HOW I GOT THE SHOT: There are grapes. And there
are grapes. And then there are grapes grown in the Land of Israel. I’m not
bragging or boasting, though I could. I’m not suggesting there is some kind of
magic that possesses the produce of this desert land to make it bigger, better,
more delicious and more delectable, though I could. It’s just that I’ve seen
grapes – I grew up in Northern California, where grapes are deified – and
Israel’s grapes are simply magnificent. Take these, for example: Gorgeous Red
Globes, on the day of harvest, minutes before knife met stem in a vineyard near
Kfar Harif, about 10 km due east of Ashdod. Of course I had my eye on them for
months, having passed this location numerous times on summer excursions to the
beach. With the fortuity known to descend upon the faithful photographer, I
arrived just in time to crate them for eternity.
This shot required what I call “zone” photography, which means
gathering my concentration to gaze upon thousands of little fruits and spy just
the right cluster, where light and perspective and background and perfection of
the subject itself conspire to create a great shot. A little chutzpah is also
required, to hop fences and endure the silent stare of foreign workers
wondering why anyone else would be out in the field at that hour. Balanced on
my knees in the clumpy earth, I used my macro lens to get close and blur the
background, which I kept wide enough to just show off the greens and browns of
leaf and soil.
Take another quick glance. That’s why! Shabbat Shalom.
TECHNICAL DATA: Camera: Nikon D700,
handheld, manual exposure, center-weighted metering mode, f4.2 at 1/60th sec.,
ISO 500. Raw file converted to Jpeg. Lens:
Nikon 28-105mm macro zoom at 55mm in macro mode. Date: Aug. 26, 2012,
6:52 a.m. Location:
Vineyard off Rte. 383, opposite Kfar Harif.
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