,From a strip mall storefront in the town of Lod, 93-year-old Michoel Almagor photographed the growing pains of the Jewish state for over half a century. Now that his darkroom has been shuttered, he’s developed into a techie, exposing his pictures for poste
COLOR ORIGINAL “I’m no genius but thank G-d I’m still curious even at my age. A good photographer needs to be curious. If my father could see what I’m capable of doing with all this new equipment he’d roll over in his grave from surprise and joy. I used to spend hours in the darkroom especially when color was introduced. Do you know how I’d have to patchke to get a good color print?” This Almagor color original shows Maxim Levy on an election tour of the Lod shuk 1983
M ost rooms of the Yad L’Yad chesed organization in the Israeli town of Lod are buzzing with askanim on their cell phones. Yet there’s one small alcove that doesn’t deal with care packages and checks but rather another kind of tzedakah — inside 93-year-old Michoel (Marcelo) Almagor is creating an invaluable gift of the past for the generations of the future.
When Almagor arrived in Eretz Yisrael from Romania in 1948 he settled in the nascent town of Lod and opened a photo studio. He would go on to take tens of thousands of pictures documenting the history of his adopted city and of the country at large for over half a century. Those priceless photos were sitting collecting dust in forgotten albums until Yad L’Yad director Reb Yaakov Gloiberman encouraged his elderly friend to make those pictures available to the public through modern technology — and he would provide the means.
Not only did Gloiberman ensure that an entire history book of pictures would be universally accessible he also gave Almagor a new lease on life.
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