The Scene: This wide-angle black-and-white photograph features a sprawling hillside at Woodland Cemetery in Quincy, IL. The foreground is filled with rows of small, weathered, uniform headstones that march across the uneven grassy slope. These simple markers denote the final resting places of children from local orphanages. In the midground, a large, solitary Celtic cross rises above the smaller stones, acting as a central monument for the section. The sky overhead is vast and turbulent, with heavy, streaked clouds that create a dramatic and somber canopy over the quiet hillside.
 
Artistic Note: The emotional weight of this image is amplified by its rhythmic composition. The repetition of the small, tilting headstones creates a visual cadence that speaks to the sheer number of young lives remembered here. By using a low camera angle, the headstones in the foreground appear larger and more personal, drawing the viewer into the physical space of the cemetery. The high-contrast black-and-white tonality emphasizes the weathered texture of the stone and the ruggedness of the earth, while the brooding sky adds an element of eternal, restless energy to the scene.
 
2:3 Aspect Ratio