Photos

“I shall tell you a great secret my friend. Do not wait for the last judgement, it takes place every day.” Albert Camus

THE PLACE:
Brasilia's cemetery was built to be a simple and calm place of rest for its residents. The name of the cemetery helps to set the mood that its intended: Field of Hope.

Lucio Costa (the man who designed Brasilia) made it clear that the cemetery should be simple and yet beautiful, with as much green areas as possible. With no luxurious tombs, it should be similar to the English ones.

Brasilia's cemetery started to be used in the late 50'ies and it is still in use, serving as the main final resting place for the habitants of Brasilia.

Generally speaking it could be considered a pretty well kept place. Its clean and full of a nice vegetation. The administration takes good care of the older tombs, since they are often tombs of the so called pioneers of Brasilia.

But of course, that isn't true to all the persons buried here... In the image we see the almost abandoned part of the cemetery. Those people are the dead of the 80'ies, and seem forgotten in time. For them, there seems to be no hope in this field. Ironically the 80'ies where considered the lost decade for Brazil (because of a lot of problems in our economy during that time).

THE PHOTO:
This photo uses the "thirds" technique to land the main cross right at a interest point. The tight composition tries to take the sky out of the picture and make the picture more focused. The B&W was the first choice for this picture, and IMO it fits just right. Maybe a better B&W contrast and such could be achieved; WORKSHOPS on this are more than welcome.

CURIOUS AND USEFUL FACTS ABOUT THE FIELD OF HOPE CEMETERY:

- The field of hope was where one of the most memorable and historical burials of the Brazilian history took place. The city of Brasilia was created by the democratic chosen president Juscelino Kubitschek, but he died during the Military Dictatorship (the so called dark years for Brazil). His burial was both the goodbye for a charismatic leader and a protest against the military govern. While the coffin was buried a sea of people where shouting: "Hail the President! Long live to democracy!".

- Ironically one of the very first burial of the Field of Hope was of its creator: Bernado Sayão. Bernado died when a falling tree hit him in the construction of a road. The tree that killed him was used to make his cross.

- The Field of Hope name is an homage to an old slave lady (from the pre-Brasilia construction age) that lived in a farm where the cemetery is made. She was known as a very good and helpful lady. She contracted Lepra and for fear of the disease people left her to die alone and than buried far from everyone else. The cemetery is a way for her not to feel alone. The name of the old slave lady was Esperança (Hope).