I went to the funeral for Robert Sandifer, but not to pay my last respects. Instead, I shot a roll and a half of film.
Robert Sandifer, dressed in a tan suit, was photographed more dead than alive. The only picture his family had of him was a police mug shot. Gatling’s funeral home used it on the cover of the obituary program.
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Sandifer’s grandmother had offered the photographers several opportunities to snap her crying over the body and collapsing into a set of waiting arms behind her. A few minutes later she’d return to her seat in the front, where she mingled with family and friends. Suddenly there was a lull in the activity around the coffin and she approached it again. I turned to the photographer and said, “I can’t believe I’m doing this, but that’s a great shot. I’m sorry.” He nodded in amused agreement.
