2011 Photo Contest, Arts and Entertainment, 3rd prize

Altneuland

Photographer

Amit Sha'al

12 April, 2010

A series of archive photos set against their present-day backdrops in Israel.

About the photographer

Amit Sha'al

Israeli photographer Amit Sha'al was born in 1974 and works as staff photographer on the daily business newspaper Calcalist. He also works as an independent photographer on long ...

Background story

Jerusalem, Israel

The Wailing Wall, the most sacred site in Judaism, seen in 1967 and 2010. From a series of archive photos set against their present-day backdrops in Israel. The photographer rested his arm on a tripod so that his hand did not move while juxtaposing the images.

Photo credit:
Calcalist

Amit Sha'al speaks about the project:
"I took black and white photos from 1926 to 1979, and went across Israel to locate the exact spots where they were taken. I held the photos in front of me and shot a wider photo, when the colored 2010 reality continues where the black and white photo ends. In some places, it seems nothing has changed, but in others, the buildings have changed their purpose and the black and white people are 'planted' strangely in today's reality. The photos portray three different times: the old black and white photos, the present colored photos and the time that have passed between capturing both photos. The third time mentioned is not a visual one, but a mental and emotional dimension, filled in by the knowledge we have of what dramatic changes have happened between the two times."

Technical information

Shutter Speed
1/250 s
Focal length
16 mm
F-Stop
f/22
ISO
400

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