Mt. Zion Cemetery Overview
Queens, New York. Mt. Zion is one of the older Jewish cemeteries in New York and unlike newer cemeteries it seems to have the feel of an old Jewish cemetery in Prague or Cracow. With over 200,000 people packed into this relatively small space bordered by a large power plant on one side and the Long Island Expressway on the other, it's a piece of history where time stopped while the rest of New York bustles along in a parallel universe.
Note: I have relatives buried here, more on them coming up...
Comments and faves
!!WaynePhotoGuy, SherrySJ, Chris.Gordon, John Goldsmith, and 35 other people added this photo to their favorites.
paulpablopawel (64 months ago | reply)
May they rest in peace. Nice picture.
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mathteacher... (64 months ago | reply)
Overywhelming is the 1st word that comes to mind..........it looks difficult to even walk around......beautiful capture, Richard.
Ya Ya (64 months ago | reply)
Almost looked like an urban landscape. Land resources is getting more scarce these days. Seems like the future generation will find it harder to RIP.
manlio2810 (64 months ago | reply)
Stunning!
cjanebuy (64 months ago | reply)
I'm ever full of admiration when someone posts a picture the likes of which I have never seen before on flickr and you've certainly done that here. I'm curious about what your vantage point was.
steve.schmeiser (64 months ago | reply)
what a powerful shot. great use of the telephoto to compress the stones.
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Richard- (64 months ago | reply)
Thanks everyone. I have many more but I was on my way out this morning so only got this one up. I'll get more up this afternoon.
We went to two cemeteries on this day and this one was the older and more crowded of the two. Yes, it is difficult to walk around but as steve says, a telephoto compresses things and makes them look a bit tighter than they really are. Still, this one is pretty tight.
Jane: This cemetery s has a road that winds through it in a big "L" (check the map link I added) and we drove to the end which was also a bit higher and then looked back down. I'm still inside the cemetery here with plenty of stones all around me.
Ya Ya: I wish I had a wider lens than 24mm with me as I could have more easily shown, in a single shot, both the power plant on one side and the highway on the other. This place has really been surrounded by new (and ugly) civilization and it while it feels like a crowded urban landscape of stones, what surrounds it makes it look quite orderly and certainly peaceful.
!!WaynePhotoGuy (64 months ago | reply)
WOW...
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Sdrig Feinmann (64 months ago | reply)
Thousands chips of forgotten human beings...
cmrowell (64 months ago | reply)
Amazing shot. Really gives you a sense of the density of the place.
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MarkAndMarina (64 months ago | reply)
Wow - that's awesome; from the thumbnail I thought that it was a shot of loads of skyscrapers :) It looks very chaotic there - I presume that there is actually some kind of order, or an index/plan thing?
Also had to laugh at your comment in the description:
Note: I have relatives buried here, more on them coming up...
- does this mean that your buried relatives are coming up?? Arg - zombies! :)
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Richard- (64 months ago | reply)
neumann: Exactly, however, there's a Jewish tradition of putting a small stone or pebble on a tombstone and many, many, many of the tombstones here had small stones on them which means that people came to visit in recent years. Of course, some of the tombstones were so toppled over there would be no way to place a pebble...
M & M. Yes, there's order, the long lens compression makes this look tighter than it actually is (my intent!). I didn't realize I'd written that and now that you point it out, I love it, thanks. Some of my relatives just might be the types to haunt their offspring...
SherrySJ (64 months ago | reply)
WOW .... all I can say is...it was worth the cold temps Richard!
WOW again big WOW!!!!
photomajik (64 months ago | reply)
Truly amazing and well seen, thanks!
John Goldsmith (64 months ago | reply)
WOW! What else can I say?
tootdood (64 months ago | reply)
Can I join in? WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : )
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Richard- (64 months ago | reply)
Wow, thank you all so very much for the compliments on this image.
Patrick Houlihan (64 months ago | reply)
Really powerful shot, Richard. It reminds me of my childhood and riding past the old cemeteries in New Orleans.
Richard- (64 months ago | reply)
Patrick: exactly, New Orleans cemeteries are very similar. Thanks.
roddh (64 months ago | reply)
great photograph. I love the 'texture' of the image. wow!
Jon Bryant (64 months ago | reply)
Wow, Nice shot!
Richard- (64 months ago | reply)
roddh: right, texture is the right word and compression is the way to get it out of such a big area. Thanks.
Thanks JB.
doow. (63 months ago | reply)
Wow, I've never seen anything like it - thank you for sharing.
Mr Inky (63 months ago | reply)
Very nice - you saw and captured this beautifully.
Dilip Muralidaran (63 months ago | reply)
wow, i've never seen such a crowded cemetery before.
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Richard- (63 months ago | reply)
Sarah and Dilip: I've heard that the old Jewish cemetery in Prague makes this look downright sparse. I'd love to see for myself. Thanks.
Thanks Inky, it would be fun to go back here with you. Maybe in Summer when it's a bit warmer.
~Christy (63 months ago | reply)
Wow. Interesting shot. Reminds me of Asian cemetaries in Hawaii. (Korean, I think) where people are buried on end instead of horizontal because of space considerations. You said the image is compressed, but is that the case here? It sure looks like it.
(And pardon my ignorance on East Coast cemetaries.)
Richard- (63 months ago | reply)
Christina: Yes, I know the similarity with Asian cemeteries, both in Hawaii and in Japan, good observation.
The compression from the long lens (making everything look flatter rather than deeper) just accentuates the already crowded placement of these stones.
And, pardon my ignorance of European cemeteries... someday I'm going to get to Prague and Cracow to the old cemeteries there.
~Christy (63 months ago | reply)
Oops. My question was unclear. What I meant was "It sure looks like they are buried on end." So they actually are? Or is it only the effect from the telephoto?
Pardon my morbid curiosity, but I've always assumed all European cultures laid people horizontally.
Richard- (63 months ago | reply)
Christina: Ah, no, not buried on end (head of feet down), buried the regular old way, except, packed in and in some cases in less than orderly rows.
Photochiel (63 months ago | reply)
Well done! Love the 'telelens distortion'!
Richard- (63 months ago | reply)
Thanks Photochiel, that compression is really fun and interesting to use proactively in thinking about shots.
Photochiel (63 months ago | reply)
I know! And how more 'tele' the more you can 'mess' with your images :-)
Richard- (63 months ago | reply)
Photochiel: 300mm plus a 1.4 extender on my 5D is about as "tele" as I get. Do you have something longer than that? I'd love to have a high end 500mm f/4 lens, oh how I'd love to have that... I'd need a truck to carry it and the money to pay for it but it sure would be fun. It might compress things down into a black hole!
Photochiel (63 months ago | reply)
Unfortunately not :-) My longest telelens is the 70-200 L.
The 5d body costed me about a month's paycheck so I won't be getting any new lenses the next couple of months I guess. I am interested in the 100-400 L lens, though its max. aperture isn't that great (f/5.6).
And yes, love the one you mentioned. I always get quite aroused when I see these 'big boys' at the soccer matches :-)
Richard- (63 months ago | reply)
photochiel: f/5.6 at 400mm will be fine. What I find problematic about that lens (testing it at B&H) is the variable aperture between 100 and 400mm and the push-pull of the zoom. Maybe on a new lens this would work better but the demo unit was awkward, for my anyway. Maybe get a 1.4x extener for your 70-200.
Photochiel (63 months ago | reply)
Oh! Never mind! I really REALLY dislike these lenses which have 'push-pull zooming'. Maybe I'll go for that extender. Though, my lens hasn't got a IS and keeping it steady at 200mm is sometimes pretty hard. When I have a 1.4x or a 2.0x extender, it will be only more difficult... Thanks, Richard.
Richard- (63 months ago | reply)
Go 1.4 extender and put it on a tripod or monopod, I think you'll like the results.
JimReeves (62 months ago | reply)
Its getting crowded here too.
Schoolbookdepository (61 months ago | reply)
Very interesting. The bit of history was a good read too.200K..wow.
Richard- (61 months ago | reply)
Thanks Duncan... another part of the big, wide world. Now, about those Australian penal colony graves...
Daniel Putík (61 months ago | reply)
Very impressive, even though I am from Prague :)
Richard- (61 months ago | reply)
anticlovek: Oh my, how I'd like to come photograph the cemeteries and architecture there. Thanks.
jade19721 (58 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Graveyard - Weekly Theme: "Jewish Cemeteries & Gravestones", and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
Wow this is huge and really crowded.
phoenixesrose (58 months ago | reply)
stunning shot. Thanks for sharing. (Seen in the Graveyard-weekly theme group)
Richard- (58 months ago | reply)
Thanks Jade and phoenix, I'm delighted you both like this image.
Mr. Ducke (58 months ago | reply)
This really is amazing. I was unaware of this cemetery until now, it certainly does hearken back to the crowded 'old world' graveyards..
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adamy323 (53 months ago | reply)
wow! they really packed them in. great photo.
Richard- (53 months ago | reply)
Mr. Ducke and adamy323: If you go there (alive that is) it has an even more packed feel than this photograph portrays. It's a most amazing place and I hope to return there this summer (alive).
Gal Friday (52 months ago | reply)
wow
and amazing shot
You're invited to post this to:
This week's theme is cemeteries and tombstones