skip to main |
skip to sidebar
HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Only in Israel, I like to believe, would a photographer be asked to shoot an image with the primary criterion being the unique blueness of the sky as perceived by a longtime resident of Jerusalem's Old City. I also had to include a section of the wall, but the color of the early-morning sky was the principal concern of my client, who obviously has a powerful relationship with his environment. I am familiar with the special light in the Old City and there are a many places where the walls and buildings create narrow canyons that give emphasis to the sky above and make its color more noticeable. Still, fulfilling such a personal request was an interesting challenge. The complexities of this image are very subtle. The silhouette – a blackened subject against a light background – was easily achieved by exposing for the sky in the background. As I walked along the edge of the wall near Jaffa Gate, I saw rays of sun spiking through a variety of openings. With my camera at my waist, looking up at the wall, I inched my way forward until I could see the sun peeking through an opening in one of the turrets just as it appears here. When I used film, I could create a similar sunstar by closing down the aperture to f-16 or f-22 and shooting directly into the sun. This effect doesn’t work as well with digital – you get an additional round flare of light that looks unnatural – unless you shoot through something like a small hole or a leafy branch. I chose the angular composition in an attempt to reduce the parallax distortion that results from shooting a tall object at a short distance. When you aim the camera upward at a tall object, vertical lines converge inward, distorting the image. Finally, the imbalance between the sky and wall adds tension and makes for an unusual look at this oft-photographed subject.
HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Light, form, color, texture, pattern: Take any one of these and you've got the foundation for a great photograph. In my classes, we learn to identify these design elements, single them out, and then advance to images built around two or more of these concepts. The wild irises of Mt. Gilboa are famous enough to merit a trail in their name in Beit Alpha National Park, located along the scenic route that winds from the Beka Valley up to Afula. I finally managed a visit there in the early spring of 2006. While there was plenty of seasonal color, to my dismay I only spotted this single iris which happened to be at the peak of its flowering. When I encounter a subject with potential, I'll often walk full circle around it to study the light, but here it was immediately obvious that a backlit angle would provide the greatest drama. I fiddled a bit more with my camera, mounted on a tripod with a macro lens, to create a background that would both complement the colors in the petals while isolating the flower from anything overly distracting to its form. Back in my digital darkroom, I applied a few quick finishing touches. I cropped the bottom so the stem would appear shooting upward from the lower right corner and I darkened the background just slightly to add emphasis to the backlit petals.
HOW I GOT THE SHOT: More cameras in the world has led to more picture-taking restrictions. To gain entry to this makeshift matzah bakery in Jerusalem, I had to first ask permission of the owner and then meet two conditions before taking a single photo: I had to come in the middle of the night and get additional permission from everyone on that shift. Having survived the initial challenges, I was able to shoot the entire sequence of production before the baker tossed me out, albeit without the sympathies of his coworkers. This shot uses a technique I discussed in a previous email, in which the flash is delayed until the end of the photograph in order to allow movement to be recorded by the existing room light and then frozen with the burst of flash during the concluding microseconds of the exposure. Even though the exposure was longer than what I would normally shoot hand-held, there is no need for a cumbersome tripod because sharp focus is not the goal. The feeling of movement captures the frenetic energy of the bakery, which operates around the clock with the efficiency of a crew team and includes a coxswain-like leader, visible on the right edge of the photo, who sets the rhythm and pace of each round of baking.
HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Prior to his first aliya to the Torah as a bar mitzvah, a boy studies the section of the Torah he is about to read. Every time I photograph a boy reading from the Torah, I compose a shot that leaves only the hand and text in the image. I like this image because it differs from what I usually shoot and because of how his hand is gently grasping the yad, the silver pointer he will use to guide his reading from the Torah scroll. While the hand appears calm, there is a frenzy of black lines running in several directions that offers an interesting counterpoint to the relaxed energy of the hand. Faceless photographs often lose a great deal of the depth and interest that is generated by looking at a person's facial expression and eyes. Cropping body parts is also a risky business. It's difficult to isolate parts of the body yet still maintain a feeling of comfort when looking at the photo. One general rule to follow is never lop off limbs in midsection so that part of the arm or leg leaves the frame and then returns, unattached, in another section of the photo. Here, I was careful not to crop tighter than the elbows on either side so that the curve of the arms is continuous from shoulder to hand. Another common mistake by young photographers is the dreaded ankle chop, in which a group photo shows everything but the ankles and feet. Better to crop at the waist if not going for a full-body portrait. Increasing viewfinder awareness will enable you to see these mistakes before you press the shutter release.
HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Stately old trees are a rare sight in Israel. Most of what would be considered old-growth forests were uprooted long ago by the Ottomans. Although the Jewish National Fund has done remarkable work in reforesting much of the country, even decades-old groves don't have the personality of aged, wild trees. This photo is another gem from my sojourn on the Golan Heights earlier this month. Exploring near the Jordanian border, I spied these old oaks on the wrong side of a barb-wire and chain-link fence that made photographing impossible. So alluring were these venerable giants I would have climbed on the roof of my car to get a shot, but they were still too far from the road to allow a good composition. Luck, however, was lingering. On the point of abandoning my pursuit, I found a local cutting off the lock to the lone gate in a two-mile stretch of the fence. After a quick introduction and a brief struggle to remove the lock, he offered me a tour of his property, used mainly for grazing cattle, and blessed me to wander to my heart's content. I like this trio because the trees are varied in size and shape and far enough apart to allow a full profile of each one. I also like the way their darkened trunks and branches accentuate their strength and mystery. I kept the image true to the slope of the land, which falls off abruptly into a huge chasm separating Israel from Jordan and Syria, which is visible in the distance along the right hand edge of the photo. Finally, the smattering of color provided by the various wildflowers adds a finishing touch to the painterly quality of this pastoral image.
HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Asked to describe a classic image of Israel, few people would answer, "lakes and snow-capped mountains." Yet one can find both these natural wonders in Northern Israel. From almost any point on the Golan Heights, Mt. Hermon looms on the horizon like a giant sentry, which in many ways it really is. While in pursuit of another idea, I spotted a sign marking my arrival at the Orvim Reservoir, but a hill obscured any view of the water from my car. Not knowing what to expect, I walked an easy 50 meters from the parking lot to the top of the bank and a perfect perspective to shoot across the water at the mountain. It was a very windy afternoon, as evidenced by the ripples on the water, and I suffered through visions of the mountain's perfectly symmetrical reflection on still water. I settled for this image, which is greatly helped by my elevation above the water and by walking a short distance along the bank to position the few trees as guideposts to drawing viewers' eyes toward the main subject. I cropped the image to be very long and narrow, almost panoramic. Though now offered as a shooting option on many digital cameras, panoramic photos are still unusual enough to generate interest by their shape alone. Throw in an interesting subject, and the two combine to produce a powerful visual statement.
HOW I GOT THE SHOT: I often try to recreate in a photograph how I felt at the moment I was shooting it. This may seem self-evident, but think for a moment about all the sensual stimuli that can't be captured in a photograph. In this shot of a field of wild mustard, taken last week just below the Peace Lookout in the lower Golan Heights, I had to leave out the warmth of the sunshine, the cool breeze, chirping birds and the intoxicating floral aroma. As I waded through the field, hip-high in flowers, I truly felt as if I were in an ocean of wildflowers. To convey that feeling, I used a wide-angle lens and searched for a viewpoint that stretches the yellow across the frame and far into the depth of the photo. The olive trees appear to be islands, floating in this sea. If you look carefully, you can spot one of Israel's real "seas," the Kinneret, in a few pieces just behind these trees. I arrived here around 9 a.m., and although the sun was already high, the cloud layer helped soften the brightness. My built-in exposure meter is extremely accurate, but I chose to underexpose the image by about 1/3 of a stop, which slightly darkened the sky and boosted the color intensity or saturation of the yellow mustard flowers. To see a full gallery of Israel's spring wildflowers, please visit: A Passion for Poppies.
HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Only in Israel, I like to believe, would a photographer be asked to shoot an image with the primary criterion being the unique blueness of the sky as perceived by a longtime resident of Jerusalem's Old City. I also had to include a section of the wall, but the color of the early-morning sky was the principal concern of my client, who obviously has a powerful relationship with his environment. I am familiar with the special light in the Old City and there are a many places where the walls and buildings create narrow canyons that give emphasis to the sky above and make its color more noticeable. Still, fulfilling such a personal request was an interesting challenge. 
Posts
