Some of you interested in classical music might be familiar with the composer Franz Schubert’s song cycle “Winterreise” for voice and piano depicting a man’s journey through a harsh winter landscape, reflecting themes of lost love, despair and isolation. Last winter on a trip to the little town of Dufur in North-Central Oregon, a favorite part of the state for creating images, i journied to an old cemetery not far from town that contained some very old graves. Though my winter journey was hardly the dramatic one depicted by Schubert, it was an emotional experience.
The area was covered with a thin mantle of snow. It was an ideal combination: snow and old headstones. But before transporting the reader to the cemetery, a few stops in the surrounding area. Right across the road from the cemetery lies an old schoolhouse in the middle of a hayfield.
My destination is very easy to miss. In fact, initially driving past the cemetery was actually a fortuitous mistake because some marvelous buildings just up the road were revealed. Snowfall added to the sense of isolation and desolation in this remote area.
After turning around and eventually finding the place that I had come to specifically see, I was treated to a marvelous graveyard containing many old headstones. Now, generally cemeteries out in my part of the west are not as old as those in, say, New England. But this one had a lot of interesting grave sites dating back into the 19th Century. Cemeteries are poignant places. The headstones can tell us a little about those buried there and sometimes something about those dealing with the loss of a loved one so long ago. One grave struck a particularly responsive chord with me.
Tommy Doyle died so young in 1882. He may lived only a short time but through his headstone, his impact lives on far into the future. The snow-covered ground seemed fitting for the tribute etched on the headstone. I doubt many people visit this old cemetery, which is no longer in use, but those who do can’t help but be moved by this grave and those surrounding it.
Finally, a headstone all by itself. One can almost feel the sadness, and perhaps detect a sense of relief, expressed in the simple epitaph etched in stone.
I didn’t know the people whose remains lay beneath the snow, but I felt a kinship to them. Their fate is what awaits us all. For better or worse, my trip to that old cemetery once more acquainted me with my own mortality. Our presence on this planet is very brief in the grand expanse of time. Few of us make much of a mark while we are here. Though the people buried in this place were just ordinary folk, through these simple monuments, they have connected with those who have come many decades after them. This probably about as much as we can hope for in death.
As I drove back to Dufur, a bleak landscape surrounded me. Barren trees in the middle of fields frozen in white and the profound emptiness of the open expanse of high plains around me
I made it back to Dufur all the better for my experience in the cold winter landscape. Most people do not like the snow and cold of winter. For me time spent in the winter elements is a clarifying experience that puts me in touch not only with my mortality but also the elemental rhythms of existence. For that I am very grateful.
Now for a few words about my equipment. All these images were shot with my Leica M3 coupled with a 50mm F2 Zeiss lens and loaded with, I think, Kodak Ultramax, though I am not totally certain of that. More of my work may be seen at curtisheikkinen.smugmug.com and on Instagram @curtisheikkkinen. Thanks for reading this. Happy shooting to you all!
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Bill Brown on My Own Winterreise (Winter Journey)
Comment posted: 09/09/2025
Comment posted: 09/09/2025
John Furlong on My Own Winterreise (Winter Journey)
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Comment posted: 09/09/2025
iamamro on My Own Winterreise (Winter Journey)
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Comment posted: 09/09/2025
Gary Smith on My Own Winterreise (Winter Journey)
Comment posted: 09/09/2025
A trip out to Dufur could be the solution! I could go out 84 and down from the Dalles or I could go up around Hood and then over on NF-44 that goes directly to Dufur from the Mt.Hood Hwy (near Little John Sno Park) which would at least be something new (and sporty).
Thanks for your post!
Comment posted: 09/09/2025
Comment posted: 09/09/2025
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Comment posted: 09/09/2025
Geoff Chaplin on My Own Winterreise (Winter Journey)
Comment posted: 10/09/2025
Comment posted: 10/09/2025
Michael Jardine on My Own Winterreise (Winter Journey)
Comment posted: 10/09/2025
How did you meter the shots? I'm terrified of photographing in snow- I did some snowy photos in Ontario once, and the mid-grey card was very much my friend...
Comment posted: 10/09/2025
Comment posted: 10/09/2025
Comment posted: 10/09/2025