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Photo of the Week: Mar. 6, 2014

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Nature has many nuances. An hour can stretch a shadow, a week can open a blossom, a month can transform a dull and bristly patch of parched earth into a canvas of color to be devoured with the eyes for hours. Likewise, from year to year, the vagaries of wind and weather or a diesel-powered plow can alter the character of a specific site. Last year, an abundance of rain nourished the upper Judean Desert and these almost-always brown hills just east and below Jerusalem were greener than they had been in recent memory. And purpler, too, if you knew where to look.

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I was nearly startled as I drove up from the Dead Sea and noticed these lilac blankets of Diplotaxis acris, or wall rockets, that flourish in rocky Mediterranean desert terrain. I returned early one morning a few days later and climbed up on foot to capture this view. I am fond of using lines to energize a scene and move the viewer through the photo and I like the way the strong diagonals in this composition lead into the landscape and give depth to the photo. Because I was on a hill directly adjacent to the highway, I had to work hard to find a perspective that excluded the highway, the houses of Mitzpe Jericho, and a nearby Bedouin encampment. Proof positive that in Israel, the desert really is a-bloom.

TECHNICAL DATA – Camera: Nikon D700, tripod mounted, manual exposure, center-weighted metering mode, f/16 at 1/125th sec., ISO 200. Raw file converted to Jpeg. Lens: Nikon 28-105mm zoom at 28mm. Date: Feb. 21, 2013, 7:43 a.m. Location: Judean Desert near Mitzpe Yericho.

Photo of the Week: Feb. 28, 2014

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: The weather makers like me. It’s probably because I don’t complain, but rather kvell over their creativity and take every advantage to get out with my camera when the winds begin to stir. Following a day of rain, the morning arrived misty and damp. A thick fog battled a rising sun and in the ensuing tangle, magical light spread out across the Judean Hills.

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This shot emerged just past sunrise as I climbed the stone stairway from the lower parking area of the Sataf Nature Reserve near Ein Kerem. Recalling the advice of photographer David Huffines to, “Turn around, because your best picture might be behind you,” I paused to rest and gaze back down the hill. Soft artist’s light, pastel colors and fallen blossoms converged into a dreamy composition.

I have to admit my mind was directed toward a particular image for a client seeking a cover shot for a book about life lessons learned in Israel. I liked the metaphor of the pathway leading into the distance and almond blossoms are as much a symbol of Israel as any natural feature blessing the land. Nature’s beauty is in her imperfection. Likewise, this image has its share of faults, in particular the hole in the blossoms at the top left corner and the branch pile in the lower right corner. Nevertheless, the feeling of that entire morning still resonates within me when I look at this photo. The almond blossoms have nearly faded and once again I am grateful for climbing out of bed and diving into the day.

TECHNICAL DATA – Camera: Nikon D700, handheld, manual exposure, center-weighted metering mode, f/13 at 1/60th sec., ISO 400. Raw file converted to Jpeg. Lens: Nikon 24-70mm zoom at 35mm. Date: Feb. 17, 2014, 7:08 a.m. Location: Sataf Nature Reserve.

Photo of the Week: Feb. 20, 2014

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: We are in the midst of a quiet revolution. The march of technology has stirred an awakening: the battle for our attention is being lost. Living with full awareness –with all senses alert and engaged – is the most powerful way to live. It is called mindfulness and its practice is essential to photography.

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One of the devilish devices that diverts our attention is the digital camera. Ironically, the camera is also an invaluable tool abetting the practice of mindfulness. In our pursuit of pictures, our mind learns to focus and concentrate on seeing better. It becomes more aware.

That is why I can spontaneously walk into an ordinary nursery and make a beeline for a single flower – a perfect purple kalanit (anemone) – draw my camera and fire off a single shot. And as I raise the camera to my eye, I can see the entire image, from the point of focus to the kaleidoscopic background. I know immediately where to stand, how high to hold the camera, which lens to use and which settings to select. I am quick and direct in my choices, because my mind, as well as my eyes, is unburdened by distraction, wide open and clear.

TECHNICAL DATA – Camera: Nikon D700, handheld, manual exposure, center-weighted metering mode, f/5 at 1/200th sec., ISO 200. Raw file converted to Jpeg. Lens: Nikon 24-70mm zoom at 70 mm. Date: Dec. 24, 2013, 3:39 p.m. Location: Baka neighborhood, Jerusalem.

Photo of the Week: Feb. 5, 2014

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: One of the great joys of photography is its boundless creativity. After investing considerable effort documenting the expansive grandeur of the Ruchama Forest, I reached into my camera bag for a telephoto lens and snapped on a new set of eyes to go along with it. I’ve been experimenting with this style of composition for a few years, seeking new ways to frame subjects using highly blurred side elements. To achieve this effect, depth of field must be reduced to its absolute minimum by opening up to a large aperture and by zooming out with a long lens. Both contribute to an extreme narrowing of depth, allowing the lens to hone in sharply on a single point of interest. 

It also didn’t hurt to lie on my stomach, let the wind shake things up and go eye to eye with my subjects. Anemones are at their finest under strong, midday sunlight, when they are fully open. But that’s an awful time to shoot. So finding a new angle and soft backlight to illuminate their petals helped put a new dress on Israel’s floral finery. The magic of spring is its brevity. So short lived are the colorful wildflowers that miraculously pop out of the ground each year, just knowing they will be gone soon makes their appearance all the more beautiful.

TECHNICAL DATA – Camera: Nikon D700, handheld, manual exposure, center-weighted metering mode, f/4 at 1/400th sec., ISO 400. Raw file converted to Jpeg. Lens: Nikon 70-200 zoom at 190 mm. Date: Feb 26, 2012, 3:03 p.m. Location: Ruchama Forest, Western Negev.

Photo of the Week: Jan. 29, 2014

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: There is an old trick pro photographers employ to find great shots in places they’ve never visited before: they head to the nearest newsstand and scan the postcard rack. I could have used some help the first time I sped off to the Western Negev in search of the Scarlet South, the Jewish National Fund’s annual wildflower festival. With a photographer friend in tow, I drove around for several hours and stopped numerous locals to ask, “Where are the flowers?” Nobody knew. We returned home empty handed.

The following year, I did my homework and charted a course for the Ruchama Forest, which lies opposite the community of Ruchama off road 334. Traveling down the road, even at moderate speed, there is nary a clue of the magnificent treasure concealed but a short bump and a shake down a dirt road. Carpets of red anemones, which cover the forest floor and which give the festival its name, lie hidden beyond a series of low hillocks.

This shot features but one aspect of this annual spectacle, a thinly planted grove a young Eucalyptus trees with their colorful spring companions. The floral display is fleeting, peaking in mid-to-late-February and dying out in early March. If you go, I guarantee you won’t just be seeing green.

TECHNICAL DATA – Camera: Nikon D700, tripod-mounted, manual exposure, center-weighted metering mode, f/16 at 1/200th sec., ISO 400. Raw file converted to Jpeg. Lens: Nikon 70-200 zoom at 125 mm. Date: Feb 21, 2012, 9:54 a.m. Location: Ruchama Forest, Western Negev.