I have been photographing gravestones for many years now. If I see a stone that interests me, I will stop and take a picture, no matter who it is. I like the natural play of light on a stone and try to find the light when it is at its best. I have 100's of photos, but just share the ones online that I find most connected to me, or perhaps that no one else has taken, or I think shows a better picture. I enjoy finding my own relatives and also like to share if I have found someone else's relatives. Please ask if you would like me to transfer a stone. If it isn't my relative, I would be glad to. I usually put a lot of thought into perspectives and lighting for my pictures, although sometimes I just snap a shot when I don't have time. I never clean a stone (I am not an expert), but do remove bird residues. I think it shows respect to the deceased and to their descendants to post the best pictures possible, not just any old photo. If you would like to use one of my photos, please ask and I will be glad to share as long as my credit is posted with it. By the way, I have removed almost all my genealogy-type postings that didn't have pictures of stones or identified cemeteries. After all, as one person said, this is FIND-a-Grave, not reserve-a-grave, so part of the fun is FINDING the grave, not just reserving a claim on an ancestor. I have been troubled lately to see some of my grave photos and data I posted appear on ancestry.com or other for-profit sites. Unfortunately I thought Findagrave was for-fun and rather inconspicuous (naive!), and I didn't always apply high standards to my posts, especially when I was new at genealogy. People are adding things into their family trees at random and posting them online. There is misinformation rampant everywhere! Please do not re-post my information or at least, verify it yourself before you do! Have fun on Find-a-Grave and keep finding those gravestones.

I have been photographing gravestones for many years now. If I see a stone that interests me, I will stop and take a picture, no matter who it is. I like the natural play of light on a stone and try to find the light when it is at its best. I have 100's of photos, but just share the ones online that I find most connected to me, or perhaps that no one else has taken, or I think shows a better picture. I enjoy finding my own relatives and also like to share if I have found someone else's relatives. Please ask if you would like me to transfer a stone. If it isn't my relative, I would be glad to. I usually put a lot of thought into perspectives and lighting for my pictures, although sometimes I just snap a shot when I don't have time. I never clean a stone (I am not an expert), but do remove bird residues. I think it shows respect to the deceased and to their descendants to post the best pictures possible, not just any old photo. If you would like to use one of my photos, please ask and I will be glad to share as long as my credit is posted with it. By the way, I have removed almost all my genealogy-type postings that didn't have pictures of stones or identified cemeteries. After all, as one person said, this is FIND-a-Grave, not reserve-a-grave, so part of the fun is FINDING the grave, not just reserving a claim on an ancestor. I have been troubled lately to see some of my grave photos and data I posted appear on ancestry.com or other for-profit sites. Unfortunately I thought Findagrave was for-fun and rather inconspicuous (naive!), and I didn't always apply high standards to my posts, especially when I was new at genealogy. People are adding things into their family trees at random and posting them online. There is misinformation rampant everywhere! Please do not re-post my information or at least, verify it yourself before you do! Have fun on Find-a-Grave and keep finding those gravestones.