very good advice Iley -- thanks ----- Original Message ----- From: "Iley Thompson" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2005 3:15 PM Subject: Re: [TNMARION] new item on web site | In reference to pictures are on the current event page of the chalked stones | | This looks like someone used the block style of carpenters caulk. | These colors (red and blue) do not degrade easily, | and because this type of chalk is rubbed on ,it is in the pores of the | stones(yes stone has pores like your skin) and will be present for some time | to come. I don't know of any way to remove this chalk with out further | degrading the stones. | | On the subject of cleaning headstones | DON'T is the best policy the old stones were for the most part local | stone,and in this part of the world that means sandstone. Sandstone is | soft,porous,and easily damaged,and it weathers badly,but it is easily worked | because of this. That is why they are slowly fading away. | If you just "have too" clean one use your fingers to brush away mosses or | lichens,the only tool I carry with me is a tooth brush,and I use it only as | a last resort. | If the stone is to weathered to photograph,make a tracing. | Go to a art store and buy a pad of the large tracing paper,and some "Soft" | charcoals, not the pencil type,but the little square ones about the size of | your finger. Place the paper on the stone(it helps to have a partner in | this) and slide the charcoal across the paper to make the tracing. | It takes some practice,and the soft charcoals are messy,but it works better | than trying to do it with a pencil type of instrument,and you will not tear | the paper. | | On the subject of photographing tombstones. | | You can use a mirror to reflect light onto a stone to show the lettering in | relief,by setting the mirror at 45 degrees to the stone and the sun,or you | can sometimes get better pictures by shading the stone on bright sunny | days,because the light reflected off of the stone tends to wash the | picture(i.e. it over loads the sensors in the camera).If you camera has the | capability go down a couple of stops and bracket your shots,cameras see in | two dimensions,not 3 as does the human eye. | | I doesn't matter how you get the pictures,I use a 35MM and a digital | both,the main thing is how you view them. | If you have a photo program on a computer ,when you have your film developed | get a digital set also,so that you can load them into your computer. | | There are a lot of photo programs available,most of them will do a decent | job of showing or printing your pictures,but not all allow you to | manipulate the photos to any great extent. A word of warning do not work on | the original picture,always work on a copy. | | In the photo program you can change the contrast and the brightness of a | picture so as to enhance what is shown and reveal details that do not show | in commercial prints due to the way their software works.( They go for a | tonal average). You may not get the best looking picture in the world that | way ,but it will allow you to see what is on the stone. | | Also if you have a photo program you can scan in the old photos that you | have and retouch them and change the contrast (i.e. the fading) and the | lighting (dark pictures) and normally you get a picture that looks new. It | takes a lot of effort sometimes ,but it is worth it if you want to really | see what GG aunt or uncle somebody looked like. I have pictures taken off | of tintypes that were so faded that you could not make out the details with | naked eye,that look almost new,considering that the tintypes are 110-140 | years old. | | | | iley | ----- Original Message ----- | From: "macbetty" <[email protected]> | To: <[email protected]> | Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2005 2:01 PM | Subject: [TNMARION] new item on web site | | | > Jerre Hookey sent two pictures of the tombstones that were chalked | and left to ruin-- Iley put these up for us, under current events -- | > | > I wanted all of you to see what a mess and how it can really can cause | unnecessary damage to these old stones | > take a look please-- this is the web site address | http://www.rootsweb.com/~tnmario2/ | > Thank you Iley and Jerre | > Betty | > | > | > | > | > ==== TNMARION Mailing List ==== | > *********************************************************************** | > PLEASE NOTE: This list is for queries and replies, comments, | > requests for help, and other genealogical related information | > that is of interest to researchers having a connection or a | > possible connection to Marion County, Tennessee. 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