Jewish Cemetary in Belgrade

First of all, I know what you're thinking, a Jewish cemetery in Belgrade? Surprisingly yes. While the Jewish population in Serbia is not exactly booming (there is one temple in Belgrade and the rabbi services all of Serbia and Macedonia), the community is fairly left alone.

I am lucky enough to have several Jewish friends, one of whom I visited when I was in Serbia. With her I attended a few services as well as the holiday Purim, and she took me to the Jewish cemetery. Up until then I had neither been to a Jewish service or cemetery and was thrilled at the opportunity.



I love cemeteries but would like to pre-defend myself by saying I am not morbid or ghoulish. Cemeteries say a lot about a country's culture and its people. And, since November is the month of the dead, I'm taking the opportunity to explore that love and share some of my pictures.



One of my favorite things about cemeteries is how peaceful they are, however trite that may sound. I get nervous when there's no noise, not necessarily noise as in voices or music, but normal noises, wind, breezes, birds, etc. Cemeteries seem to somehow be exempt from this and I can wander around quietly and contemplate deep thoughts (ok maybe I don't really contemplate deep thoughts so much as daydream but whatever...)

Hallowmas

Yesterday was Halloween-- All Hallow's Eve. It may seem strange that I'm posting a photo of mosaic skeletons, but to me, the timing of this post is perfect. Today is the Feast of All Saints, or Hallowmas ("hallows" meaning "saints" and "mas" meaning "Mass"). In some parts of the world, they call it The Day of the Dead (Hungary, Italy, France) or el Dia de los Muertos (Mexico) where people visit cemeteries and celebrate death as the next journey by decorating tombstones, and eating special foods (like Bread of the Dead (pan de muerto). As far as I have ever known, in America, there isn't much celebration involved with this holy day (holiday) outside of immigrant communities. However, today is the day that we attend Mass to remember all of the faithful saints and martyrs, known or unknown. Tomorrow, is the commemoration of all those who have died, but have not yet reached heaven -- All Souls Day. The picture above was taken at the Franciscan Monastery Commisserat of the Holy Land in America, in Washington, DC. It is a beautiful monastery, and while this single mosaic from the wall of the Purgatory chapel is morbid, do not let it color your interpretation of the entire place.

The Monastery is incredibly beautiful, with collonades, a walking rosary (both shown above), and replicas of various holy sites including Lourdes (shown at the bottom with a statue of St. Bernadette), Bethlehem, and the early Christian catacombs. There are also several grottoes on site; this one is to commemorate death and resurrection. There is also a mosaic of the raising of Lazarus on the opposite wall.

I highly recommend a visit to this place, if ever you need a beautiful place of peace and serenity amid the hustle and bustle of DC, or to see the replicas of sites from the Holy Land. Be sure to stop by and visit gift shop, even if it is a little kitschy. The do have a wide selection of excellent books, and some interesting small gifts.

My pictures of this site aren't that great right now. I am due for another visit back so I can take some better, sharper pictures. I believe that Andrea probably has some good shots (with much better narrative)that she is likely to share here very soon.

Olympus 35mm, 200spd film

Photo of the Day - The Road Less Traveled

As I mentioned in my previous 'Photo of the Day' post, I recently went on a hike to Catoctin Mountain National Park with my Dad while he was in town. I told him before we went, that we were on a "photog mission." That is, I really wanted to take some fresh shots so that I could post them here. One of my favorite shots is what I call, the 'Trail Shot.' I find that I take these kinds of shots whereever I go. It doesn't always have to be a hiking trail, but it could be a road, a narrow passage, or even a cute alley tucked away behind some tall buildings. This shot, I really like because you can follow the length of the un-blazed trail as far as the eye can see. I love the way the light and shadow are scattered, but still manage to pick up the lush greens, bright yellows, oranges, and rich browns along the trail.

I don't know why I'm so drawn to shots like this, but nevertheless, I am. Whenever I shoot one of these, a single line of Robert Frost scrolls through my brain, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."

Here is the rest of the poem for you to enjoy:

The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

by Robert Frost

Sony Cybershot 7.2 MP, digital format

Photo of the Day - Parliament

As I've mentioned previously, my activities in Budapest consisted mainly of wandering around in the freezing cold taking pictures while my hands and fingers, ungloved so as to work the camera, got frostbite. No, seriously it really was not that cold, but it was cold enough to necessitate a long sleeve shirt, a very heavy sweater, thick scarf, long wool coat, hat, and gloves.

One of my favorite buildings in Budapest is their Parliament. It is one of the most lavish creations I've seen in a while and I took about a million (small exaggeration) pictures of it. The best views of the building were actually from the Buda side of the Danube. If you stood on an overlook in the Castle district you could see the entire building in all it's domed and spired glory.



And, thanks to the folks at Snapfish, I managed to create a print of the above photo that reminds me of the type of postcard you can buy that's an old picture. It's the sepia tone and the fuzzy white border that does it but still, neat.



Budapest is one of those cities that looks "right" in black and white or sepia. It's age seems to be more comfortable with those romantic tones than it does in color.

Pentax 35 mm film

Photo of the Day - A Walk in the Woods

Chimney Rock, Catoctin Mountain National Park

Last weekend, my Dad came for a visit. I thought it might be a great opportunity to show him some of the things that I really like to do. One of those things is visiting National Parks. Deciding that I wanted to hit up a park that I hadn't visited yet, I made plans to go to a stretch of the Appalachian Trail: Catoctin Mountain National Park. The park is located about 15 miles away from Gettysburg on the Maryland side of the Mason-Dixon line. Visiting this park turned out to be my best idea for the whole weekend because not only did we take a 3 hour hike up the mountain to see (and shoot) some beautiful scenery together, but we also visited two apple orchards where they unbelieveably had no donuts, and also Gettysburg National Battlefield Park where it turns out, my Dad has wanted to visit since he was a kid.


I'm going to be sharing a number of these shots in the next few weeks, because I have many that turned out very well. In the meantime, here are a couple more just to whet your pallette for something autumnal:

Moss and Leaves, Catoctin Mountain

Pumpkin Pyramid, Catoctin Mountain Apple Orchard; Thurston, MD

Sony Cybershot 7.2MP, Digital Format