THE ASSOCIATION FOR GRAVESTONE STUDIES

            MAKING PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORDS OF GRAVESTONES

                 by Daniel and Jessie Lie Farber

Old graveyards are excellent photographic subjects. They lend
themselves to many types of photographs--scenic views of the
yard, compositions of groups of stones, portraits of individual
stones, and details of the decorative carving. Interest can be
added to photographs of gravestones by taking advantage of
various weather conditions such as fog, snow, even moonlight, as
well as bright sunlight. To make an artistically exciting
photograph in a graveyard, or anywhere else for that mat-ter,
there are no hard and fast rules. The opportunities and the
limitations are in the eye and the imagination of the
photographer.

It is, however, quite a different matter to make a documentary
photograph of an old gravestone, and it is about this kind of
photograph that we are concerned here.

The object is to produce a sharp and sparkling photograph that
shows the old stone in all its glory, its decorative carving
standing boldly in relief, and its inscription clear and
readable. To do this may seem to the novice to be a relatively
simple matter. However, a glance at most documentary photographs
made by beginners proves otherwise.

This paper presents techniques developed over a fifteen year
period of photographing more than six thousand gravestones. The
techniques are not difficult, but the work can be demanding. Good
results require attention to detail and, above all, patience. If
you have the patience and are willing to attend to the details
outlined here, you will find that documenting gravestones
photographically can be a fascinating, satisfying and worthwhile
endeavor, The results are not only valuable records of America's
early sculpture and early history, they can be handsome, often
striking,'Works of art.

Lighting
Documentary photographs of gravestones should be made only in
brilliant sunlight. Hazy or overcast conditions produce inferior
results. The sunlight should fall across the face of the stone at
a raking angle, that is, from the side or top of the stone at an
angle of about 30 degrees, If the sun lights the face of the
stone squarely from the front instead of at an angle, the
lighting will be "flat" and the details of the stone's carving
will not be clearly delineated. Too sharp an angle, on the other
hand, over-emphasizes the stone's rough surface, which tends to
obscure and detract from more important features.

Generally speaking, sunlight strikes most old gravestones at a
good raking angle for a period of about one and one-half hours a
day, so the photographer must know when to be there. In most
early New England burying grounds, the carved faces of the stones
most often face west and are perfectly lighted from about 12:30
to 1:30 PM, standard time. Stones that face north are sunlit in
the late afternoon in midsummer, and are in shade at all other
times of the year. Stones that face south are favorably lit all
day in midsummer but are flat-lighted from the front in the other
seasons. Some stones, of course, are shaded by trees and
buildings and are never lit by direct sunlight.

Using a mirror
There is a way to eliminate the photographer's dependence on the
position of the sun. By using a mirror to reflect the sun's
light, the photographer can control the position of the light
source.

Altering the position of the mirror alters the angle at which the
reflected light strikes the stone. The photographer can
experiment with a variety of lighting effects and choose the one
that works best to bring out the decorative carving and the
inscription. (It should be noted that a mirror is an essential
piece of equipment for studying the carving on a stone and
reading the inscription as veil as photographing the stone.
Viewing the face of the stone from a variety of lighting angles
can bring out obscure details that would otherwise be
overlooked.)

The height of the mirror needed depends on the height of the
subject to be photographed: the subject cannot be taller than the
mirror. If only a detail of the decorative carving or only a few
lines of inscription are to be photographed, a small mirror,
perhaps one from a wall at home, will do. (For reading an eroded
inscription, a hand mirror or even a pocket mirror may be all
that is needed.) The mirror's width is not a problem as a very
narrow mirror can rake a reflection across a broad-faced
gravestone. Lightweight door mirrors adequate for lighting all
but the tallest old grave markers are available in discount
department stores for under $25.

The photographer positions the mirror in full sun so that the
reflected light rakes across the stone at the desired angle. If
the yard is mostly shaded, the nearest spot of sun may be some
distance from the stone to be photographed. In this situation,
the mirror serves the photographer very well indeed. The mirror
can be placed as much as 100 or so feet from the stone to pick up
the available spot of sunlight and throw it onto the stone.
Although it is usually possible to prop the mirror securely into
position, perhaps against another gravestone, it is helpful to
leave a partner mind the mirror while the photographer
concentrates on the lighting effect on the stone. Or the mirror
can be mounted onto a tripod.

There are innumerable opportunities to use a mirror to improve
the lighting on gravestones. When the sun is lighting the back of
the stones so that the carved faces are in shade, a mirror makes
it possible to photograph these shaded stones. The same applies
to stones shaded by trees and buildings. For the determined
photographer, the mirror can solve other lighting problems. In
the afternoon when the sun is no longer high enough to rake
across the stones at the optimal angle and the light on the
stones is "flat", the photographer can shade the stone and use a
mirror to light the stone to best advantage. Sometimes the
photographer's body can shade the stone. If not, a large dark
cloth or cardboard can be used. Another helpful technique for the
dedicated photographer with a shaded stone and only a far-away
spot of sunlight is the use of two mirrors. One mirror is placed
in the spot of sun so that it reflects the sun's light onto a
second mirror that is positioned near the stone at the angle that
reflects ideal lighting onto the stone.

Bear in mind that the mirror reflects light; it doesn't create
light. A bright sunny day is still necessary.

And note that the mirror is used to light shaded stones, not to
improve the lighting on stones that are sunlit. Throwing a
reflected light onto an already sunlit stone simply adds a second
light source of equal strength. The resulting lighting is flat
and diffused instead of the strong, shadow-producing light that
is necessary for good definition of details. As mentioned
previously, to use a mirror to improve the lighting on a sunlit
stone, you must also eliminate the undesirable light by shading
the stone.

Equipment
Good photographs can be made with a 35mm camera. For black&white
pictures a Tri-X film shot at a shutter speed of 1/250th or
1/500th of a second produces good results. For color, Ektachrome
ASA 200 can be used at 1/250th. At these speeds the careful
photographer can hand-hold the camera. However, using a tripod
has important advantages. The tripod assures camera stability. In
addition, the tripod allows the photographer to shoot at slower
shutter speeds. Slower shutter speeds allow smaller aperture
openings, increasing depth of focus.

Use a light meter. If a hand-held meter is used, it should be
held close to the stone when making the reading so that light
from only the stone and none from the background is included in
the reading. If the camera is equipped with a meter, hold the
camera close to the stone to make the reading.

Cleaning the stone
If the stone requires cleaning, take care not to damage the stone
in the process. Loose dirt and bird dung can be removed with a
soft brush and water. A stiff bristle brush will damage the stone
and should not be used. Nor should any chemicals such as
detergents and bleaches be added to the water; the damage from
chemicals absorbed by the stone can show up many years later. It
is probably better to leave lichen on the stone, although it is
sometimes possible to safely remove lichen from a sound stone
with water and a wooden chisel-shaped stick.

Viewing the subject
The stone should be positioned in the viewer so that the sides of
the stone are parallel to the sides of the viewer. If the camera
is pointed upward or downward, the stone will be distorted in the
picture. Many old stones do not stand straight on a vertical
line. To "straighten" a leaning stone requires tilting the camera
to correspond with the lean.

Position the camera close enough to the stone to fill the picture
unless there are specific background details that should be
included. By moving in very close to the stone, dramatic
photographs can be made of carving details. How close a camera
can be brought to a subject before it loses its ability to focus
depends on the lens of the camera. This distance can be reduced
by attaching a +1 portra lens in front of the camera lens.

Background
Give careful attention to the background. The area behind the
stone can enhance the photograph or damage it. A busy, confused
background or a discordant object such as a TV antenna can be
distracting. Trees and other background objects may appear in the
photograph to be growing out of the stone. People in the
background tend to compete with the foreground subject for
interest.

When the photographer tilts the camera to straighten a leaning
stone, care must be taken to exclude vertical background objects
such as telephone poles, trees and buildings; they will be tilted
in the photograph. The background may be so dark or so bright and
contrasty that the stone carving is not shown to best advantage.
To deal with these kinds of problems, the photographer should
experiment with altering the position of the camera. A slight
change of the camera's position makes a big difference in the
background and may improve the photograph tremendously.

Using a backboard
Although there are times when background details, thoughtfully
included, can make an aesthetic or a documentary contribution to
the photograph, there are also times when there is no specific
need to document the background and when the photographer's
interest is entirely in the stone. At these times, the
photographer may decide to eliminate the background altogether,
Photographing the stone in splendid isolation can enhance its
beauty and produce spectacular results.

Eliminating the background is best accomplished by placing a
backboard behind the stone being photographed. The backboard
should not have a design or any cracks, folds or scratches to
distract the viewer. It should not be so bright or so dark that
it detracts from the gravestone. A material that admirably
satisfies these requirements is Formica in any medium color. Gray
should be avoided as it tends to merge with the color of the
stone. The Formica should be mounted on 1/4 inch plywood, and it
is helpful to have a hand-hold cut into the plywood. The board
should be as large as is manageable--limited probably by the size
that will fit into a car. For a shop that can make such a board,
look under "Kitchen Counters" in the yellow pages of the
telephone book.

A companion can hold the backboard in place behind the stone, or
it can be propped into place with a lightweight angle iron or a
sturdy stick or pole. Formica scratches easily, but stains and
scratches can be removed with furniture polish.

Documenting an entire graveyard
These instructions are directed to people who wish to make
photographs of selected gravestones for artistic reasons or for
their genealogical or other research. The photographer who is
making a record of all the stones in a graveyard has some
different and additional considerations that will not be dealt
with here. There are, for example, ways to show the dimensions of
each stone in the photograph as well as the direction in which it
faces. There are ways to identify each stone with a number that
can be read in the photograph. For more information about
documenting a graveyard, see "Recording Cemetery Data," by Baker,
Farber and Giesecke, published in the 1979/80 edition of Markers,
the journal of the Association for Gravestone Studies. This is
available from the Association for Gravestone Studies, 30 Elm
Street, Worcester, MA 01609.