Elizabeth Donald Photography

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Empty Chairs

The Field of Empty Chairs stands in space left by the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, destroyed by a domestic terrorist in 1995. The nine rows symbolize the nine floors, and each chair represents one of the 168 people killed in the bombing. The smaller chairs represent the 19 children killed in the blast. The space where the Murrah Building once stood is now a memorial to the victims, with a museum in the former newspaper building next door.

Haunted

This is not a movie set or a drawing, but a lucky shot at Six Flags St. Louis. The lights gave this creepy ethereal glow to the image, and if you think this won't be a book cover or poster someday...

Gator Stare

This fellow was waiting for me at the National Aquarium in Baltimore in 2018, just sunning himself in the afternoon light. I have no idea if he thought I was tasty or not. This image is on permanent display at the Ellisville (Mo.) City Hall.

Lantern Lights

The Asian tradition of remembering a lost loved one by lighting a candle and setting it out on the water is quite overwhelming. Beautiful, serene, and humbling as well; every light on the water is someone's memory, someone's joy, someone's pain. And each memory reflects on the water around it as they float together.

Sunrise Skies

If one must be awake for the sunrise, seeing it above the clouds is not the worst way. And getting photos from the window of an airplane is not the easiest task, but I enjoy the challenge. After all, what else do you have to do - read the magazines?

Bridal Cave

This ethereal image came from inside Bridal Cave in Missouri, near the Lake of the Ozarks. I highly recommend the tour, which includes a mysterious underwater lake in which a raft sunk many, may years ago and no one know where it came from or how it got into the sealed-up cave. They say if a drop of water falls on you from the stalactites above, you have been "kissed" by the cave and it is good luck.

St. Andrew's Font

When sunset's light streams through the windows at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Edwardsville, Illinois, the view can be truly breathtaking. This sacred space is small, but always beautiful and dignified. I could fill an entire shop with the images I have taken in that building, but this one struck me with its simple peace and tranquility.

Notre Dame Font

The atmosphere inside the chapel at the University of Notre Dame is hushed, reverent with the weight of history. I could fill an entire section of this shop with images from that chapel, which I was fortunate enough to photograph during the Furlough Tour of 2013. This view of the altar was taken from the back of the church, over the surface of the font of holy water near the entrance. This image won second place in the 2016 Dupo Art Fair.

Ritual

No, they're not about to sacrifice anyone. This is a picture from the Order of the Arrow ritual at Camp Sunnen, where my son spent part of his summer among the Boy Scouts. There was so much natural beauty in that place, which my son loves and wants to return every year. This ritual was filled with tradition and gravitas, and I loved this moment with the boys silhouetted against the bonfire.

Caged Boy

I caught this silhouette at the City Museum in St. Louis, on the roof just before dusk. If you have never been to the City Museum, I recommend sturdy shoes, long pants, a camera and a whole lot of spare time, because it is like no museum you have ever seen before.

The Wall

This image really needs no introduction. The Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. is one of the most famous walls in the world, a stark and emotional place that never fails to leave an impact on me. Photographing the wall is a challenge, if only because there are always people there, caught in their own moments of reflection or grief. In the end, this was the one I felt truly captured its enormity.

Arsonfest Rainbow

Green Spiral

Some friends of mine gather every Fourth of July to blow things up in the wilds of Missouri, away from civilization. We call it ArsonFest, and I've been honored to join them for the last several years. The show they put on for us matches anything I've seen from the professionals.

Jimmy's Fire

I don't usually offer photos of people. But I love the way the light of the sparkler caught his face during this fireworks show in 2011. The man is my husband, Jimmy Gillentine, and this is one of my favorite pictures of him.