Photo of the Week: May 5, 2011

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: I asked myself an intriguing question this week: Can a nature photographer also be considered a photojournalist if his pictures are made to document the natural world? I think the answer is yes, as I often find myself recording images for no other reason than that they define the locations where they are shot.

So to some, this week's image may appear to be just a pile of rocks. To me, it is representative of the vast undeveloped stretches of the Golan Heights where it was taken, an area that, although relatively small, still maintains an aura of being untamed and wild.

Although this rock wall is clearly manmade, there is an artistic randomness to the arrangement of the stones. I like the way the lichen patches complement the splotches of clouds in the sky. I chose a low camera angle to make the wall appear a bit more imposing. The sun was at my back, and if you look closely, you'll see my shadow in the grass. After all, art is always a reflection of the inner artist. Or maybe it is nothing more than a pile of rocks.

Technical Data: Nikon D700, 135mm lens, f11 @ 1/400 sec., ISO 400.

Photo of the Week: April 29, 2011

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: I drove past this site last week and noticed surveying stakes and bulldozers moving earth. I am accustomed to nature's disappearing act and am grateful for the photos which have captured moments never to be seen again.

Although we've almost turned the calendar to May, Israel continues to see occasional late spring showers, which provide sustenance to the greenery and flowering of the season. This shot was taken at the height of the spring bloom two years ago, in a field adjacent to the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Highway at the Sha'ar Hagay junction.

Prowling around at midday, when normally my camera would be tucked safely away, I continued shooting because the impressive cloud cover saves this photo from the drudgery of high-noon brightness and harsh shadows. Often, sky shows such as this will motivate me to go out and shoot, even without a subject or destination in mind. The combination of the purple Egyptian Campion accented by the red anemones provides a perfect complement to the soaring sky to complete the composition.

Technical Data: Nikon D300, 12-24 mm lens at 12mm, f16@ 1/320 sec., ISO 200.

Photo of the Week: April 13, 2011

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Jerusalem's Wohl Rose Garden, opposite the Knesset on Givat Ram, is one of the city's most beautiful parks. At its peak, there are hundreds of flowering rose bushes, beautifully landscaped and identified for the amateur botanists among us. I photographed the park two years ago for a project paying tribute to the donors and I have returned there on occasion to enjoy the peace and tranquility.

As part of my approach to this assignment, I looked for rare flowers as well as examples of unusual lighting and composition that make the flowers look their best. The orange blossoms are from a rose plant known as the Anne Harkness, introduced by English breeders in the 1970s and characterized by apricot-colored petals with shadings of yellow at its base. Soft, diffuse afternoon sunlight gently enlivens the petals while the use of a long telephoto lens compresses the depth – making the background flowers appear closer – while throwing them out of focus just enough to remain identifiable.

The white and pink-flecked rose is fittingly called a Sierra Sunrise. Oddly, I found these roses growing intertwined with an unidentified, small yellow rose. I felt the curious placement of the smaller yellow rose inside this flower resembled an actual rising sun, and until I looked up images on the internet, was sure this is what gave the flower its name. Apparently not, but just the rare and unusual discovery I relish. I visited the park again this week and it is just beginning to bloom, with the flowering peak occurring in late April, May and June.

Technical Data:

Upper: Nikon D300, 70-200mm lens at 135mm, f3.2@ 1/1600 sec., ISO 400.

Lower: Nikon D300, 28-105mm macro lens at 105mm, f5@ 1/1600 sec., ISO 250.

Photo of the Week: April 6, 2011

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: The greatest joys of photography are most often in the doing and only rarely in viewing the results. I don't specialize in wildlife photography, but I do understand the thrill of the hunt that drives this genre of photographer. I also know that horses don't qualify as wildlife, but anyone who has spent time with them knows they are among the gentlest and most emotive members of the animal kingdom.

And so I gladly pulled off Route 91 on the Golan Heights to admire a quartet of horses grazing on fresh spring offerings. Animals, like people, can deflate the best candid moments once the photographer gains notice. I approached the group slowly and silently and took a series of shots with a long lens. Sure enough, after a few moments, the horses looked up, broke their symmetry, and wandered over to say hello.

The backlighting worked well and this pair of animals posed without complaint, but the pleasure of those moments spent just watching them enjoy their floral feast filled me with a deeper satisfaction than this photo ever will. Happy birthday to my daughter, Liora, 20 years beautiful today.

Technical Data: Nikon D700, 70-200mm lens at 175mm, f8@ 1/500 sec., ISO 200.

Photo of the Week: Mar. 30, 2011

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: In my workshops, I instruct students how to build a photograph by assembling elements around the subject. A strong subject can stand on its own, but carefully incorporating foreground and background features can elevate an image to a higher level of sophistication and, hopefully, create a greater impact on and appreciation by the viewer.

This week's photo of a blue lupine amid a field of yellow mustard is another in the "If at first you don't succeed" series. On Givat HaTurmosim (Lupine Hill) in the Ela Valley, the inaccurately named blue lupines (I hope they look purple to you as well) grow abundantly amid mustard on the hill's southern slope. I've tried in the past to take a shot of a single purple flower floating in the sea of yellow, knowing that these complementary colors will bring out the best in each other. This image exceeded my previous results for several reasons.

First, by using a very shallow depth of field, the mustard flowers closest to and furthest from the point of focus fall into an extreme blur, filling the entire frame with a soft yellow wash. Secondly, by a small stroke of luck, the nearest mustard flower occupies an area in the center of the green leaves of the plant stem, so that the leaves remain visible but slightly obscured, perfect for their reduced level of importance in the photo. Finally, the angle of the main flower and her supporting cast conveys a sense of swaying in the breeze, which is often the case. The pieces all fall into place to deliver their visual punch.

Technical Data: Nikon D700, 70-200mm zoom lens at 170 mm, f4@ 1/2000th sec., ISO 320.

Photo of the Week: Mar. 24, 2011

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: The fleeting colors of spring – red, pink, purple, yellow, white, orange and even blue, if you look carefully – are merely a distraction from the real show. "Green is the color of spring," crooned Van Morrison, and later Kermit the frog. And it is, in fact, "not easy being green," because it is everywhere, overly familiar and dare I say, "boring?"

Fortunately, the ascent from Route 90 up to Belvoir, just south of Tiberias, offers a host of interesting views. In late winter, when this photo was taken, the hillsides are a scintillating emerald green, though the colors fade quickly as soon as the rains subside. This image is an abstraction of the larger area. Using a long telephoto lens to cut through some of the haze, I honed in on a small section of the rolling hill that featured odd bumps and gullies that accentuate the contrast in light and textures of the shrubs and grass. I also kept the camera angle level to the horizon in order to convey the steep slope of the hill.

Sometimes we have to fight our way through the familiarity of the visual landscape, through the things we see so frequently we begin not to notice them at all. But as the song says, "green can be cool and friendly, big like an ocean, or important like a mountain." We just have to stop and take it in.

Technical Data: Nikon D700, 70-200mm zoom lens at 135 mm, f8@ 1/800th sec., ISO 400.

Photo of the Week: Mar. 16, 2011

HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Purim is Israel's candy holiday, a day of frivolity underscored by obligations of recalling our miraculous history and giving gifts and charity. The gifts often include candies and baked goodies to sweeten the joy of this celebration. The candy vendors at Jerusalem's Machane Yehuda market use an ancient and not-so-subtle form of salesmanship: their product is eye-catching and mouth-watering, especially to the children who prod their parents to buy it.

This subject has a built-in appeal of diverse color and form, not to mention that it charms the child in all of us. I chose a wide angle lens to encompass as many of the different candies as possible. The only other choice I made was to compose the image so the candy bins move diagonally across the frame. This slight tilt gives the photo just what it needs to break up the monotony of seeing all the bins in similar shapes and sizes. Chag Purim Sameach!

Technical Data: Nikon D700, 20mm lens, f8@ 1/60th sec., ISO 800.