I spend a good deal of time in cemeteries, especially spring and summer. I volunteer to take photographs of headstones, for genealogy purposes, for those researching their family but who don't live near the burial site. A grave marker can be an important factor for documenting relationships, birth dates, and death dates. For some people, a photo serves as a remembrance of a loved one, a distant relative, or a previously unknown ancestor.

No matter what type, markers are the last...