HOW I GOT THE SHOT: My love affair with the
Pomegranate tree is seemingly boundless. Since landing in Israel 13 years ago and
soon after buying a home with a single, mature tree in the garden, I have
watched the trees bud, blossom and burgeon, moving regally through various
growth stages until branches droop under the weight of mature, crimson fruits.
Complementing the spring and summer drama, the trees bow out post-harvest with
a golden display of fall leaves before settling in for a well-earned winter
respite.
This is a close up of a flowering fruit, as they normally
appear in late spring. Younger buds, pre-flower, are seen at the base of the
main fruit. As I almost always try to do with leafy flowers, I looked for the
backlit angle set against a dark background to make the subject “pop.” Exposure
is critical so using a spot metering mode, I measured the highlights on the
tips of the orange flower and set my aperture-shutter speed combination
accordingly. I also composed the image with some of the foreground leaves and
buds to give the image greater depth. The flowers eventually dry out and fall,
but the fruit hangs on, perhaps destined to adorn a table come the Jewish new
year.
TECHNICAL DATA: Nikon
D70, tripod mounted, manual exposure, spot metering mode, f10 at 1/500th sec.,
ISO 400. Raw file converted to Jpeg. Lens: Nikon 28-105mm
macro zoom at 105mm. Date: Mar. 22, 2007, 1:49
p.m. Location: Efrat, Judean
Mountains, Central Israel.
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