„Matused“ on Mari-Liis Rootsi fotoraamat, mis on valminud Kõrgema Kunstikooli Pallas fotograafia osakonna lõputööks aastal 2021. Raamatut illustreerivad kuuel erineval matusel pildistatud fotod aastatest 2008-2020. Piltidele lisaks on seal nõuanded, mis on pärit leinakommetest ning autori praktilistest tähelepanekutest. Lõputöö teoreetiline osa annab ülevaate Eesti matusekommetest ja analüüsib neid 19.-21. sajandi fotode põhjal ning käsitleb igavikulisuse ja lõpmatuse filosoofiat.
Summary
This photo book is created as a final work for Pallas University of Applied Sciences photography department. It contains images taken at funerals from 2008-2020 by author Mari-Liis Roots. The written part of the project is about Estonian funeral photography history from the 19th to 21 century, eternity and infinity philosophy, funeral traditions and how to photograph such events. From the very beginning when photography was invented people have taken photos of funerals. The question is: How to save the memory of a person’s last journey. The purpose of this final work is to gather funeral photos taken by this author into one whole book. This helps to save existing images and is also a portfolio of such pictures. As the old Estonian saying goes “One can’t get rich fast with a book but be smart.”.
Methods used to gather information, working with the subject and designing the book are browsing personal photo folders, using Omaraamat home page, Adobe InDesign and gathering thoughts for text included in the book. All photos are taken and edited by Mari-Liis Roots. She is also the designer of the project. To give a stylish finish, the pictures are edited black-and-white. The book has 56 pages. It is available in digital format and in a printed version. It is printed with the help of a web page-based book printing house named Omaraamat and digitally uploaded here.
Photographing funerals is a dignified and an important assignment that demands good knowledge of funeral traditions. A photographer must stay calm, polite, and helpful. It is also necessary to act ethically and practically to get the best esthetic result. Working on a project like this demand’s correctness.
Funerals are such events where we say goodbye to a person’s last presents on Earth. We need to remember and honor the last memories of our loved ones. Taking images at funerals is a good way to save our thoughts. This is always a topic because funeral photography is a very old tradition that has proven to be important. An event like this can be emotional to people there for it is a tough situation but following good manners will help.
Photographing people at a funeral is a big challenge. A photographer should follow the guidance given by the funeral visitors. It is usually so that the organizers of the funeral event order photos of the grave covered in flowers and wreaths where the guests stand all together. This is one of the most common images taken according to our Estonian traditions.
