Ash Wednesday Photography

[piabee]

Interesting and positive article on a non-Catholic's view of Ash Wednesday. But why does everyone in the photos look so bummed?

Greg Miller is not confused by the smudged foreheads he sees on the streets this time of year. In fact, he waits all year to see them.

The photographer works at a snail's pace in general. This project, for example, has been 15 years in the making — though it has amounted to more like 15 cumulative days. He waits all year for Ash Wednesday. And even after a whole day's work, he walks away with only a few frames, because he is lugging around a large-format film camera. This clearly is not about instant gratification.

"I'm not Catholic," he says on his cellphone over sounds of New York City streets, where I caught him for a few minutes between shoots today. "But I do understand that it's a really sacred time of the year for them — the beginning of the Lenten season where you get back to the idea that your life is precious. ... I think that speaks for anybody."

For Christians, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, and the tradition of putting ash crosses on the forehead is meant to symbolize the beginning of a penitential season, a reminder of mortality.

"The beauty of Ash Wednesday," Miller explains on his blog, "is that very ordinary people, heading to the train, to work or school, exercise the simple act of wearing their faith for this one day a year. A very old ritual against the backdrop of modern society."

And as much as getting ashes on this day is a ritual for Catholics, so has photographing them become a ritual for Miller. He calls the series Unto Dust, a reference to what priests say on this day. (Along the lines of: "You are dust and unto dust you will return.")

In 2008, Miller received a Guggenheim Fellowship for photography; he plans to continue the series in hopes of one day creating a book from the images.

See the photos here.

[kayla_veronica]

Interesting and positive article on a non-Catholic's view of Ash Wednesday. But why does everyone in the photos look so bummed?

They’re all starving!

Seriously its probably because that large format camera he’s using takes a lot of time to set up. One frame takes @ least 4-5 minutes to focus (its manual focus and when film is $3 a sheet you to make sure its focused the first time) so the people have probably gotten bored by the the time he’s ready.

[Northstar]

Why do they look so bummed? They've just been to the novus ordo. That would make anyone sad.

[Crusader_Philly]

Why do they look so bummed? They've just been to the novus ordo. That would make anyone sad.

And they're waiting to have their one full meal!

[Mithrandylan]

The first picture in the slide show totally looks like Katherine Helmond in Brazil when she's getting her face stretched out. 

[Jacafamala]

Oh I don't think they looked so bummed. I think they're just going about their activities and caught unexpectedly by the camera. Anyway, no smiling on Ash Wednesday. It's against the rules, don't you know? 

[Revixit]

Interesting and positive article on a non-Catholic's view of Ash Wednesday. But why does everyone in the photos look so bummed?

It's a solemn day beginning a solemn season of penance. 

As a Catholic who knows that, wouldn't it bother you if they were all smiles?

Not that there's anything wrong with smiling on Ash Wednesday but they're Catholics so they know it's a solemn time -- and they know they're being photographed and don't want to behave as if it's Mardi Gras.  And maybe some of them overdid Mardi Gras and don't feel too well.

But mostly I'd guess it's because of what the ashes symbolize, what Lent is about, and that they've had to wait for the photographer, as kayla veronica said.