The oldest public cemetery in Charleston, Magnolia was established in 1849 on the banks of the Cooper River. Many of its lavishly designed tombs and mausoleums date from the years of Charleston’s greatest prosperity, just prior to the Civil War. Today some are still carefully tended, but others have fallen into decay. This mausoleum’s door had disintegrated. I entered to photograph the fallen door, the debris on the floor, and the huge rings that offer access to the crypts that lie below. Although the space was tight, my 24mm wideangle lens allows expansive coverage at short range. I converted the color image to black and white to complement the stark and gritty subject matter. The resulting photograph reminds me of something from an Edgar Allen Poe story. Time shows no mercy – and this image expresses that concept.