Karleen, I take a lot of stone pictures, Helen Wildermuth of http://www.stonehugger.com/ told me last summer that her ideal time of day to take pictures was about 2pm. I don't get to cemeteries very often at that time, more like 6pm. I often will take more than one picture of a stone, one with the sun on the lettering, and then I stand in front of it to cast a shadow on it and take a picture. I have also had luck at using a spray bottle, I use a spray bottle that has never had anything else in it other than distilled water, and will wet the stone and take a picture. So if I plan ahead, I carry a gallon or two of distilled water with me, depending on what I have found in previous visits to the cemetery, it's also a good way to clean off someone else's chaulking that was done and not cleaned off. When I've been fortunate once to have help from the hubby, we wet the stone and then he held an giant umberella to shade the stone, those were great pictures of some sandstone ones. The hardest ones for me to photograph are the polished granites, the sun just reflects so much, you can't get around the glare, so take different angles, you'll just have to piece together the info that way. Unless you can go back on a cloudy day, for more of those to add to your file. It is very hard to get a clear picture of a stone that is in a deep shadow of a tree or bush, if you have someone else with you, have them hold the plant or leaves away from the stone as much as possible. Make note of where it is, just in case you need to have someone local go back in the fall once the frost has taken care of the foliage to get a better picture as there will be more lighting to get it and the licken or moss will be retreating as well then. You will end up with lots of pictures on your card, so try to take a laptop with you or extra cards so you can get your work done all at one time. The higher dpi or resolution you take the more you can zoom in on your pictures afterwards. Take extra batteries, a battery charger that you can plug into your cig lighter in your car is a great help. For my camera, two sets of batteries for a cemetery with 200 stones will cover me, but you know your camera better than anyone else. Turn off your flash if you can, saves battery power, and you don't need it anyway, plus it saves time between pictures if it doesn't have to wait for that part of it to register. Before I start, I take a picture of the Cemetery Name Marker if there is one, I take pictures of the cemetery in general, and when I am all done I take another picture of the Cemetery Name Marker. I do this because I often go to more than one cemetery in a day, and that way I know what cemetery these pictures are from days later. Another thing I like to do now, is I take a picture of the row from the end, take the pictures of the stones in that row and then take another picture of the row at the other end, this is when I am doing the whole cemetery. So that when I get home, I know how many rows there were and what row a stone is in in perticular when someone asks me. Make sure to check the back sides of stones, for other information like kids, military or other burials on there, sometimes, children's names and dates are ingraved at the very bottom of a stone below the parents names, and you might not see it unless you smush down the grass or whatever infront of it. Sometimes you will also see plot makers, they may have just a number on them or the plot owners initals. These can vary even in the same cemetery. Some plain, some even fancy, I photograph those as well, and any other stone that happens to be in the row, as some burials are simply marked with a fieldstone. I've tried to use a mirror, to add extra light on a stone, but have never found a way to hold it just right and take a picture at the same time, but maybe if you are going to have help, then you can try it. I find a lot of stones I that I can not read while there, with my eyes. So I will often feel the stone with my eyes closed to feel out the lettering or to even find which side to photograph, I write down what I feel and hope the photograph will also turn out, many times the photos are easier to read than the stones were. Take a shot of the whole stone and then several up close. Be prepared for muddy knees, I get down on my knees to take pictures at eye level with the smaller stones, and those tip over facing down. Be prepared for bugs and snakes. You never know. Take water drink, it's thirsty work, not all cemeteries have a pump, and some of them are not safe to drink from anyway. Andrea Long -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of Karleen Phillips Sent: Thursday, June 14, 2007 12:10 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [INRANDOL] Photographing cemeteries We have a family reunion project of photographing a family cemetery in Squirrel, Idaho. I certainly would like some hints from you "pros" if you have time to send them. Thanks, Karleen Lenz Phillips ******************************** Please Visit The Randolph County INGenWeb Project http://www.rootsweb.com/~inrandol/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Andrea, Thank you so much for these tips. Many of them are not covered in some of the sites I have been looking up. We really appreciate it. We are doing this as a family reunion activity. If anyone out there thinks they may have family buried in the Squirrel, Fremont County, Idaho cemetery, let me know and I will try to find them, Karleen Lenz Phillips On 6/15/07, andrealong <[email protected]> wrote: > Karleen, I take a lot of stone pictures, Helen Wildermuth of http://www.stonehugger.com/ told me last summer that her ideal time of > day to take pictures was about 2pm. I don't get to cemeteries very often at that time, more like 6pm. I often will take more than > one picture of a stone, one with the sun on the lettering, and then I stand in front of it to cast a shadow on it and take a > picture. I have also had luck at using a spray bottle, I use a spray bottle that has never had anything else in it other than > distilled water, and will wet the stone and take a picture. So if I plan ahead, I carry a gallon or two of distilled water with me, > depending on what I have found in previous visits to the cemetery, it's also a good way to clean off someone else's chaulking that > was done and not cleaned off. When I've been fortunate once to have help from the hubby, we wet the stone and then he held an giant > umberella to shade the stone, those were great pictures of some sandstone ones. The hardest ones for me to photograph are the > polished granites, the sun just reflects so much, you can't get around the glare, so take different angles, you'll just have to > piece together the info that way. Unless you can go back on a cloudy day, for more of those to add to your file. > It is very hard to get a clear picture of a stone that is in a deep shadow of a tree or bush, if you have someone else with you, > have them hold the plant or leaves away from the stone as much as possible. Make note of where it is, just in case you need to have > someone local go back in the fall once the frost has taken care of the foliage to get a better picture as there will be more > lighting to get it and the licken or moss will be retreating as well then. > You will end up with lots of pictures on your card, so try to take a laptop with you or extra cards so you can get your work done > all at one time. The higher dpi or resolution you take the more you can zoom in on your pictures afterwards. Take extra batteries, > a battery charger that you can plug into your cig lighter in your car is a great help. For my camera, two sets of batteries for a > cemetery with 200 stones will cover me, but you know your camera better than anyone else. Turn off your flash if you can, saves > battery power, and you don't need it anyway, plus it saves time between pictures if it doesn't have to wait for that part of it to > register. > Before I start, I take a picture of the Cemetery Name Marker if there is one, I take pictures of the cemetery in general, and when I > am all done I take another picture of the Cemetery Name Marker. I do this because I often go to more than one cemetery in a day, > and that way I know what cemetery these pictures are from days later. > Another thing I like to do now, is I take a picture of the row from the end, take the pictures of the stones in that row and then > take another picture of the row at the other end, this is when I am doing the whole cemetery. So that when I get home, I know how > many rows there were and what row a stone is in in perticular when someone asks me. > Make sure to check the back sides of stones, for other information like kids, military or other burials on there, sometimes, > children's names and dates are ingraved at the very bottom of a stone below the parents names, and you might not see it unless you > smush down the grass or whatever infront of it. Sometimes you will also see plot makers, they may have just a number on them or the > plot owners initals. These can vary even in the same cemetery. Some plain, some even fancy, I photograph those as well, and any > other stone that happens to be in the row, as some burials are simply marked with a fieldstone. > I've tried to use a mirror, to add extra light on a stone, but have never found a way to hold it just right and take a picture at > the same time, but maybe if you are going to have help, then you can try it. > I find a lot of stones I that I can not read while there, with my eyes. So I will often feel the stone with my eyes closed to feel > out the lettering or to even find which side to photograph, I write down what I feel and hope the photograph will also turn out, > many times the photos are easier to read than the stones were. Take a shot of the whole stone and then several up close. > Be prepared for muddy knees, I get down on my knees to take pictures at eye level with the smaller stones, and those tip over facing > down. > Be prepared for bugs and snakes. You never know. Take water drink, it's thirsty work, not all cemeteries have a pump, and some of > them are not safe to drink from anyway. > Andrea Long > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of Karleen Phillips > Sent: Thursday, June 14, 2007 12:10 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [INRANDOL] Photographing cemeteries > > > We have a family reunion project of photographing a family cemetery in > Squirrel, Idaho. I certainly would like some hints from you "pros" if > you have time to send them. > > Thanks, > > Karleen Lenz Phillips > ******************************** > Please Visit The Randolph County INGenWeb Project http://www.rootsweb.com/~inrandol/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message > > ******************************** > Please Visit The Randolph County INGenWeb Project http://www.rootsweb.com/~inrandol/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >