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The bizarre magnetic forest rings of northern Ontario / Boing Boing 

            <blockquote><a href="http://boingboing.net/2016/01/17/the-bizarre-magnetic-forest-ri.html"><img class="alignnone size-full" src="http://ontarioexploration.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/ForestRings1.jpg" alt="" /></a>Geoff sends us a post about “the ‘strange phenomenon’ of naturally-occurring ‘forest rings,’ or circles up to 2km in diameter only visible from the air, in northern On…</blockquote>

Source: The bizarre magnetic forest rings of northern Ontario / Boing Boing

Marian’s Roots and Rambles: How To Take Better Gravestone Photos 

            <blockquote><a href="http://rootsandrambles.blogspot.ca/2011/11/how-to-take-better-gravestone-photos.html"><img class="alignnone size-full" src="http://ontarioexploration.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/GregStewart.jpg" alt="" /></a>I soon learned through online blogs (Strobist) how to use a flash off camera for more pleasing light.  There are different methods of triggering a flash off camera, but the one I chose for the Nikon D40 was a cheap wireless trigger purchased through Cowboy Studio on Ebay.  This includes a wireless trigger to mount on the hot shoe of the camera, and a wireless receiver to mount to the flash.  I use a Nikon SB600 speedlight with this camera.  This flash, and others are capable of being used on a manual setting so you can power down the output of light. The gravestone on the left highlighted by flash With this new capability I returned to many of the gravesites and photographed the hard to read stones.  With the flash on a light stand I adjust the flash output to 1/8th to 1/16th power, and place it to the side of the stone a few feet away.  Lighting the stone from the side causes shadows on the engraving enabling you to very clearly read the inscription.</blockquote>

Source: Marian’s Roots and Rambles: How To Take Better Gravestone Photos

GravestonesHQ | Definitive Guide to Choosing a Gravestone or Headstone

History of GravestonesBefore cemeteries and churchyards existed, gravestones were used to mark burial plots near family homes. These gravestones were usually made from piles of rock or wood and were marked with only the deceased’s name, age and year of death. In around 1650, churches started allowing gravestones to be erected on their grounds. Originally only the middle and upper classes used them; however, after Protestant theology was established, it became common practice. Up until 1900 most gravestones were constructed from large pieces of square slate or sandstone. After this period public cemeteries emerged and people started using gravestones as a way to memorialize the dead. This resulted in more intricate designs and meaningful inscriptions. Engraving an epitaph about the deceased and adding their birth date soon became the standard and is a practice that is still conducted today. During the Victorian area (1837-1901) practices revolving around death were exemplified, which birthed lavish gravestone designs which included artwork, sculptures and family symbols.The Term “Gravestone”The term “gravestone” was coined by members of the Jewish faith who would honour the dead by placing stones on burial sites. This tradition started when a man broke Sabbath and felt so guilty that he asked people to “stone” his grave after his death.

Source: GravestonesHQ | Definitive Guide to Choosing a Gravestone or Headstone