December 14, 2015, The New Haven Independent, by Staff - On the eighth night of Hanukkah, when it appeared that no new surprises could be found on this miracle-themed holiday, this picture materialized.In the days of the Maccabees—or even five years ago—no one would have thought such a miracle would be possible. Call it a miracle of technology. The photo was shot from the sky of a celebration that took place Sunday night in Westville Village. A crowd of Jews and non-Jews alike gathered in the parking lot at Blake and Whalley to eat latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (donuts) provided by Chabad of Westville whose rabbi, Yossi Hodakov, organized the event and lit the candles on the menorah. It was the eighth, and last, night of the holiday. So all lights were lit. Meanwhile, this drone hovered above. (The drone is owned by Shane McLellan, who has a studio across town in Erector Square.) It took a photo of the crowd assembled as a human menorah sent it to Lotta Studio, the new photography collective at Whalley and Blake, where Luke Hansom processed the image and Mistina Hanscom collected the print. Within moments of the actual event, prints were on sale for $10. Lotta Studio also hosted a kosher wine tasting featuring expert Elliot Brause.

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