In Repose Blog

Photographs Made from Ashes

Some of you might know that besides running this business at In Repose I am also an artist and photographer. Most days I work on both pursuits, albeit separately. Sometimes my businesses cross paths and create interesting intersections in my life.

Today I read about Inkafterlife.com. The thing is, before even finishing the news article, I found myself thinking; "I knew this was coming. It was only a matter of time."

I mean, there are urns and paintings and pencils and jewelery, and now, there are ink jet photographs combined with cremation ash available to memorialize your loved one. Starting at 49.00 you can print a grey scale photograph that has ash mixed right into the ink.

I can just hear the photographers I know who print their work at home mulling this one over considering all of the trials and tribulations of ink jet printers, and their piles of prints that were unusable in some way. What if the color is off? A streak on the photograph? What about (gasp!) a paper jam?

Do you just throw away those prints? And from the ashes perspective, there is always the question "How do I know they used my loved one's ashes anyway?" Heck, how do you know they used ashes at all? Wouldn't it tend to clog up the print heads? I should think so.

What about the photo itself?  Will it be a point and shoot of Grandpa that someone took with a 2 megapixel camera at the lowest resolution setting that would look horrible printed up at 8x10? No? Should we send in something nicer? What about using that professional photograph you splurged on last year at the reunion? Wait a second...What about that little thing called COPYRIGHT?

You cannot just send in a professional photographer's print and have it duplicated in anyway by anyone without written permission from the creator of the image. Its illegal.

I looked for any mention of copyright considerations at Inkafterlife.com. I found it in their terms and conditions. 

As a user, you are authorized only to view, copy, print, and distribute documents on this Web site so long as (1) the document is used for informational purposes only, and (2) any copy of the document (or portion thereof) includes the following copyright notice: Copyright © 2007 inkafterlife.com. All rights reserved.

Not one word is mentioned on the website about the copyrights held by photographers nor the way to seek permission to use copyrighted photographs.

My advice would be to spend the 50.00 toward getting a lovely portrait made of your loved ones before they are gone, by a photographer whose style you love. Here is a photograph of my dad and his dog Murphy who lived a long and wonderful 16 years and is sorely missed.

Lets ask my dad if that photo would mean any more to him if her ashes were mixed into the print.

Photograph Copyright Candace Craw-Goldman 2006

My guess is that he would say "No way".

National Funeral Director's Association Convention

Can you imagine what it might be like to attend one of these?

I know what I might have imagined a year ago.

But that was before I became a regular reader of Final Embrace. Timothy Totten writes that fine blog for funeral professionals and he also contributes to In Repose by writing a column called  "Ask Our Funeral Professional".

Tim has boundless energy and enthusiasm for his cot cover business, and also has a genuine interest in helping the funeral industry as a whole address the evolving needs of consumers today. He is going to the NFDA convention and has been talking to exhibitors interviewing them about their products and services, and then reporting on his blog.

TIm dropped me a line the other day. He wonders if readers of In Repose Blog might have ideas about what they'd like to see at the convention or what questions they might have for convention exhibitors or attendees.

So, lets help him out shall we? The convention starts October 7, so don't wait to speak up.

I am hoping myself that Tim will bring a video camera and simply walk the convention hall and let me see what walking around an NFDA convention is like. I'd like to know what kinds of printed materials are being handed out. I am particularly interested in how vendors use today's technology and communication advances in this industry.

And I am more than a little curious what entertainment part of Vegas the attendees might find most attractive. Black Jack? Roulette? Slot Machines? Or a great Vegas show?

Feel free to leave leave questions or comments here, or drop me a line at admin@inrepose.com.