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The Old Jewish Cemetery


The Old Jewish Cemetery
Information sur la photo
Copyright: Daniel Kohanski (Wandering_Dan) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 825 W: 108 N: 948] (3379)
Genre: Lieux
Média: Noir & blanc
Date de prise de vue: 1987-05
Catégories: Architecture
Appareil photographique: Olympus OM-1n, Kodachrome
Versions: version originale
Date de soumission: 2008-05-02 7:45
Vue: 496
Points: 18
[Ligne directrice - Note] Note du photographe
The Jewish community in Prague dates back to at least 970 CE. Although it suffered persecution and occasional expulsions, it was one of the most important Jewish sites in eastern Europe, particularly during the XVI and XVII centuries. The Old Jewish Cemetery, pictured here, is said to be the oldest such in Europe. Because space was scarce in the ghetto, bodies were often buried on top of previous tombs, in one section as much as twelve deep. The crowding of the tombstones here reflects that.

At the start of WWII, around 55,000 Jews lived in Prague. Over 2/3 of them died in the Holocaust. Today is Yom Hashoah, the Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust, and I am posting this picture in memory of the Jews of Prague, ז״ל - may their memories be a blessing.

When I visited Prague in 1987, there was at least one (possibly only one) functioning synagogue, the Staranova or Alt-Neue (Old-New) synagogue, but few worshipers, mostly elderly. Since the fall of communism, the community has slowly grown to around 1,700.

Technical: Scanned from slide by ScanCafe. Some Shadow/Highlight adjustments and brushwork to deal with a bit of burnout, followed by B&W conversion with a sepia tone.
Morac, avene, crckt, Dyerco, zmey, albertz trouve(nt) cette note utile
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Discussions
Enchaînement de réflexionsInitiateur de la discussion Messages Modifié
A batalay: 1987 - Prague vs. BudapestWandering_Dan 1 05-03 08:25
A crckt: Just sepiaWandering_Dan 1 05-02 18:36
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Critiques [Translate]

Nice photo! ;)

  • Great 
  • Morac Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1209 W: 171 N: 1441] (11000)
  • [2008-05-02 8:24]

Hello Daniel,
The old Jewish cemetery of Prague is an impressive place.
He is the witness of a partly disappeared history.
He is beautiful and moving.
Thank you.
Marc

Hallo, Dan.

This is a very moving picture, even without any words to explain it. The sepia is right, and the restricted depth of focus gives a sense of infinity beyond. I like the ornate stone on the right balanced by the leaves on the left: life goes on.

Best wishes,
Winifred

  • Great 
  • avene Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1415 W: 78 N: 1815] (6794)
  • [2008-05-02 10:18]

hello Dan,
important photo, and a timely one. I agree with Winifred that the composition you have chosen works well to illustrate what you write in your note about crowding of tombstones. fantastic textures, while the B&W with just a hint of sepia adds a timeless quality to the photo, I like it a lot.

with best regards,
Kristine

  • Great 
  • crckt Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1402 W: 68 N: 1315] (6815)
  • [2008-05-02 18:25]
  • [+]

Hi Daniel,
Your note and the shot is really very nice. Did you add a color tone to it too? I mean not just sepia, but a greenish tone too? It looks really good.
Regards,
Shaeri

  • Great 
  • Dyerco Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1307 W: 17 N: 1398] (5776)
  • [2008-05-02 19:00]

Nicely done Dan. A good posting and write up. Lest we forget.
Phil

Hello Dan,

You've chosen the ideal vantage point to accentuate the overcrowding. I remember seeing a Jewish cemetery in Brooklyn where the headstones reflected a similar high density, and where I was told the bodies were interred vertically. Your burnished/brushwork effect is very effective here, and the sepia conveys a timelessness. It has been twenty-one years since you took this photograph, and just three years later the wall came down, and what a remarkable transformation has taken place in Eastern Europe since. Would you have anticipated any of this in 1987.

Warm regards, Daniel,

Bulent

I like the sepia tone of this picture as i read the note. Excellent Dan.
Thanks for sharing.
Albert

  • Great 
  • zmey Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1363 W: 102 N: 1393] (5398)
  • [2008-05-04 7:14]

hello daniel

my first thought was that this photo lacks sufficient contrasts (just looking at the thumbnail), but after reading your story i realize your approach here serves well to tell the story of multi-layered burials. fascinating. we do the same in latvia, but usually there is no overcrowding of tombstones. there must such history of lineages in this place all written in stone.

good note too! TFS

kristaps

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