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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Free Photo Restoration & Date Old Photographs => Topic started by: malijibic on Monday 18 March 19 21:31 GMT (UK)
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Not sure where to post so I am going to try here. If it should be somewhere else please tell me.
EmyrBorth has just now , very kindly, given me instructions to find my ancestors grave stone
and a description " a slate gravestone with a lot of white lichen on - Ellen's grave".
I hope to be able to visit the cemetery before Easter.
Any hints about how to get reasonable photos of the gravestone would be very welcome.
Diolch
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Pick a bright day to photograph it.
Light cloud is best, rather than direct sunlight
Ive been photographing for find a grave , the lighting has made the biggest difference overall. Im using a half decent smartphone.
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I can only hope for good weather, our trip will be to lay flowers on my family graves by Palm Sunday.
I have a small digital camera which has given me satisfactory photos and a smart phone which I haven't tried out yet It is the lichen that is making me think more than usual about the task. I suppose that I have been lucky, up to now the gravestones that I have wished to photograph have been clean.
Thank you
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Sometimes bright sunlight makes it harder to read lettering. Might be a good idea to find a graveyard near home to practice taking photos with both the camera and phone.
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Might be something useful here
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=317501.0
There was another thread but I can't find it, I remember someone said wetting the stone can help sometimes.
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Below are a couple of links explaining how you can use a simple, home made reflector [1] to light a stone or alternatively, use an off camera flash [2] to light a stone.
Using an off camera flash is probably the best option, as you're not reliant on the sun. And it can be done using a compact camera, as explained in the link. Attached is one of my own examples; it's not the best example but gives you an idea the difference it can make.
[1] Gravestone Photography: Lighting
http://www.phototree.com/article_gravestone_lighting.htm
[2] How To Take Better Tombstone Photos | Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajmexico/sets/72157638809538224
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Having taken a few photos of headstones over the last 30yrs I would take both phone and camera with you and go with an open mind!
Are you traveling some distance to view, I take amongst other things a kneeling mat to enable me to take a photo at a low angle.
Is the location an old neglected burial site, maybe a pair of garden shears come in handy?
I tend to take a photo firstly to view the location then if time permits a more detailed shot of the inscription.
More important is be safe,been down on my knees a few times falling into sunken graves and having my wife with me to help me onto my feet!
Regards Brian
Link for further reading: https://www.rootschat.com/forum/graveyards-and-gravestones/
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Thank you all very much, there is a lot to read and digest this evening. I do like the idea of finding something similar near home to experiment and try out the techniques suggested.
Thank you.
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If you know where in a particular graveyard the headsone is, your old friend, Google Earth, can be useful. Remember that the sun rises in the East and sets in the West and you might be able to work out what time of day is best to visit. An angled sun will help the inscription to stand out (if that’s not too much of an oxymoron!). What you don’t want is to be photographing a South facing headstone at mid-day.
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Following on from my earlier post, have a look at the photos posted.
I am working towards my wife in the distance to locate a grave.
Brian
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If you’re working towards a specific grave number, make sure you have the right one. The last time we went searching, I was working on a photocopy of a photocopy. I made my way uphill whilst my wife went in from the other end of the bramble patch. I couldn’t understand whey the layout didn’t match the plan and the grave it should have been had the wrong name so we eventually gave up. Extracting myself from the jungle, I found it, right by the path. It even had an infant’s name on the kerb we weren’t aware of!
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I also used a map which showed the grave No's (all 3000 of them) which I had viewed on previous occasions.
But being part of a large team over a number of years we had transcribed the grave info and took photos to confirm.
Brian
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Thank you all for your tips and pointers. Hopefully I will get some half decent photos but I will also take some photos of the church. I now wish that I had thought to do that when there were no problems in getting good photos of the gravestones and their inscriptions
Diolch yn fawr
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Nothing to say about the photographing of the gravestone - are you allowed to remove lichen from the stone, and how would you go about it. Anyone?
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It may not be that Illegible!
e.g. http://www.igp-web.com/IGPArchives/ire/roscommon/photos/tombstones/roscommon-shankill/target2.html
If I stood directly in front of this it would be completely illegible.... go to where you can read it best!
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borrowing a friend's pc to reply and using her account, (forgotten my password)
esseco I know nothing about the rules regarding lichen on a gravestone but cleaning an old gravestone might be considered defacing it. However I do keep my parent's gravestone clean.
hallmark thanks for the tip, sounds simple but I would probably have stood square in front of it.
Thank you
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Hi pipscwic,
That was my thought too. I am trying to find a book I thought I read about it in but so far still looking.
Cheers,
Di
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Nothing to say about the photographing of the gravestone - are you allowed to remove lichen from the stone, and how would you go about it. Anyone?
In a previous thread I lightly threw this up ( from Australia) and got told in no uncertain terms removing lichen is illegal in the UK
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There is a list of protected plants, lichens, mosses, worts etc here
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01nks/
It is illegal to pick, uproot or destroy any of the plants on the list.
The wording of Section 13 (which covers England & Wales and Scotland) of the Wildlife & Countryside Act may be found here
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01nkt/
Note 13 (2) covers all wild plants which in essence means you cannot remove any plant from a gravestone.
"13 Protection of wild plants.
(1)Subject to the provisions of this Part, if any person—
(a)intentionally picks, uproots or destroys any wild plant included in Schedule 8; or
(b)not being an authorised person, intentionally uproots any wild plant not included in that Schedule,
he shall be guilty of an offence."
The above is the wording for England and Wales but is repeated for Scotland.
Cheers
Guy