A big thank you to Diane for posting a couple of pictures in this space last week.  London was fantastic! I'm a bit jet-lagged from the travel and tired (but excited) about all the things I saw at the Who Do You Think You Are? Live show last weekend.  This is an event I've wanted to attend for a couple of years, but the timing was never right.  However, this year's schedule was perfect. 

While WDYTYA is really a trade show, there are a few different lecture tracks. Some are even free.  At American genealogy conferences you pay a general admission fee, but at the London event you only purchase tickets for specific lectures on a first-come first-served basis.

If you took a look at the two pictures you get a sense of just how popular this event is. The Facebook friends I posed with wanted to get there early. We waited in line for about an hour, but it was worth it.  Guess who secured the number one spots in the queque?  We did.

When the doors opened we were ready. Estimates for Saturday's attendance were as high as four thousand people. On Saturday the crowds were even larger and the line continued around the building even at noon. Each new Olympia/Kensington train brought loads of new folks to the event.  I have lots to share over the next few weeks. 

I'll start with a few photos so you can get a sense of the size and scope of the show.


Here's one of the free lectures taught by FindMyPast.com.



2009 is the year of the Gathering in Scotland. I spend some time in the booth talking about my McDuff line. He told me that there currently isn't a Chieftain of the McDuff clan. The Gathering brings all the clans together for events. I put my name in for a free drawing. My fingers are crossed.<smile>.


The crowds on day 2.

I'll be back in the next few weeks with more.  I'll also post an album on my FaceBook profile.

I can't wait until next year!

As readers of this blog know, I had a booth at last week's Federation of Genealogical Societies conference.

Wow! A lot of you stopped by to say hello and share your photo stories. Yes, some people brought photos with them, too <smile>. I also got to meet several FaceBook friends and fans. It was a tremendous amount of fun and very exhausting. Thank you for visiting with me!

My train ride home during Tropical Storm Hanna was something I'm not going to forget for a very long time. Who knew it could take 11 hours to go from Philadelphia to Boston? A series of misadventures, including the train hitting a tree across the tracks, made for a lively overnight experience.

My favorite part of the conference (aside from meeting all the readers of Family Tree Magazine in attendance) was walking around the exhibit hall checking out news at the booths.

For instance, I got to meet Kim Screen of Good Stock Press & Bindery. This creative woman takes family history publishing to a new level. Yes, her books are expensive, but the final product is worth every penny. She produces limited edition books (and other heirloom items) that are so beautiful you can't help but flip through them. Her illustrated family histories are particularly wonderful. Her clients provide all the text, photos and other illustrations and Kim transforms their genealogy into a work of family history art. 

My advice...spend some time on her Web site and explore the creative possibilities for your family history publishing endeavor. I know I will.

Remember how last week I mentioned that this column would feature a "viewer discretion advised" image? The sight of a deceased person in a photo is the reason for the warning.

Like it or not, our ancestors began photographing the dead members of their family in the early 1840s. If you think you'll find such an image disturbing or unsettling, please don't continue reading. 

Theresa Klepadlo-Berio submitted this photo with the following e-mail message: "I have had this photograph for years and have always wondered it it's an actual funeral or what...All I know is that it was in an old photo album of my grandparents' and they were from Poland."



It is in fact a funeral. The elderly woman in the casket is being photographed before her burial. The people surrounding her are probably family members. This picture is a key to her family history in Poland, and a a great example of how one photograph can help you connect with your heritage.

I spent a bit of time fixing the contrast and adjusting the sharpness of this image using my favorite photo editing tool—Picnik. (It's free!) Once I improved the picture the markings on the side of the coffin jumped out at me.



The words are still very difficult to read, but I took a chance and entered what I thought I saw into Google. Eureka! The words are spoczywaj w pokoju pax.

On the Pennsylvania USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project Web site was a translation: "Rest in Peace." A closeup of the woman's hands isn't clear enough for reproduction here, but she's holding a cloth and either a book or a photograph.

I immediately called Terri and asked her more about her family. Turns out there's a family tradition of photographing the dead! This is the only postmortem picture in her collection, but as we chatted she mentioned that her father's family used to pose relatives around the deceased. That suggests that this image here contains at least a few relatives. But who?

That's something I hope to write more about in the near future. Terri's going to send me some information on her family history. With any luck we'll be able to figure out who's who and when this was taken.

This image is also a good example of how the picture is just one piece of the family puzzle. Forensic research is needed to put the whole story together. More later...

In a related piece of news, a story this month in the Ventura County Star focused on one photographer's fine art pictures of parents with their deceased infants. Historically, mothers have long posed for a final picture with their deceased infants. The imges are usually heartbreaking and really upsetting to view. However, photographer Leila Jones' work at the Simi Valley Hospital transcends the grief.  She does an amazing job of capturing these last moments.

I'll be at the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference in Philadelphia Sept. 2-6, and I hope I'll see you there. You can visit with me in my booth, #304, in the conference exhibit hall. It's a great chance to chat with me about your family photos or just stop by to say hi. Please do! I like meeting the folks who submit photos to this column. 

At the conference, I'll also be presenting a workshop on identifying and preserving family photos. It's not too late to sign up for this special offering. You can register for the conference online until Aug. 22 at 5 p.m. Central time.  

Last week the e-zine/blog Shades of the Departed asked me to write a short piece about the wedding photos I collect. I met the author of this informative and wonderful photo site, The Footnote Maven, through FaceBook. We're kindred spirits when it comes to old photos. Check out the story. I talk about seven of the images from my personal (though not my family) collection. If you've ever cried at wedding, then be advised. You'll need a tissue.

Next week I'll feature a photo in this space that'll carry a warning, "Viewer discretion advised." Now doesn't that pique your interest!

Another photographic giant is shutting down production on one of its products. In mid-February, Polaroid announced that after this year, it will no longer manufacture film for its cameras. You can listen to the National Public Radio interview live on the web.

Edwin H. Land established the company back in 1937. It offered photographers instant gratification: Take a picture, wait a few minutes and you could see your picture. Now digital has replaced the days of watching the print develop in front of your eyes. Follow the ups and downs of this trend-setting company on Wikipedia.

I guess my husband and I will retire all our Polaroid cameras. My first one was called the "Swinger" because it had a strap to hang from your wrist. It was a lot of fun to use.

Got a question about your Polaroid pictures, submit them to me at mtaylor@taylorandstrong.com or ask them in the comment field below.