Union Church--Pettis County

 

A view inside the Union Church in rural Pettis County, during a glorious moment of late afternoon sunlight in mid-December.  This church has been on my list to photograph and document for seven or eight years now, and I was fortunate to find it in such good condition and with such beautiful afternoon light.

Lost bird

I came across this lost cemetery decoration on the edge of a cemetery in northern Linn county, Missouri.  I was looking for a rural church that used to stand next to the cemetery, but the church was gone and only a belfry and some tombstones remained.

Riggs Union Church, Boone County

A friend and I went out photographing on a very hot Memorial Day afternoon this year.  I didn't want to go far, so we stuck to Boone County and photographed some of the rural churches that I have either overlooked or given short shrift on previous outings.  The Riggs Union Church was a location that I have had on my list to return to since my first trip there back in 2003.  I wasn't disappointed.  The exterior has been refinished (i.e. vinyl siding), but the interior retains some authenticity.  This was photographed with my D700, a camera that despite its age knows what to do with subdued, interior light. 

Salem Cemetery

I found this uniquely crafted tombstone in the cemetery behind Salem Presbyterian Church, in Randolph County, Missouri.  I was intrigued by the shape, the color of the stone, and the hand-carved lettering.  This is probably one of the oldest stones I've come across in a Missouri cemetery...I usually photograph in the cemetery after spending some time photographing the church and environs for my documentary project on the rural churches of Missouri. 

Rural Church, northern Missouri

The interior of an abandoned rural church in northern Missouri.

St. Raphael Catholic Church, Chariton County

Late afternoon sun on St. Raphael Catholic Church, near Indian Grove in Chariton County.  This is one of the images in my continuing Missouri Rural Church project, an effort to photographically document the rural churches of central and northern Missouri.

Article about my Missouri rural church project

February 11, 2011

Stephen Bybee's Entropy-Slowing Photography

"It is a simple fact that entropy is the path that all things must follow, whether living or dead, animate or inanimate, consciously aware or blissfully oblivious. It is also a fact that us pesky humans consistently strive to slow or hurry the process of entropy, the choice being dependent on an advantage perceived by a given group at a given time. But regardless of the speed or the level of humanoid stubbornness/complicity, entropy will see its natural task fulfilled, turning order to disorder, with a neutral indifference that is both brutal and benign."
 Read more:  http://www.crickettoes.com

 The talented writer and blogger Mary Dally-Muenzmaier has been gracious enough to post an article about my Missouri Church Documentary series on her art and culture blog, Crickettoes.com.  Take a look at the rest of the article, and Mary's blog, at www.crickettoes.com  Thanks Mary!

Hymnal, Bethlehem Baptist Church

This was the first rural church that I photographed in earnest.  Located in northern Boone county at that time, now it has been dismantled and removed to a spot north of Boonville for reconstruction. 

Church window, Cooper county

Taken inside a beautifully fenistrated Lutheran church in Cooper county.  A later visit revealed that half of the windows had been broken out by vandals, temporarily replaced by plywood. 

Mt. Carmel Church, Saline County

This image was taken inside of Mt. Carmel church, just south of Miami, Missouri.