Photo of the Week: Mar. 3, 2011

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Soggy, foggy and groggy. That about sums up this photo op. I normally try to avoid exposing expensive electronic gear to even a single drop of potentially fatal moisture, but the holy, mountaintop city of Tzfat in Northern Israel runs on miracles, so I figured I was safe shooting outside in the late-evening drizzle. I grabbed my tripod, winter coat and a small towel and ventured out along the medieval, cobblestoned alleyways of Tzfat's old city.

Despite many signs that it has entered the modern era, the old city of Tzfat transports visitors back to the 17th century. I was looking for a shot that would somehow convey this feeling of having stepped into a time warp. I found it in the musk-yellow streetlights, whose color resembles the old-fashioned sepia-toned prints and adds to the sense of having entered antiquity.

What drew me to this spot, however, was the rain. Water has tremendous reflectivity. Any light source will bounce back at the camera in often magical displays of glitter and sparkle. In this image, a single street light casts its glow on the damp branches above, the street below and the sides of the stone buildings. I never let bad weather rain on my picture parade.

Technical Data: Nikon D700, 28-105mm lens at 38mm, f16@ 1.6 sec., ISO 800.

Photo of the Week: Feb. 23, 2011

"To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own beauty, and in the same field, it beholds, every hour, a picture which was never seen before and which shall never be seen again." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Hard to disagree with the poet Emerson, especially since I beheld this field earlier in the week and found it was devoid of flowers. Now the only way back is via the pictures I shot four years ago. Still, it is a way back.

I discovered this field of anemones in Emek HaEla about one month after and 100 meters away from the photograph I featured two weeks ago. So much effort goes into scouting locations for good landscapes that I often return to places where I had earlier success, hoping to tap the treasure trove again. I am not always so fortunate.

This shot is an example of how to layer a scene with zones of depth that enrich the composition. While the area had great shooting potential in several directions, the photograph needed a strong foreground element to anchor the viewer and clarify what is seen in the distance. This cluster of flowers worked nicely and had the added attraction of the pair of pink-petalled anemone.

Using an extreme wide-angle lens (12mm) while standing upright, I pointed the camera slightly downward which had the effect of bending the foreground just a bit so that it pops out the frame. This is a delicate process, as too much distortion will give the photo an unnatural look.

Again I saw, again I heard;

The rolling river, the morning bird;—

Beauty through my senses stole,

I yielded myself to the perfect whole.

From Each and All by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Technical Data: Nikon D200, 12-24mm zoom at 12mm, f11@ 1/320 sec., ISO 400.

Photo of the Week: Feb. 16, 2011

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: The human mind has a great ability to conjure images, including things we've never actually seen. In photography, this technique is called previsualization and it is of great help at times when you have an idea floating around in your head but haven't quite found it in the field. By imagining certain images I want to create, I improve my chances of seeing them when I am out shooting.

In this week's photo, previsualization helped me in two distinct ways. The shot was taken as twilight merged with night. It was so dark where I stood above Achziv Beach on Israel's northern coast that I could barely make out the forms offshore that I had seen earlier in the day. Darkness prevented me from seeing the image, so I had to rely on my mind's eye. Likewise, my camera couldn't see well enough to lock on focus, so I switched to manual mode and turned the focus ring to infinity.

I waited until nightfall because I wanted a very long exposure to smooth out the tidal action and give the image a lustrous, more serene feel. I also knew from experience, and I could see in my mind, that the long exposure would whiten the moving water and boost the contrast between the rolling sea and the rock silhouettes, thus making a more dramatic image. Even when there is very little light, we are not limited to simply shooting in the dark.

Technical Data: Nikon D300, 28-105mm zoom at 32mm, f13@30 seconds, ISO 100.

Photo of the Week: Feb. 9, 2011

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: My passion for photography motivates me to invest a lot of energy chasing after new pictures. Yet photography can also be a very grounding practice because focused attention is critical to seeing important subtleties, especially in nature. It's hard sometimes to separate from the incessant inner urge to create, but in the process I've learned how light moves, seasons evolve and where to look for a rainbow. I've learned to slow down and smell the roses.

Or the anemones, as presented in this week's photo from the Ela Valley. Although I like to keep my weekly selections in sync with what's happening out in the field, this picture is a few weeks premature. Nevertheless, it is an excellent example of the compositional tool known as the leading line – in this case an "S" curve. The leading line pulls the viewer along a specific path before arriving at the photo's center of interest.

The small grouping of sunlit flowers in the lower left corner catches the viewer's eye and from there it's around the rock and off to the races, spiraling through the light into the depth of the photo. Springtime in Israel is almost upon us, the perfect time of year to wander into the forest in search of another field of dreams.

Technical Data: Nikon D200, 28-105mm zoom at 32mm, f11@1/200 sec., ISO 320.

Photo of the Week: Feb. 2, 2011

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Rescued from the lost and found, this image surfaced while I was searching my library for images for a book about prayer. I located only a single shot, which tells me the elements conspired to unite but for an instant before falling into further randomness. However long it lasted, it was sufficient for me to spy it and grab hold of it.

This shot was taken during an Israeli Independence Day morning prayer service featuring the recitation of Hallel with musical instruments, including an accordion, whose keyboard is seen here. I don’t associate Jewish prayer with music other than the individual voices which join together in song, so this picture has a degree of tension generated by the incongruity of the subjects. Yet they share a powerful visual link of contrasting colors and a similarity of pattern.

Although the three components of the photo – the keyboard, the arm and tefillin and the tallit – are all recognizable, they are seen without context. Abstract photographs, especially those with strong form and lines, often connect us to inner states of emotion and ideas. I am reminded of the Paul McCartney song, "Ebony and Ivory," in which he sings the keys of his piano "live together in perfect harmony." Music is a harmony of sound while prayer is a harmonization of spirit. As we enter the months of Adar, may we all receive a double dose of joy and harmony in our lives.

Technical Data: Nikon D200, 70-300mm lens at 135mm, f8 at 1/100 sec., ISO 400.

Photo of the Week: Jan. 26, 2011

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Writers, I suppose, have it a little easier. Painters, too. Just sit and wait, beside their empty page or canvas, for the muse to arise. Photographers don't have that luxury. We must head out on the hunt, put our feet on the ground and search for what inspires us.

This week's image is the final result of several failed attempts to capture a subject I observed in another location, but couldn't land to my satisfaction. One of my favorite shooting sites is Emek HaEla, a lovely valley south of Beit Shemesh and only 20 minutes from my home. Driving through one recent afternoon, I noticed a grove of almond trees in pre-blossom stage, forming a kilometer-wide sea of red buds. Interestingly, when one enters the grove and studies the trees close-up, the color is barely noticeable. From a distance, the rose-hued pastels light up against the bright green background of new grass and young leaves. The highway, farm buildings and assorted agricultural muck combined to ruin every angle I attempted.

I found this location further south, near the city of Kiryat Gat. I spent more than an hour circling above this grove on the surrounding hillsides, finally locating an angle through the dense forest that afforded a decent view of my subject. Nothing seemed to work, however, until the last moments of daylight painted some interesting light on the green shrubs and bare white branches in the foreground. I felt like I had been chasing a ghost, but my perseverance plus a little luck helped me bring home the prize.

Technical Data: Nikon D700, 28-105 zoom at 98mm, f8 at 1/60 sec., ISO 400.

Photos of the Week: Jan. 20, 2011

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Photography often requires finding order amid chaos and distraction. It takes a sophisticated eye to see what doesn't belong and to compose by exclusion. And it's never a simple matter of left and right, but also over and above, and often most importantly, what falls in the background.

I appreciate merchants who take pride in displaying their wares with an artistic flare. If you arrive early enough at Jerusalem's Machane Yehuda market, you can see vendors stacking fruit with a purpose beyond mere profit. The efforts of these stall owners made capturing this week's photos a lot simpler.

The upper shot caught my eye in the way the rows of round, dried figs seem to dominate their surroundings. I don't know if the vendor intended it, but he alternated light colored and dark colored fruits so that no two similarly colored fruits occupy adjacent bins. That makes the whole setup more visually appealing as well as aiding the shopper to see and select from the many different choices.

The lower photo features fruits closely related in color. This shot was taken in open sunlight, and I used the play of shadow and light, as well as selective focus, to emphasize the papaya in the foreground. Today is Tu Bishvat, the new year for trees in Israel. May we merit a bountiful harvest in the coming year.

Technical Data:
Left Photo – Nikon D700, 28-105 zoom at 55mm, f11 @ 1/80 sec., ISO 500
Right Photo – Nikon D300, 18-200 zoom at 46mm, f13 @ 1/160 sec., ISO 400