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Ancestry Quick Tip
10/31/2003 - Archive
Cemetery Tips
Disposables to the Rescue
A quick tip for everyone about cameras that I learned the hard way. My mother
and I went to Kansas on a genealogy trip. Our main purpose was to photograph
the graves of my great-grandparents and any other graves we might happen upon.
I felt that I took my camera and enough film. When we left I took some pictures
of us leaving and my camera worked wonderfully. I am one of the people out there
that still works with a regular film camera because I don't have the bucks for
a digital. When my mom and I got to the cemetery, my camera quit. Nothing. New
batteries. Nothing. I had to interrupt our trip to go and find a Wal-Mart to
buy a disposable camera. My mom forgot her camera. My tip here, yes take film,
batteries, and if you are lucky, take your digital camera, but also, take a
few disposable cameras in case like me, you wind up in a pinch and need a camera.
My pictures came out really nice with the new disposable camera I purchased.
Tombstone Photo Tips
Often, I see photographs of grave markers where the inscription is either unreadable
or nearly unreadable. The reason is that the person who made the photograph did
not realize how important it is to make photographs in the best light. My experience
as a professional photographer has taught me what kinds of light are best. Let's
consider some kinds of light that yield poor results and some that yield good
results.
If the grave marker is in direct sunlight (the sun striking it straight on), it
is very likely that the inscription will be very hard to read in the photograph.
If you can find a time of day when the sun is striking the marker from the side
or from above, a photograph made at such times will show a stronger image of the
inscriptions. The reason: light from an angle to the letters will cast shadows
around the letters or indentations. In the photographs, the shadows of the letters
or indentations will show up strong, and the inscription will be easier to read.
On the other hand, when sun is striking the marker straight on, the marker will
often be too bright in the photograph and the letters or indentations will cast
no shadows, so they will be hard to read.
I know it is not always possible to be there when sun is striking the stones from
an angle. So the next best thing is to photograph markers on an overcast day.
And, when possible, move in close for two reasons: (1) to make the inscriptions
bigger in the picture and thus easier to read and (2) so your camera will take
a meter reading off the stone and set your camera accordingly. You can move in
and take a reading in a way where only the stone is visible in the viewfinder
or meter and then move back if you wish. This will give film or digital exposure
that is best for the marker. If you point your camera towards the marker from
a distance, the camera's meter reads an average of all light, such as sky and
marker. This will cause the marker to be underexposed, and thus unreadable in
the photograph.
Another way to copy grave marker inscriptions came to me recently when I read
about a woman who used grave marker designs and inscriptions as framed art works.
The way she does it immediately made me think this is an ideal way to copy grave
markers. She took a large sheet of paper, placed it against the inscriptions and
design, colored the paper all over with a pencil or some kind of marker.
Most of you have done this sort of thing with a sheet of paper placed over something
that had raised or sunken letters and shaded the paper to make the inscription
show.
Experiment with choice of paper and pencil, crayons, or charcoal to find the best
combination. Once you find the best combination you can make copies of inscriptions
for your records.
Editor's Note: For more information on taking tombstone rubbings, see Michael
John Neill's articles on "Tombstone Rubbings" by following this link
or clicking here.
Thanks to Cesilie Botello and Marion Brown for today's Quick Tip! If you have
a tip you would like to share with researchers, you can send it to: ADNeditor@ancestry.com
Quick Tips may be reprinted, with credit to the submitter, in other Ancestry publications,
so if you do not want your tip included in a publication other than the Ancestry
Daily News and Ancestry Weekly Digest, please state so clearly in your
message.
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