When requesting Photos - check for a headstone first

[Huckleberry]

Plummiegirl .

I did not miss the point. I will go on a"fruitless" search because it can be helpful.

Here is one of the last I took that did not have a headstone - The location of the grave site and the surrounds helped the decendent to know just where the family were buried.

[Richview]

As a regular gravestone photo volunteer -I recently thought I would check with both a church & council if they could confirm there were headstones present before I visited the cemetery.
They had no idea!
Like Huckleberry I never consider that I have wasted my time looking -so many people are happy to have a photograph of the location where family are buried.
In the case of a large cemetery a plot & section number is vital as it's easy to check from the stones present where the grave is situated.
I also check Find A Grave to see if there are entries that need a photo before I set out to a particular cemetery -perhaps others would consider doing this when they go to take grave photo's for theirselves.
Richview

[Plummiegirl]

I have found that if you contact the graveyard offices they will confirm if a headstone is there or not.  Normally the guys will either call you back or ask you to call back in about 1 hr so that they can check.

Personally I would not want a photo of nothing but a bit of grass, I can do that anywhere.

My orignal post did stem from my own personal experience when first starting out.  And spent a whole day going from 1 side of Sth London the the other side of North London only to find that there was nothing at all to show for my efforts.

Also if someone is not conversant with a area ie London, they may not realise just how much effort has to sometime be made just to get to some cemetaries.   

I was only posting a sort of 'buyer beware' to alert folk to the fact that not every grave had a headstone or marker.

I am really getting fed up with the last few posts where I am almost be vilified for just offering some practical advice.

[Mike in Cumbria]

I was only posting a sort of 'buyer beware' to alert folk to the fact that not every grave had a headstone or marker.

I am really getting fed up with the last few posts where I am almost be vilified for just offering some practical advice.

Useful, practical advice it was, too.

I don't think you should feel "vilified" by the previous posters, I'm sure that wasn't their intention. Your point is correct though - it's fine to go on spec and "waste" your own time if there's nothing to see but it's worth thinking it through before asking someone else to do the same.

Peace and love

Mike

[Richview]

Perhaps it depends on what area of the UK you live - our cemetery office is not on site and they are unable to tell you if there is a headstone present. With churchyards how many vicars have the time to wander around I know my doesn't.
I asked a vicar in Cornwall who told me to look myself a journey of some 8 hours by coach.
It surely is a personal choice as to taking a photograph of the area where someones relatives rest if there is no marker.
My aim was to try to tell people that information is not always available -one only has to look at sites such as Find A Grave to see how few volunteers there are in the UK.
I fail to see how you are being "vilified" Huckleberry has the same view as myself -I see another poster said the same thing.
As you say you would not want a photo of an area of grass -many people from overseas are thrilled to have a photo of the church & burial site .
My intention was not to upset you but to say not everyone is lucky enough to have cemetery departments or churchyards where you can obtain information before you go.
Richview

[beansgram]

I have been following this post and I am a walking volunteer in the USA in Pennsylvania. I had run into the same problem of spending hours and not finding what I was looking for. So I started photographing entire cemeteries. I thought if I take pictures as I walk I would eventually find the grave I was looking for and I might have photos of graves someone else might be looking for. I got the idea from Norrie G. after she posted a picture of a grave in Scotland for me.  If I am going to spend a couple of hours looking for 1 grave why not make that time productive. I have now completed 76 cemeteries have over 300,000 photos and have filled 400+ photo requests on Find A Grave.  I think it is important that we can docuement the older cemeteries before the stones deteriorate completely as some already have. I am extremely happy that one of my photos might help somebody solve a family mystery or just help them find where family is buried.    Beans

[tofgem]

On contacting a cemetery in Staffordshire I was told:
"It would be possible for you to take a photograph providing that the photo only contains the image of your family grave and not any surrounding memorials."
I had not considered that there would be a problem in taking photographs. I had not asked permission, I was merely trying to locate a grave.
Tofgem

[julie7239]

On contacting a cemetery in Staffordshire I was told:
"It would be possible for you to take a photograph providing that the photo only contains the image of your family grave and not any surrounding memorials."
I had not considered that there would be a problem in taking photographs. I had not asked permission, I was merely trying to locate a grave.
Tofgem

Was this cemetery still in use or containing graves of people whose immediate family might still be alive, or was it a Victorian graveyard that hasn't been used for decades?

I am puzzled when I read on websites of these graveyards that you need to get permission to take photographs.  I don't understand the reasoning.

I don't like going in graveyards that aren't old anyway, and have a quick read of some of the epitaphs on stones to check that there aren't any from the past hundred years, and it makes me uncomfortable to stay if there are.

Some of these older headstones look so worn that I can imagine them becoming completely illegible within a couple of years, and they can't have any living relatives.

[josey]

Some of these older headstones look so worn that I can imagine them becoming completely illegible within a couple of years, and they can't have any living relatives.

Certainly the headstones will become illegible, which makes the kind and sterling efforts of people like beansgram so commendable.

However - your saying 'they can't have any living relatives' is not true. They are almost certain to have some living relatives, even if distant in miles and/or relationship. Graves of my family are far away in Nova Scotia, Ireland, New Zealand but just because I am unable tend them does not mean to say there are no living relatives.