Best Trick EVER to read old Gravestones Part 2 Given by A Stone Carver
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- Опубліковано 29 чер 2024
- In this second part of our series on the mirror trick we delve into a few more advanced techniques and some questions from the first video! Reading old Gravestones doesn't have to be difficult but a hands off approach is the best almost always.
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I’ve just finished documenting a local cemetery with nearly 3,000 gravesites. It’s taken a year in my spare time. In the very old section, sometimes you can look at headstones grouped together and find one that’s readable. Many times, families are buried next to one another and you can piece together the person next to them. Find-a-Grave makes it easier to put the families together. I’ve been a volunteer and am addicted to the challenge. Make sure you click on that GPS location so future generations won’t have to walk an entire cemetery to find their ancestors.
Amen keep up the good work great advise
That's incredible. Thank you!
If photo of the tombstone inscriptions is the goal, I think a remote controlled photography flash unit positioned a few feet away at a 45-degree angle should do the trick, similar to using the flash as a fill light when taking photos of an object against the light source.
That is a good word. I am not a photographer with a lot of equipment but if that works, then that sounds great!
I am thrilled to learn about the mirror tip. Thanks for sharing with people who hope to photograph some ancestors' headstones.
Thank you for being interested Judy!
What a great tip! You have the most incredible talent for carving the stones.
Thank you kindly Ann. The Lord be praised!
Yes we have a responsibility to practice cemetery stewardship and preserve these old headstones, at least with a good photograph, for the generations to come. Thanks for the great videos.
Thank you Heidi. Please share these videos to help promote better practices. There are a lot of well meaning people out there that I fear harm these stones unknowingly. Thanks for being interested! If you have ideas for other videos please let me know
I use a rechargeable mechanics under hood light 3 foot long for low light but I always use the mirror method it's best even with large trees shading the stone and refelect 10 yards away . Good job
Great idea! May have to try that. Thank you kindly
I saw your first video a few months ago, and was checking it out to share with someone, and was pleased to see the second one. I live in a very old town in Massachusetts (1635) whose first settlers probably have millions of descendants across the country. Your comment about the importance of documenting stones for the benefit of distant cousins from out west really resonated with me. Looking forward to more of these!
Mr Russell. Thank you for your kind words. Please subscribe and see all the new videos I have posted lately that may be of help in your research and field work. All of us Gravestone Nerds have to stick together! lol! David
Out of curiousity, what town in Mass is that? I've been photographing 17th & 18th century gravestones across Mass and NH
Thank you for the videos. Great
information here.
Thank you Judi, I hope to have another video posted this week!
Amazing work you do! Thanks for sharing your tip with the mirror.
You are most welcome! Thank you for watching and please subscribe as I hope to keep posting!
What a neat tip. Some of my ancestors are buried in eastern Washington. The stones are very hard to read. I will have to use this trick. Thanks.
Thanks Dave! Let me know how it goes brother!
All the techniques to make headstones more readable that we can learn the better.
Thank you so much Craighton
so helpful
Thank you Ms Carol! Good to hear from you!
if your photo is not particularly clear, how about using brightness & contrast controls, possibly color filters, on the picture to make it more readable?
Absolutely
very informative
Thank you! I hope to make more gravestone videos soon Lords willing
Thank you for Part 1 & 2. I found them helpful. My Scottish grandfather and great uncle were stone masons that created a 15' tall Obelisk around 1895 at their fathers grave in Seymour, TX. Unfortunately, the stone was soft enough that even with enough light, many of the letters are not legible. How can one make those letters so they are legible & can be photographed for preservation?
Donald Ferrier, Fort Worth, TX
Other than laser technology which is super expensive you can only work with what’s left. I would try and find earlier pictures or a transcription from years ago, or maybe a newspaper article when it was first installed that may have had the full inscription. Using this mirror trick take the best possible picture you can of it now and email it to me. Maybe I can make some of the missing words out for you
This is a great method for enhancing the ability to read weathered stones.
I must say, though, mirror trick sounds a little hokey, whereas "mirror method" has a more scientific ring to it
I agree!
Outstanding. I will be using this technique. I will be sharing this technique as well. May order and honor persist in your house.
Thank you kindly
@@pumpkintown I did use the mirror technique for a findagrave entry. "Anton Schaefer" in Old Sand Prairie cemetery in Illinois (memorial id 42974979). I can't easily read the stone but it is certainly scribed in German and now has the best image possible for the record.
@@0U8123MTA3 That German Script is tough to read but to the right person they can decipher it, good work!
I am new to photo-documenting gravestones and this is a wonderful trick to now know. But, as I am encountering flat stones and stones in perpetual shade due to trees and shrubs. I am wondering if there might be a portable work light that is bright enough. If anyone knows of and can recommend a product, I'd be interested in checking that out. I do not have an assistant! :)
Following! Thank you
Hello again! I just commented on your Part 1 of this topic. I found your recommendations for things to consider before cleaning gravestones. As I mentioned in my previous comment (which I'll edit, since you'll probably see that before you see this one), my mom wants to consult with a woman who volunteers her time and resources to clean lichen off gravestones. Mom said the woman uses a power washer, but I think in consultation it would be wise to ask more questions. I don't know if the woman is technically a professional gravestone cleaner, but she does have a good reputation, according to my mom, and so it's likely that she has studied with the pros, or maybe even has read Lynette's book.
By the way, I've been a member of Find-A-Grave for about 10 years or more. I used to take pictures for them regularly, and was signed up to take photos by request. After my digital camera broke, my mobile phone camera was sufficient -- nothing fancy, just a Samsung. However, my next few phones were super cheap brands, with lousy cameras, so I had to stop volunteering to take photos of gravestones. I currently have another cheap phone, but the camera is much better than the others, so I've thought about getting back into doing the volunteer work of photographing gravestones. Your support for that project is encouraging to me! I'm signing back up!
You get that mirror out there and contribute to Find a grave and document those stones before someone removes what data is left with a power washer! Lol! Thank you for your kind words
Thank you for these very helpful videos. I have discovered during my wanders through most of our local cemeteries in rural Australia that the light grey and brown/red marble with carved lettering (usually then filled in with white paint) wear so much quicker, do you have a way to make these readable for photographing? I have tried from lots of different angles but the colour of the marble makes them virtually impossible to read from a photo..
Yes! See my first video in this series! ua-cam.com/video/dyGlVWvGZbs/v-deo.html
Great video and wonderful trick ! I am a direct descendant of Cornelius Keith, who I believe was one of the earliest founders of Pumpkin Town. Thank you for your work !
Would a bright flashlight work at night to make the stone readable?
It would help but 1) many places don’t allow people to be in cemeteries after dark, 2) it still doesn’t work as well as the sun with mirror trick, 3) if you are trying to photograph the stone it makes it harder under that low light condition.
That's great for now but wouldn't it make sense to at least document what is legible (if not adding a more permanent marker) so that "next week" when it becomes impossible to read, no matter what tricks you have up your sleeve the information is available?
It sucks to have unmarked graves! Do something about it while you can.
Would get very expensive! Plus many don’t need replacing just knowing how to read them. There are many that do need replacing though and I think that move should only be made by family. It is and was their property. I don’t have the right to dig up another persons headstone and replace without permission, nor can afford to! The photograph added to find a grave is a document. Great comment! I wish more had your spirit! Thanks brother
@@pumpkintown A very inexpensive solution would be to map the location, then individual graves. Drop off those documents to the county recorder's office where they would be available indefinitely.
How much does a couple pieces of paper cost?
Granted there is some time involved but for me personally, I think it's worth it.
Family members who are around as these markers deteriorate, may not be concerned or have the ability to upgrade markers, I get that. But what about future generations? This incredibly valuable information shouldn't be lost.
One more thing... which I've personally done.
It's super easy for ANYONE to go to the local Harbor Freight store, or Amazon & buy a cheap set of letter & number stamps.
Cut open an aluminum soda can, flatten it then stamp in the details.
That can be placed on or near the existing marker. Believe it or not, they last for decades.
I built my own foundry so I can easily and almost for free create markers.
I make them out of cast aluminum similar to the current bronze markers for our military.
While not as durable as bronze, they hold up considerably well.
Aluminum is free except for the energy used to melt / cast it.
Rather than collect a billion soda cans, I found that free auto parts (such as cylinder heads & automatic transmission cases) provide more material than I can use.
Once painted, they look identical to the bronze markers.
I spend more on lunch than a decent looking grave marker.
The vast majority of my replacement markers have been in the deserts of Nevada and Arizona. Graves that were long abandoned back in the 1800s. The vast majority of the originals were made of wood!
Obviously nobody cares today or for the last century... but someday they might.
Also, grave marker photos can be shared on BillionGraves.com. It is international and, if your device has GPS capability, those coordinates will upload as well. That is especially helpful for locating a grave within a large cemetery.
Thanks this is helpful. I use finda grave but never heard of this one!