2022 has been a very good year for Cemetery Photography by Chantal Larochelle!
I wanted to take this opportunity to look back at some of the highlights and achievements from this past year.
My biggest goal for 2022 was consistency. It has been an issue that I have struggled with for years. I finally found myself working and maintaining a consistent posting schedule on the blog. The top 5 most viewed posts on the blog this year were: Haunted Cemetery Road Trip – The Beck House, A Gift Guide for Taphophiles, My Local Haunted Cemetery, Finding the abandoned Happy Valley cemetery, and 25 Cemeteries in the City of Greater Sudbury. It’s an amazing feeling to share these stories with you, and grow this passion project of mine.
2022 was a year full of adventure! I visited 78 cemeteries this year and was able to break my record for the number of cemeteries visited in one day—15. A personal best! I visited my first pet cemetery and went on many fun and fascinating cemetery road trips. There are a few that stand out, like hiking through Algonquin Provincial Park and finding the first grave of Tom Thomson. That was a bucket list trip for me, and one of my biggest adventures so far. A lot of planning and research went into that trip, and the journey was incredibly worth it. Spending the night at the haunted Beck House was another highlight for me. Haunted holidays with my fiancé are always my favorite, but this year will be hard to top. This beautiful victorian style mansion is beautiful on its own, but its history makes it even more interesting. We had an amazing visit and made sure to pay our respects to the Becks, at their family mausoleum. I look forward to sharing more cemetery road trip adventures from 2022 but I am excited to see what 2023 will bring.
I am amazed at the following I have been able to foster on my social media channels. Over 2 000 followers on Instagram! Wow, what a milestone! Thank you to everyone who has liked, followed, commented, and shared my social and website posts. It means the world to me. I am so proud to be part of the online cemetery community, and love connecting with like-minded taphophiles. Because of this, I have branched out from Facebook and Instagram to Flickr and Pinterest as well.
This year has also been one of recognition! I am so thankful to all those who have shared my posts and photos. Not only was I featured in the March 2022 Ancestor Hunting newsletter, under Links we like. I was also asked by the Sudbury Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society to write something for their newsletter. My post Cemetery Symbolism in Sudbury District Cemeteries was published in the December issue of Ancestor Hunting. My Gift Guide for Taphophiles also garnered some attention and was shared in the Association for Gravestone Studies November e-newsletter.
I feel that I am continuing to grow in my writing and am slowly finding my voice. I love sharing my cemetery adventures and am so happy that I have found an audience. I hope to continue my growth as a writer into the new year, by honing my skills and sharing even more stone stories and insights.
Thank you to everyone who has followed along with me on this journey! Sharing my passion for cemeteries with you all has been an amazing experience. I look forward to continuing to share my photography and adventures with you and seeing what 2023 will bring.
Cemetery Photography by Chantal Larochelle 