Photo of the Week: June 14, 2010

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Driving through vast, empty stretches of Israel's deserts, I am always amazed to suddenly spy on the horizon a thriving grove of date palms amid the endless rock and sand. A brief stroll in the cooling shade of a palm forest is a welcome stop on any desert journey, and, of course, an opportunity to photograph.

With the sun high in the sky, I left the Arava Highway in southern Israel near Kibbutz Ketura and parked alongside the grove. I wandered among the towering trees for a few minutes, studying the light and looking for a good place to capture the feeling of standing among giants. I chose my ultra wide, 12-24 mm zoom lens to include as many of the frond fans as possible, in order to make the subject clearly recognizable and emphasize the feeling of standing in a forest. I pointed my camera up to the sky and adjusted my position so the sun moved behind one of the thick tree trunks, thus enabling me to shoot directly toward a very bright light source.

Date palms have been a source of food and shelter for millennia in this region of the world. The Hebrew word for date palm is Tamar, also a popular girl's name which has come to symbolize grace and elegance, and, one might add, a bit of chutzpah to grow so well in such a harsh environment.

TECHNICAL DATA: Nikon D300, 12-24 zoom at 12mm, f16 @1/160 sec.

Photo of the Week: June 8, 2010

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: I doubt whether the developers of the Ein Boqeq Dead Sea Resort considered the aesthetic impact of plopping more than a dozen sprawling hotels along this tranquil, desert seashore. Nevertheless, the virtues of man and nature do sometimes merge to display a beauty that transcends the environmental impact, if only momentarily. Like many of my photographs, this shot resulted from my observation over many visits to the area that early in the morning, the wind often subsides and the sea becomes a reflecting pool. When such conditions prevail, a photographer needs only to find a good vantage point, which on this outing required abandoning the hotel grounds and venturing onto a salty spit that appeared to stretch all the way to Jordan.

I composed the image with perfect vertical symmetry, allowing the tip of the arrowhead formed by the mountain reflection to determine the left edge of the photo. The right side was more problematic. I could have cropped out the half hotel that falls on the right edge, but it acts as a barrier to the eye's habit of wandering off the image. It also preserves the position of the highest peak roughly along one of the vertical thirds, thus strengthening the overall composition.

As I settled my tripod in the selected location, I realized two significant things about this brief excursion to satisfy my creative thirst. First, I was the only witness to this beautiful site. Most tourists sleep later than I do and few, if any, would detour onto a barren, dangerous looking, and certainly uninviting piece of land. My second insight was one I've had many times: the photo allows me to share a familiar site from a new and different perspective. A fraction of a second to record the sight, sandwiched between two hours of peace of mind watching the day come alive.

TECHNICAL DATA: Nikon D200, 18-70 zoom at 18mm, f11 @1/125 sec.

Photo of the Week: June 1, 2010

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: I try not to delve too deeply into meaning in my photographs. Why a particular image speaks to me may have no relation to how other viewers see it. This is even more important when a photo contains a bit of mystery, such as this shot of a stone stairway along a trail in the Banias Nature Reserve on the Golan Heights. Words redirect our thoughts and our imagination should really be left alone to wander where it will.

The intrigue of this shot has two sources. First, there are the old stones, worn smooth by time, and which recall another era, a different world altogether. They are unlike most stairs we encounter on a daily basis, oddly crooked and meandering. Secondly, the stairs go up, disappearing on their way to some unseen destination. They are a visual metaphor for passage to something new, better, and higher.

As longtime readers of this blog know by now, no image fully succeeds without interesting light. Here the sun just brushes the tops of the stairs while leaving the risers in shadow, a perfect combination to give form and texture to each individual stone. Sometimes the sun is in just the right position to accent the landscape and reveal the beauty in something so simple and mundane that otherwise we might just tread on it unaware.

Technical Data: Nikon D200, ISO 200, 18-70 zoom at 55mm, f5.6 at 1/125 sec.

Photo of the Week: May 27, 2010

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Anyone who observes me shooting at a simcha will often see me holding my camera hip high or resting it on a tabletop or on the floor, all while continuing to shoot the action. With automatic focus, I need only worry that my zoom is wide enough to encompass the entire subject area. A little practice makes perfect, but what I like about this technique is that the bugs-eye-view camera angle injects novelty and energy into subjects normally only seen from six feet above the ground.

To get this shot of poppies growing in the Jordan Valley, I lay down on my belly and positioned the camera on a rock about five inches off the ground. Years ago I would have ripped out the foreground grass, preferring an unblemished view to my subject. Nowadays, I prefer to leave nature alone and record everything that the camera sees. The blurred foreground – which resulted from the blades of grass rocking in the wind – adds depth to the photo and creates the painterly effect I find so pleasing in many landscapes. It really did look that way, but you can only find it by "lowering" yourself to a new standard of shooting.

Technical Data: Nikon D300, 28-105 zoom at 48 mm, f6.3 at 1/800 sec.

Photo of the Week: April 26, 2010

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: It is a deeply satisfying moment when one of your children reveals that he's actually been paying attention to some of what you've been saying to him over the years. And so I was thrilled when my 13-year-old son, Avishai, called to me from up ahead on the trail, "Abba, come check out the light on the trees!" We had been hiking several hours in broad daylight along the 8-kilometer, Mt. Eitan loop trail that encircles a small park near Jersusalem called Sataf. I was in parent/hiker mode and wouldn't have spotted this scene without my son's calling it to my attention.

When analyzing a textural image such as this, my primary concern, after exposure, is the composition. I normally shoot a little wide and make a final, perfected crop back in my studio using a combination of intuition and design rules. My process begins along the outer edges of the photo, where I look for any elements that will prevent the viewer's eye from wandering off the page. These elements may include some part of the photo's content or even a darkened area, which will function as a visual brake to a roving eye. If I don't have the visual elements I need, I rely on how it feels.

An excellent exercise for testing your results is to stand in front of your photo, close your eyes, then reopen them and study their movement. Where do they travel and where do they come to rest? If you wind up at the heart of the image, your intended subject, you've probably done something right!

Technical Data: Nikon D-300, 18-200mm zoom at 58mm, f16 @1/250 sec.

Photo of the Week: Mar. 31, 2010

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Passover is one of the three pilgrimage festivals of the Jewish year. When the Temple stood on Mt. Moriah, Jews from across the region would walk to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices and participate in festivities and prayer. I can only imagine how these weary travelers felt as they crested the final hill on their long, arduous journey and saw their destination – the holy city of Jerusalem – laid out before them.

Of course it looked a lot different back then. For one, what we now call the "old city" was the entire city. And there were no electric lights to illuminate the city's ancient walls. This photograph features a twilight view of new and old Jerusalem from the Haas Promenade in Talpiot. As with many other photographs, selecting a specific time to photograph makes a huge difference in both the appearance and feel of the image. At twilight, there is a mix of waning daylight, still visible in the light blue sky, and artificial light, which only impacts the scene as the sky darkens. At this time of day, the light changes so quickly that only a photograph can capture and preserve it to be appreciated in another moment. Moadim L'simcha.

Technical Data: Nikon D300, 18-200 zoom at 95 mm, f8 at 1/5sec.

Photo of the Week: March 24, 2010

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: I don't have any formal training in photography. I learned at a school called, "What happens if I try this?" So often students come to me with camera in hand and ask, "What does this setting do?" While I can easily explain the answer, I usually tell them to take a picture, then change the setting and compare the results. Even without a basic understanding of the photographic principles that govern these different options, this is an excellent way to learn how to maximize the potential of your camera.

This week's photo features a technique I discovered while looking at another photographer's portfolio – also an excellent way to learn and expand your personal creative vision. In photoshop, I selected each of the individual color channels and applied a significant blur. I had to fool around a bit with the amount of blur until I arrived at something I liked. Then I made slight adjustments to the brightness and contrast. That's all. It took me less than a minute to convert the photo from a nice flower shot to a personal statement – a unique holiday greeting with an old-fashioned, colorized feel. Of course, it helped to have a few sheets of shmura matzah on hand as well. Chag Sameach Ukasher. Happy Passover.

Technical Data: Nikon D300, 70-200 zoom at 102 mm, f5.6 at 1/500sec.