October 14, 2009

Photo of the Week: Oct. 14, 2009

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Street photographers have a knack for extracting beauty from urban clutter and man's inhumanity to manmade things. Graffiti, peeling paint, and even garbage are fodder for their art. I have never been drawn to this genre, but occasionally nature's dark side calls to me. Strong color and dynamic composition will entice viewers, but nothing makes people think like a photograph featuring death and decay.

This scene of rotting plums caught my eye as I traversed the Derech Avot (Path of our Forefathers) near my home in Gush Etzion. The multitude of fruit plus their stark color set against the pale stones and shriveled leaves sent one of those creative signals to my brain that here was one of life's great paradoxes: beauty in dying. I held the camera directly overhead and shot straight down at the ground, careful to keep the plane of the sensor (or back of the camera) completely parallel to the ground to ensure edge to edge sharpness. Fall is slowly coming to life in Israel, as nature makes one final roar before acceding to the cycle of seasonal renewal.