Photo of the Week: Oct. 14, 2009

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Street photographers have a knack for extracting beauty from urban clutter and man's inhumanity to manmade things. Graffiti, peeling paint, and even garbage are fodder for their art. I have never been drawn to this genre, but occasionally nature's dark side calls to me. Strong color and dynamic composition will entice viewers, but nothing makes people think like a photograph featuring death and decay.

This scene of rotting plums caught my eye as I traversed the Derech Avot (Path of our Forefathers) near my home in Gush Etzion. The multitude of fruit plus their stark color set against the pale stones and shriveled leaves sent one of those creative signals to my brain that here was one of life's great paradoxes: beauty in dying. I held the camera directly overhead and shot straight down at the ground, careful to keep the plane of the sensor (or back of the camera) completely parallel to the ground to ensure edge to edge sharpness. Fall is slowly coming to life in Israel, as nature makes one final roar before acceding to the cycle of seasonal renewal.

Photo of the Week: Oct. 8, 2009

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Like a few other photographers I know, I have a folder in my picture library named "body parts." It contains a variety of images featuring hands, feet, elbows and ears, but never faces or a full body. Over the years, this folder has become quite crowded as my eyes have been drawn to human activity that seems more poignant photographically when the part of the body performing the action is isolated or cut away from the rest of the person. There is something intriguing about looking at a picture with obvious human content, but no face, and trying to imagine whom is the person in the photo.

This shot of a man examining a lulav (palm frond) illustrates this perfectly. Mingling with shoppers in the Bukharan market in Jerusalem prior to Sukkot, I found a spot where bright sunlight was sneaking through a makeshift canvas roof built to provide shade. By a stroke of luck, the man holding the lulav turned into the light in order to examine it more closely. He was wearing a black coat and stood in the shadows near a dark wall, which created a beautiful interplay between light and shadow. Sometimes less is more, as when a picture draws us in and then leaves us pondering the rest of the story.

Photo of the Week: Oct. 1, 2009

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Sukkot is a holiday that has to be smelled. Or held. The visuals, though, are not bad either. I took this shot last year at the Kotel in Jerusalem during Sukkot. Everything was already in place as seen in the photo, including the soft, diffuse light found in the open shade of the Western Wall. The camera angle provides a less familiar study of the four species while lying on a prayer stand, as opposed to the much more common view of the lulav pointed upward while being waved. All of the four species are visible, including a second etrog, but what completes the composition is the prayer book. Above all, Sukkot is a holiday of faith - that G-d will protect us and sustain us throughout our fragile existence. The color and artistry with which Israelis fulfill the mitzvah of sukkah can be seen in a gallery on my new website. Click here to have a look. Chag Sameach.

Photo of the Week: Sept. 17, 2009

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: This photograph is what I call a "spontaneously preconceived" picture. Working on a photo essay featuring a variety of shofars – generously loaned to me by their collector, Dr. Ari Greenspan, who is also a terrific dentist! I was looking for ways to vary each shot to give an essay of inanimate objects a little more life. (View the entire essay here: Shofars.) What I had pre-visualized for this shot was a set up that emphasized the texture of the horn. I knew I needed a background that would complement, but not overwhelm, the subject. Spontaneously searching Dr. Greenspan's porch, I found a round wooden stool that initially appealed to me because its shape paralleled the curve of the horn. In the end, I cropped the edges of the stool in favor of a tighter composition that accentuates the action of the lines in the wood grain. A simple and effective choice. May we all be blessed with a year of health, peace, and clear vision for all our choices in the new year. Shana Tova.

Photo of the Week: Sept. 8, 2009

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Animals are notoriously uncooperative subjects, but their behavior can offer a valuable lesson to aspiring photographers. Wild animals spend their lives occupied with two primary survival activities: finding food and avoiding danger. To stay alive, they must maintain a constant, vigilant awareness of their environment that involves all of their senses. Photographers, too, need a deep awareness to slog through the ubiquitous barrage of sensual muck and craft compelling pictures.

I took this shot at the Alpaca Farm in Mitzpe Ramon a few years ago. The camels are behind an enclosure and though not entirely frightened by humans, they keep an eye on us, nevertheless. As I tried to get a shot of one of the younger camels, an adult strode in my camera and intended subject, creating this perfect compositional frame. Because it is so obviously identifiable as part of another camel, I centered it on the image and cropped the head and hump to strengthen the frame.

A good photographer is constantly on the lookout for powerful subjects (our food, if you will) and concentrating on avoiding bad light and sloppy composition (the danger, if you please.) To carry the metaphor further, bringing in a regular supply of good images enables our continued survival in a very competitive field.

Photo of the Week: Sept. 1, 2009

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Across Israel, in the latter days of summer, fruit hangs heavy on the vine, or, in this case, on the frond. Dates thrive in the Israeli desert, from the Negev to the Jordan Valley region where this photo was taken, just outside Beit Shean. For centuries, date palms have been a source of food, shelter and precious shade in an arduous climate. This nearly ripe bunch of dates drew my attention because of the variegated colors in the fruit. As I often do when photographing fruit that grows in bunches, I cropped tightly to create the impression that there is an unseen, endless abundance just beyond the photo's edge. After harvest, these dates have an uncertain date with destiny. They may be eaten fresh or dried, crunchy or soft, or perhaps fermented into a form of Arak popular in Iraq. In the Torah, when Israel is described as a land flowing with milk and honey, the honey referred to is generally that of the date fruit. And that, of course, is the sweetest destiny of all.

Photo of the Week: Aug. 25, 2009

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: As we make our way through the new Hebrew month of Elul, the Jewish New Year and High Holy Days can't be far behind. For some residents of Jerusalem, it's time to get out the holy holiday garb, hang it on the line, and let the rarefied mountain air heighten its purity. Or at least dry it out after a thorough washing. Every place has sights that can be seen nowhere else, and this clothesline strung with a kittel and the white beanies worn by followers of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, is the perfect example of an image found only in Israel.

As an outsider to the Haredi religious communities in Jerusalem, I tread lightly through the streets when searching for pictures that reveal the unique character of these neighborhoods. More often than not, however, and as is frequently the case just about everywhere when I reveal my interest in someone else's life, I am welcomed and invited to photograph. The owner of these garments was sweeping his courtyard as I passed by and looked curiously at his peculiar load of laundry. Observing my interest, he called to me to come have a closer look. That proved crucial to getting this shot, because from the street, I could not see the shadow patterns formed by the row of hats hanging out to dry. By accepting the invitation to come a little closer, I gained a better perspective from which to shoot and, through our brief encounter, an enhanced understanding of a fellow Jew.