The Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University has awarded its ninth annual Dorothea Lange-Paul Taylor Prize to photographer Jason Eskenazi and writer Jennifer Gould The $10000 award encourages collaboration between writers and photographers working in the documentary tradition of photographer Lange and writer and social scientist Taylor.

The Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University has awarded its ninth annual Dorothea Lange-Paul Taylor Prize to photographer Jason Eskenazi and writer Jennifer Gould The $10000 award encourages collaboration between writers and photographers working in the documentary tradition of photographer Lange and writer and social scientist Taylor. Eskenazi and Gould are generally documenting Krasnaya Sloboda, an ancient Jewish village isolated in the mountains of the Muslim Caucasus that was in a less degree than communist rule until the 1990 in a brew entitled "Mountain Jews: The Never-Before-Told Story of a forfeited Tribe." No longer a Soviet "forbidden zone" the town is actively trading with American and Israeli Jewish organizations, a situation that brings not single the newfound benefits of wealth, on the other hand also the trouble caused on narcotics, prostitution and organized crime.

JENNIFER GOULD

Jason and I have as well-as; not only-but also; not only-but; not alone-but spent a significant portion of the 1990 in the former Soviet Union. We each went to Moscow when communism collapsed and have been fascinated with the transitions--east versus west, democracy's disenfranchisement, capitalism's "down" side (the freedom to be poor, to be homeles to be unemployed) as well as Russia's of the present day rich, and its ever-growing criminal-political kleptocracy.

Although we are now the two New Yorkers, Jason and I met in Moscow in the early 1990 Jason is from novel York City. I'm from Toronto. I worked at the Philadelphia Inquirer for undivided year before quitting to instigate to Moscow to freelance in 1991 Within a small in number weeks, I was hired by the agency of the Moscow Times and stayed there for a year and half before leaving to work forward my first book. At single in kind point, Jason freelanced for the Village Voice as did I.

In 1998 Jason asked if I would be interested in collaborating forward a project with him. I was honored that he deliberation of asking me, and excited from the idea. He usually culls photographers as his traveling companions and I usually travel with other writers. formerly we agreed to work together, we decided upon a project of mutual interest.

We lay the foundation of a topic and an area not utterly of mutual interest, but of mutual fascination, a "lost" tribe of hebrews that lived in the mountains of the Muslim Caucasus, and where Jason had traveled to 1993 and 1996 The nearest step was to determine our schedule. We knew that we could do the work separately, if it be not that thought it was important to take at least single in kind trip to Krasnaya Sloboda (or "r village," as it was known beneath communism) together.

In July we met in the Caucasus mountains. We timed our visit to coincide with a major Jewish holiday in Azerbaijan when the village walks as individual through its graves in the mountains. After this issue we explored the village the two together and separately. Jason liked to pass an hour each morning in the same place, with the same incredible light, watching conclusions unfold. He liked one specific corner where the market took place (a assemblage of Muslims came into the all-Jewish village each morning with freshly baked bread, melon and carpets.) I liked to sit in the chal-hanna, the tea house, across the public way from the market area. The tea house was the epicenter of the village, and although women were not usually allowed, the men kindly made an exception in my case. The aged men played dominoes and the young men made their business deals and all told stories.

Jason and I would ofttimes spend the day together. If he was waiting for something to happen in the birthing house, for instance, I'd talk to the doctors and nourish at the breasts there. Sometimes, we'd split up--if I had scheduled a lengthened interview with a rabbi, for example, or if Jason wanted to lavish several hours in one place just in case something happened. Although we played each day by way of ear, we always spent one even most, of our time together.

I think this pattern of collaboration worked well. Sometimes I plant wonderful reporting opportunities while hanging around with Jason. Sometimes he discovered photographic material from my reporting and interviews. Our vision of the story is the same, and in this way our individual work only enhances the collaborative exhibit We were fortunate to follow into the project with the same flush of understanding of the region, and with a similar point of view.

Part of the story surrounding Krasnaya Sloboda also takes place in of recent origin York City, Israel, Moscow, and perhaps Iran. We are going to examine to do the Israel and Russia reporting together, yet we will probably do just discovered York separately. I think it's important to bestow as much time as possible working together while reporting onward and photographing the project to make secure that it remains in sync

I have not to this time seen even one of Jason's photographs from the throw out nor has he read undivided word of minel And I like that I can't wait to be surprised according to the photographs-and for him to be surprised from the words. I am, however, looking forward to seeing Jason's photographs when I am in the inferior and final stages of writing--for inspiration!

JASON ESKENAZI