreciated. Thanks.

A very warm and understated image that tickles the imagination; who was this person and what was his life like are just the beginning of questions that surround this almost unmarked grave...  Mike

ML, thanks for the comment.  I've been here several times, but the weeds and light are always changing, so each photograph is different fro  the previous ones.

On my monitor I wouldn't have been able to read the name if you hadn't stated it.  But it's almost better to me without.  The image can stand on its own as a study in monochromaticism.  I also love the textural contrast. 

Christal, I saw the lack of clarity as a drawback.  The fact that the name is crudely chiseled into the stone is something I wish I could get to show up better.  Different light is the trick, and that comes with the seasons and with cloud cover.  I've photographed this tombstone before and the name shows very clearly.  It's sometimes hard to get it all in one shot.

An interesting piece of work.  The dry weeds and shadows add to your image.

A bit of snooping came up with more on who lies beneath;

A sample... of Sample.. :-)

http://museum.bmi.net/Cemeteries/Sample,%20David.htm

Steve, that was an interesting link.  There is another Sample buried adjacent to David, with the tombstone low and buried in the weeds.  Another family nearby lost about five kids in a period of two weeks, and two more plus the husband a few years later.  The wife lived for decades longer; what a heavy memory she must have carried.