Riley's rest

Riley’s rest
Yashica-12
Fujifilm Velvia (expired 8-2006)

Many people who visit Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis stop here, at the top of the highest hill in the city. This is where Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley is buried.

It’s hard to contemplate now, but Riley was as popular as any rock star in his day. Throngs would come to listen to him speak. His death in 1916 saddened the nation.

Riley had an unusually large presence in my life as I attended a high school in South Bend that was named for him. It was built just eight years after he died.

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Film Photography

single frame: Riley’s rest

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Unknown U.S. Soldier

Unknown U.S. Soldier
Yashica-12
Fujifilm Velvia (expired 8-2006)

The military cemetery within Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis is one of the largest in the nation. Countless rows of little markers just like this line a large section of the grounds.

In past visits I’ve looked and looked for an Unknown marker to photograph, always to no success. This time I was just walking by and caught this one out of the corner of my eye.

I cut the in-focus patch just a shade too thin on this photo. The marker is in focus but the fake flowers right in front of it are not.

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Film Photography

single frame: Unknown U.S. Soldier

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Camera Reviews

This brick of a camera was the first good camera for many people around and after World War II. I made it work, but I didn’t enjoy using it much. Check out my updated review here.

Argus C3

Updated review: Argus C3

Aside
At the chapel

At the chapel
Yashica-12
Fujifilm Velvia (expired 8-2006)

Down the lane from Crown Hill Cemetery’s south entrance is a fine Gothic chapel. The grounds crew gives its beds great care.

Of all the images I made on this roll of Velvia, I think this one is the Velviest. Just look at all that lush color.

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Film Photography

single frame: At the chapel

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Contemplating boy

Contemplating boy
Yashica-12
Fujifilm Velvia (expired 8-2006)

Inside Crown Hill Cemetery, as you go up what turns out to be the highest hill in Indianapolis, you find the graves of some of our city’s most prominent and wealthy citizens. The markers can be elaborate, sometimes even gaudy.

This statue of a kneeling boy sits on a concrete bench marked “Home Sweet Home.” No name is given. It’s unusual for this part of the cemetery. I’ve always wondered this statue’s story.

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Film Photography

single frame: Contemplating boy

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Autumn display

Autumn display
Yashica-12
Fujifilm Velvia (expired 8-2006)

I took the Yashica-12 and a roll of the original Fujifilm Velvia to Crown Hill Cemetery to photograph some autumn color.

A friend sent me this roll of Velvia a few years ago. It’s the original Velvia, code RVP, expired since August of 2006 but always stored frozen. I’d forgotten about it until the fridge in the garage died. It was where I stored my film.

The Velvia had been on my mind ever since. I hoped to bring it out at autumn’s peak, but wow has life been busy. I had a three-hour window one Saturday what turned out to be two weeks before peak. I loaded the Velvia into the Yashica-12 and headed for Crown Hill Cemetery.

All week I’ll share single frames from that roll.

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Film Photography

single frame: Autumn display

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