Gone to flowers Photo

Photographer’s Note

Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young girls gone?
Taken husbands every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young men gone?
Gone for soldiers every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Covered with flowers every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?

By Pete Seeger, inspired by Leo Tolstoj, from War and Peace

Some time ago I posted this photo of the American WWII cemetery in Luxembourg. Only half a mile away is the German war cemetery from the very same Battle of the Bulge in the winter 1944-1945. The Germans suffered heavier losses than the allies, but this cemetery holds the same number of graves as the American, namely 5000. What is remarkable, is the age of these boys. They were mostly between 16 and 20, whereas the American soldiers were considerably older. In those last months of the war, Hitler sent even the youngest of the young.

Today is Easter Sunday, and seeing that cemetery the other day reminded me of the song I have posted above.

The photo was cropped, clarified, resized and sharpened for the web.

MvS, Albrecht, Wirraway, avigur_11, carper, apazevedo, Tue, mortijo, jhm, nwoehnl, mumek, jmdaoudal, premels, alvaraalto, Suh, pelayo, sayzey has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

bantonbuju (48796) 2005-03-27 10:18

hi per, its a cemetery day (me posted the one from ww II as well) but the pic you present today is a beautiful one, very serious but on the other hand - quite "vivid" one (if this is right word for the thing);
very nice post;
have a happy easter, jerzy

MvS (4163) 2005-03-27 10:30

Per,
Great depth and colours. The crosses seems almost to be floating on top of the lawn. Beautiful.
Regards,
Magnus

Albrecht (11223) 2005-03-27 10:37

Wonderful composition. Nice soft colors, perhaps too... Good POV and DOF,well done, Albrecht

Wirraway (1985) 2005-03-27 10:43

Nicely done Per, the scene matches your note perfectly, well balnced composition, excellent.

Regards Ian
Brisbane

piotrkweclich (792) 2005-03-27 10:45

Really good shot, light green contrast well with crosses. Great:):)

avigur_11 (21307) 2005-03-27 11:05

A very good composition, Per. Excellent POV behind the cross, and from a high position above the plane. The song is very well chosen for the excellent note. Very good shot.

jboj (249) 2005-03-27 12:13

it's a beautiful view, if beuatiful is appropriate to say about a cementery and tragedy that stays behind it. well done composition and thanks for adding the poem.

MaJose (427) 2005-03-27 12:16

Very good shot.
I like the colors, the scene and the composition.

carper (65742) 2005-03-27 12:41

With deep respect Per,
And we will thank ........
Very good composition, good depth, fantastic note, very good job.
gr. Jaap

Gdouble (5245) 2005-03-27 13:28

Thank you for this tribute to the victims of war. The poem is beautifull. The compo of the picture is great. The great cross that watches over the little ones.
Guy

apazevedo (5469) 2005-03-27 13:49

In spite of the fact this is for me a fantastic shot, Per, I also think it has an extra value, and that is very well explained in your note.
Anyway, I liked it very much , it is indeed a great work!

Hanssie (9133) 2005-03-27 14:11

really nice, the green fields full of crosses and the tree and cross in the foreground, great picture from you, Per !

dolin (15647) 2005-03-27 14:24

Hi.
Nice composition.
The framing and the DOF is really nice.
Two colors : Green and Gray , excellent.
Great pic.
Fred

Tue (25608) 2005-03-27 17:36

Very good picture with a good composition! I like the POV with one cross in front and the others in the background. Well done!

strangiato (76) 2005-03-28 0:20

This photo feels like 3D. The crosses further away seem to be floating between the trees at the back and the cross in front. Excellent.

john_c (24635) 2005-03-28 1:29

An outstanding and indeed eerie scene, most appropriate for the Easter weekend. The contrasting colours give the scene strength. The note is also appropos. Regards.

mortijo (12416) 2005-03-28 5:28

Hi Per, I found this one reading a critique on one of Carper's shots. Very well done. Good composition and nice, soft colors. I know the place well. Your note is very, very good.
Greetings,

John

jhm (83378) 2005-03-28 5:43

Hi Per,
The most of our have not seen them, but me cannot forget them, I was there however, but I have not seen them also.
Beautiful memory photograph.
Thanks Per!
Cheers,
John.

nwoehnl (120) 2005-03-28 10:31

A very poignant note to go with this photo, Per. The composition you made in this one is particularly striking with the big cross in the foreground establishing the profoundly sad topic, and the repetition in the back amplifying this senseless loss of lives on all sides. Well done, and thanks.

mumek (17510) 2005-03-28 14:13

Fantastic composition, very good depth of the field. Nice colors and excellent light. This is a very beautiful and artistic capture of cemetery.Congratulations Per! The note is very informative. Thanks for posting
best regards
ziggy

jmdaoudal (82) 2005-03-28 23:56

Great subject full of nostalgy and history.
It is a perfect sight to a war that destroyed so much people 's lifes.
The composition is tight to the subject and very well built with the foregrond from a tight cross to a field from those. Colors and whole quality are good.
I like it
Jean Michel

Jeppe (18623) 2005-03-30 16:45

En meget fin og stærk kompostion du har fundet her - passer perfekt til stemmingen i den fine lyrik også - tak Per et fint billede at kikke på og noget at tænke over i påsken.

premels (2400) 2005-04-02 17:17

I had liked your picture of the american cemetery for the long curvy perspective. This one is even better. The geometry made up by those repeated crosses is really strong. The idea to have a close up of the repeated motive in the foreground is a success.

alvaraalto (5303) 2005-04-04 9:15

Hi Per,
Very well done, this little monument you made here on TL. After all we mustn't forget the past, for else we can't learn from it.
groet Rob

sarju (5308) 2005-04-24 0:08

very impressive shot
i guess your note says it all
cheers
sarju

Suh (10) 2005-05-24 16:40 [Comment]

Show Comment +

paulartus (824) 2005-06-04 1:10

I am humbled by the points your photos score and wonder if I am even qualified to critique!
Still, I love the colours in this photo. The crosses which form a regular pattern in the background look almost like a wallpaper. There is a certain degree of animosity with this cross in particular having no identification, just a marker to represent what was once a living breathing human being.

Stepan (27175) 2005-06-06 15:25

Your frame is absolutely perfect and the way you focused too.
Great job.
Stéphane

sayzey (2358) 2005-08-10 8:57

Hey, very good photo, I like how you have used this large cross as foreground interest and then we can still see all the crosses at the back.

I think this is a fitting tribute to all those who died, it is indeed a shame that those so yound shoudl lose their life in a war like this.

roshangar (1493) 2005-10-14 8:44

Hi Per, It's a poetic shot, specialy I Like the combination of green and grey who gives more meaning to your composition!
and the poem, thanks for sharing it!

Andrzej_HHH (2558) 2006-11-07 14:38

Excellent shot of a cementary, great composition. Very interesting and original note. Good work! Andrzej

Photo Information

Copyright: Per Hoj (hojper) (2830)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-03-25
Categories: Ceremony
Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20
Exposure: f/3.3, 1/125 seconds
More Photo Info: view
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Cemeteries, Crosses / Croix, All Saints War Cemeteries. [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2005-03-27 9:39
Favorites: 1 [view]