I love photographing cemeteries, the older the better. It is so quiet & oddly peaceful. I have visited many cemeteries around town & I’ve traveled many hours away to document the tombstones onto an ancestry site.

I love the history & I imagine the life the person had while alive. The ones that get to me are obviously the children & young adults that passed way too soon.

Some frustrations with many of the older cemeteries are those that aren’t properly taken care of & the stones are overgrown with dirt, anthills, demolished headstones or even completely covered by grass.

Many years ago while living in London, my mom would often go to the churches & do brass rubbings. When I was a child, I joined her. Brass rubbings are not allowed any longer due to wearing the stones down.  To help preserve the tombstones, we must be gentle with the stones, don’t use harsh chemicals or brushes if you want to clean them, & don’t use chalk or other items on the tombstone to read the inscriptions, etc. Below are just two of many my mom had made & framed. She had some copies sold while set up at Renaissance Fairs. These brass rubbings along with others will be available to purchase in a card format & possibly as a regular print in the future.

Photos are protected & are not to be copied, sold, etc. ExquisitePhotoz©

When visiting cemeteries, make sure to follow the local rules of the cemeteries, have etiquette, stay respectful of those that are buried there & do not step on the grave site, etc.  I located some additional information online: Cemetery Etiquette- Cemeteries: The Funeral Source