Two Photographers Share the Quiet Beauty of Ohio’s Cemeteries

Capturing the beauty of cemeteries across Ohio’s 88 counties is a challenging task, but for self-proclaimed taphophiles (people with a deep affinity for cemeteries) Ian Adams and Randall Lee Schieber, it was a labor of love.

After collaborating on a photography book in 2017, titled Ohio in Photographs: A Portrait of the Buckeye State, which sought to document each county in the state through a series of images that were quintessentially Ohio, the duo set their sights on doing the same for the state’s cemeteries.

“Over the course of several phone conversations, we thought, ‘Well, there are cemeteries in every county of the state. Why don’t we try to put together a book on the most beautiful, the most interesting, the most historic cemeteries in the state of Ohio,’” Adams says. “And so that’s what we ended up doing. It’s been a four-year project, a tremendous amount of traveling [and] a great deal of hard work.”

That work culminates in This Place of Silence: Ohio’s Cemeteries and Burial Grounds, a nearly 250-page book that features 240 photographs submitted by Adams and Schieber. Published by Ohio University Press in July 2024, the book was authored by Robin L. Smith and shares scenes from Ohio’s cemeteries coupled with informative descriptions.

“We were pretty determined and felt that this [project] was unique and needed to be done for many reasons,” Schieber says. “We hope that we can open the minds of many other people and get them to realize what cemeteries can bring.”

Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum (top), Hamilton County by Randall Lee Schieber
No other cemetery in Ohio can boast what Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum can. As the largest cemetery in the state and a designated National Historic Landmark, “there’s just so much to photograph there all the time,” according to Schieber. This photo features one of the cemetery’s lakes surrounded by plumes of fall color. The image is one of many from Spring Grove that made it into the completed book. “I think it speaks for itself,” Schieber says. “The fall colors were pretty dramatic.”

Lake View Cemetery, Cuyahoga County by Ian Adams
“I go up to Lake View at least once a month, and I just drive around,” Adams says. While paying a visit to the cemetery during springtime, he grabbed this photo of a blooming magnolia tree (above left). “I was delighted that the ground was completely covered,” he says. “That was an integral part of the composition. The other thing with cemeteries is you want to have some structures, a gravestone, a monument, something that tells you it’s not your backyard. … That’s an important part of any of my compositions of a cemetery.”

Lake View Cemetery, Cuyahoga County by Ian Adams
“This is one of my favorite monuments anywhere in the state of Ohio,” Adams says of this mausoleum designed by famed Cleveland architect Levi Schofield. “He was an officer in the Civil War, but he was also a well-known architect. He designed the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in downtown Cleveland, and the asylum at Ohio University in Athens was one of his designs as well. It’s just an absolutely classic piece of Gothic architecture. Every time I drive past it, and I’ve been past it dozens of times, I have to stop and look at it because it’s just so unique.”Glendale Cemetery, Summit County by Ian Adams
“The Civil War Memorial Chapel at Glendale is probably one of the best Gothic structures in any cemetery in the state of Ohio. I just don’t think there’s anything more spectacular than that anywhere in the state,” Adams says. “I love the shadows on the snow,” which he explains serve as leading lines that draw the eye directly to the chapel. “They worked beautifully, compositionally, and the sky had a beautiful, soft winter look to it. It’s nice occasionally to photograph something that doesn’t have a bright blue sky. It was just a photograph that worked for me.”

Zion United Church of Christ Cemetery, Coshocton County by Ian Adams
“I live about an hour north from the largest population of Amish in the world, and I’ve included photographs of Amish Country in many, many of my books over the years,” Adams says. The cemetery depicted in this image is not an Amish cemetery, as there are both Amish and non-Amish people buried there. Adams’ patience is what ultimately allowed him to obtain this picture. “I waited for about 20 minutes, and I was lucky enough to get an Amish buggy with a gentleman and probably his son just as they came past the sign, which absolutely made the photograph as far as I’m concerned.”

Ridges Cemetery, Athens County by Randall Lee Schieber
“I was actually quite happy to get that particular image because it was one of the more challenging photographs that I had to do,” Schieber says. “There were no big monuments to shoot, no spectacular gardens or flowering trees. It was just a lot of small markers. Then I noticed those beautiful pine trees in the background, and I thought, ‘I wonder if there’s another perspective that could lend a little more interesting view.’” After making his way around to the other side of the trees, he found his sightline. “It was the kind of image that hits you and it’s like, ‘Wow. That’s it.’ I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out.”
Mound Cemetery, Washington County by Randall Lee Schieber
“This is one that indicates what Ian and I went through in the planning of not just finding the interesting cemeteries and monuments but determining when to photograph them,” Schieber says. “You really don’t want a strictly bright, sunny day with nothing but sunshine. You want a little softer light, and that’s what I have here. It adds another dimension to the image that you wouldn’t have if you had the harsh sunlight and the contrast and the shadows. You wouldn’t get that kind of ethereal sense, and I think it adds a lot to the image.”

Salem Church and Cemetery, Jackson County by Randall Lee Schieber
“This particular cemetery is way out in the middle of nowhere,” Schieber says. “It was a bit of a chore to find it.” Once he did, however, he was pleased to see the small white church sitting against the backdrop of a bright blue sky. “What can make or break an image is the sky,” he says. “Whether it’s a blue sky, or a dramatic sky or whatever, it kind of adds a soul to the image. The sky turned out so nice, and then this one little cloud popped up, kind of mimicking the white of the church. It’s the kind of image that when you see it, it’s like, ‘Wow … click!’”

Ridges Cemetery, Athens County by Randall Lee Schieber
“I was actually quite happy to get that particular image because it was one of the more challenging photographs that I had to do,” Schieber says. “There were no big monuments to shoot, no spectacular gardens or flowering trees. It was just a lot of small markers. Then I noticed those beautiful pine trees in the background, and I thought, ‘I wonder if there’s another perspective that could lend a little more interesting view.’” After making his way around to the other side of the trees, he found his sightline. “It was the kind of image that hits you and it’s like, ‘Wow. That’s it.’ I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out.”

Washington Cemetery, Fayette County by Randall Lee Schieber
“This is the only — that I know of — monument fountain in a cemetery in Ohio. When I found that out, I thought, ‘Well, we definitely have to include that in the book,’” Schieber says. Having already photographed the lower half of the fountain the previous year, he returned before the book’s completion to capture the top half. “It’s a unique little fountain that you see kind of right as you drive in there. You can’t miss it. It’s gone through several renovations, and some years ago, they totally restored it. … What caught my interest right away was the symmetry and the beautiful fall colors.”

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