In the pre-drone era

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Things were more primitive way back in 2010 when I took these pictures.
Before drones came into popular use, people used small helium balloons! 

Enlarge the photo with a few clicks and you will see the cables attached to the suspended camera.

Apparently the archaeologists and/or the architects and engineers needed aerial photography of this exciting and welcome new National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel.  
Back then the construction was just beginning; now it is almost completed. 

Our City Daily Photo bloggers group has our monthly Theme Day today.
The subject is Photographing the Photographer.
In my post you'll just have to imagine the photographer, down on earth holding the tether. 
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(Linking also to SkyWatch Friday.)
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The 3-dimensional illusion in historical photos

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For ABC Wednesday, D is for Dina in 3-D glasses.

Dozens of glasses wait for visitors and pupils who come to the Open Museum in Omer.

You can't see them properly, of course, but here are some examples of the big three-dimensional photographs taken in Eretz Israel in the late 19th century.
Here above is Jerusalem's Jaffa Gate when it still had the Ottoman clock tower just outside the Old City wall (the tower was soon torn down by the British in 1922).

This is labeled "Ancient Fountain of the Virgin, Nazareth, Palestine."
It was fascinating to gaze at these pictures; I felt like I was really "in" the scene, mingling with the women and children. 

Fallahin plowing.

"Tiberias, a town of Jewish fisherman, Sea of Galilee"

Please click on the photo and then once again.
You can read how stereographs were made and how American publishing house Underwood and Underwood produced and sold the set about Eretz Israel in 1900, focusing mostly on the Christian market.
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Tel Aviv cats and their photographer

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My son is a professional photographer in Los Angeles.
Tel Aviv's MANY cats caught his interest when he came for a short visit to Israel in February.

We walked the little lanes of the older neighborhoods on a quiet Sabbath afternoon.

Schlaf-stunde, Shabbat nap-time for cats too.

Linking to Camera Critters.
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Thousands of Chabad rabbis take a group selfie!

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It is not often I find something for the Monday Murals meme, so I was extra happy to discover the Rebbe painted on rolling shutters protecting the entrance to a store in Beer Sheva's old section.

The Rebbe is the late great Rabbi Menachem Shneerson, scholar, teacher, leader, and the pioneer of Jewish outreach.
The head of Chabad-Lubavitch movement died in 1994 in New York,  but many of his devoted followers believe he was, and still is, the Moshiach, the messiah.

In the 1950s the Lubavitcher Rebbe, from headquarters in Brooklyn,  started sending out young rabbis and their wives to cities and towns all over America and the world, even the remotest places like Kathmandu.
These idealistic couples open Chabad Houses and offer worship, classes, support, and love to Jews who are far from being observant.
They are called in Hebrew shluchim, literally, those who are sent out.

This week 4,200 of these rabbis are in New York for their International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries.
Don't miss these amazing photos of how they take a huge group selfie!
It was taken with a particularly large lens that was held up with a 5-meter-long stick carried by two men.

And equally impressive are these pictures of how the 4,200  pose for the more orderly and formal  annual photo.
They even launched a helicopter-drone to take a video of the mass photo shoot!
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UPDATE: This  in today's Times of Israel says it so well:   Thank you Chabad.  Very worth a read.
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(Also linking to Our World Tuesday.)

Orthophoto of Meitar

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Shalom, welcome to Meitar, my new hometown in the Northern Negev!
I discovered this February 2014 photo on the wall of the Meitar Local Council moked.
Click a few times to enlarge it. 

The planned community (yeshuv kehilati) was  begun in 1984.
Neighborhoods were added gradually and the 5th (or 6th?) one is currently under construction.
The schools, stores, sports center, and public buildings are in the middle (for me, a 14-minute walk from home).

On our west is Kibbutz Kramim with its big solar field.
To the north is Meitar Forest and the Israel Trail.
The road on top of the photo goes along the border with the West Bank.
The green on the bottom is the edge of the big Bedouin town Hura. 

Ofek Aerial Photo produced this 1:2,500 orthophoto map.

Wikipedia explains

An orthophoto . . .  is an aerial photograph geometrically corrected ("orthorectified") such that the scale is uniform: the photo has the same lack of distortion as a map. Unlike an uncorrected aerial photograph, an orthophotograph can be used to measure true distances, because it is an accurate representation of the Earth's surface, having been adjusted for topographic relief, lens distortion, and camera tilt.

You can enjoy Ofek's panoramic aerial photos of Israel at their gallery. 
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Squares to dig in

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City Daily Photo bloggers are now posting squares for our May 1 Theme Day.

Which brings me back to the old funny question, "Why do archaeologists always dig square holes?"
Well, it's part of a methodical grid system to keep track of what was found where, of course.

I was digging in many different squares during many seasons of excavations here at Tel Yarmouth between 1993 and 2007.
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Holy Thursday + an Israeli Last Supper

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Today being Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday, on which Jesus held what some say was a Passover seder, washed his disciples' feet, and told them to love one another,  I thought I'd take a chance and post this famous controversial photo.
(You can enlarge it with a click then another click.)

The untitled work is popularly known as The Last Supper and a print hangs in the Israel Museum.

The Museum has this to say about it:

Adi Nes
Israeli, born 1966
Untitled
Chromogenic print,  90 x 144 cm 
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What appears to be a routine photograph of soldiers eating is, in fact, a carefully staged scene showing Nes’s characteristic attention to detail. It was inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, depicting one of the most dramatic moments in the story of Christ: the announcement of Judas’s betrayal, which led to the Crucifixion, the ultimate sacrifice.
 In Israeli society and art, the soldier is often represented as an object of reverence. Brave and confident, he is the heir to mythical figures like the pioneer.
 Nes chooses to emphasize the youthfulness of the soldiers, in transition from adolescence to adulthood, from innocence to disenchantment. They face the greatest danger of all, the risk of dying in battle.
Nes’s analogy between the iconic Christian scene and Israeli reality conveys a political message regarding commitment and sacrifice. Like Christ’s apostles, the soldiers are disciples of an ideology, a power stronger than themselves.
But they are also victims of a geopolitical constellation over which they have no control.
The bullet holes in the wall, cigarette smoke, and bitten apple are symbols of transience, reminding us that this might indeed be their last supper.

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More about the photographer  in Wikipedia and in
http://israel21c.org/people/photographer-adi-nes-connects-ancient-and-modern-israel/

More Last Supper images, including da Vinci's, are here. 
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So many photos, so little time

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No, it is not Israel!
Now, at the midnight contest deadline, I just finished three days of steady image uploading to Wiki Israel.
I contributed hundreds of photos for which I had to write informative but short titles, for almost 30 heritage sites in Israel and Jerusalem.
There were over 600 physical sites on the nationwide list to chose from. 
It was my first time and there was much to learn about how and what to contribute. 

But now I can't bear to look at even one more local picture again, not even for the blog.

So here is a favorite shot of the medieval ramparts that protected Nymburk, now in the Czech Republic!

I went there in 2006 to be at the wedding of my young friend Pavla.
Was living in Switzerland part of that year, so I took the 11-hour night bus from Zurich to Prague. Oi . . . very long and dark.

Sometimes it is tempting to start a second blog about my times outside of Israel.
What's the fun of photos if they can't be shared.
But now my eyes need a good rest.
Tomorrow is another day.
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Good night to all and to the folks at Our World Tuesday.
And the nice Czech town of Nymburk is for N Day at ABC Wednesday.
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A portrait photographer's sensitivity

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 At the Dwek Gallery in Jerusalem this summer  I took this photo of a photograph by  Bern Schwartz (1914-1978).

 A Californian who turned to photography only  in his 60s, Schwartz (pictured in the poster above) shot many wonderful portraits of many famous people.
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What I enjoyed most of this exhibit of faces and friends of Israel was the written explanation given about the  Archbishop's sitting:

Metropolitan of Caesaria

Vasilios Blastsos

born 1923

In 1962 Blastsos was elected Archbishop of Jordan and in 1975 was elevated to Metropolitan of the First Throne Metropolis of Caesaria of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. 
'Towards the latter half of the sitting, one of the nuns appeared,'  Schwartz recalled. I noticed how the Archbishop's eyes lighted up when she came by, so I gave her a cable release and told her to snap it when she felt the Archbishop looked the best.'

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Good drones and bad drones

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How strange.
Last night I wrote this little post (below) and today we hear that a drone entered Israel airspace at 10 a.m. and was  shot down by our air force.
But  the intercepted drone was one in the shape of an airplane.

Our jets followed it for half an hour  a short while after it turned inland  from the Mediterranean.
At the edge of the Negev desert, on the southern slopes of  the Hebron mountains,  the UAV unmanned aircraft was shot down. 

See the video here  and read  Ynet's latest speculations [updated] about where it came from.
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Here is my innocent post written yesterday:

The dream of every photo blogger, no?

But would you trust your camera to this little flying machine?
Or more precisely, this remotely-operated unmanned miniature helicopter.

Seen and admired at AgriTech exhibition in May.
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Wiki Loves Monuments (historical landmarks) photo contest

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Photographers, bloggers, natives, tourists--get your cameras ready!
Or your archives.
Wiki Loves Monuments 2012 is in progress!

Wikipedia needs photos, old or new, of your local cultural heritage and the best entries in their big photo contest will get prizes.

I read through the list of moreshet/heritage places in Israel and realized that my archive is already full of such pictures.
Maybe I should upload a bunch and try for the shekel prizes of

• First place: ILS 5000 (about $1,250)
• Second place: ILS 3000 (about $750)
• Third place: ILS 2000 (about $500)

Worldwide, 142,511 images have already been uploaded; and in Israel, 353.

Check the website to see if your country is participating and what the final date is.
In Israel, the contest (like everything else here) starts and ends (Oct. 15) later than in non-Jewish countries because of the chagim, the holidays.

About the contest for Israel
FAQs in Hebrew
Help Desk in English
Wiki Loves Monuments blog
2011 contest jury report (judging criteria, etc.)

I am new to this; does anyone have any advice? It sounds like a good thing to do, this contributing to Wiki and freely sharing pictures of my beloved country . . . . Is it?
It means anyone in the world can use our photographs, for any purpose, including commercial.
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UPDATE: See added information in the comments section, e.g. re the Wiki contest in the USA.
UPDATE #2:  The Jerusalem Post writes about the competition in Israel.
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(This post can be good for Our World Tuesday.)
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Photography from a powered parachute!

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This man has to have the most exciting photography job in the world!
Above the world, actually.
He makes photos of the earth below while flying in a powered parachute.

You can see his flying machine on the cover of his book, Knafayim shel tsipor (Bird's Wings).
Asaf Solomon stood still a minute for this picture with his book and with Or Solomon at the big AgriTech exhibition in Tel Aviv.

Go to the AgriTech website and click on the box "A Bird's Eye View of Agriculture in Israel" to see a short and amazing slideshow of some of his best shots.

Under Asaf's hand you can see his handout: each of the 18 boxes shows one aspect of what his photos are good for.
Artistic aerial photography and postcards of Israel, of course, and coverage of special events like hot air ballooning.
But also to find drainage problems in farm lands, to document the extent of forest fires, to better see roof solar panels and to map acres of greenhouses, to document building violations, to plan water reservoirs . . . and much more.
Asaf is also helping archaeologists see "the big picture" that they can't grasp while standing on the ground.

Channel 10 News made a video of Asaf in action!
You can watch it at the photographer's website, http://asafsolomon.com/en .
Just don't get too jealous.
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Waiting to shoot

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There is one photo I forgot to show you from the open house at the President's residence.

Everyone was waiting for the music and dancing and speech-making to start on the stage in the big garden.
The sun was getting hot.
The official photographers were smoking and waiting and getting bored.
Or maybe I just thought so.
Please, enlarge the picture and tell me what impression you get from their faces and body language.
Anyway, it made me glad to have the freedom of being just an amateur photographer.
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Naked Sea photo shoot--it really happened

UPDATE: If you really want to see them, here are 6 AP photos in The Washington Post.
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FLASH (flesh?):
The newspapers are starting to report that it (see my Thursday post) really happened early this morning!
Some 1,200 Israelis were bused to Mineral Beach where they undressed and posed for Spencer Tunick.
On the Dead Sea shore, in the slimy water, and once even covered with the therapeutic black mud.

Haaretz bears it all, complete with a little fuzzy photo, revealing that

"The quiet of the photo shoot was interrupted by Peeping Toms who hovered above the models in powered parachutes. Some of them were equipped with large photographic lenses, which was against all preceding promises and customary rules. In addition, some of the photographers who came to document the event broke the rules and used larger lenses than were allowed."

Opponents to this mass "immodesty" are calling it "Sodom and Gomorrah."
But at least this time no one turned into a pillar of salt.
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UPDATE: Today, Sunday, more articles are appearing, like this in the Jerusalem Post. My favorite part is what the female participant in the photo shoot writes:

After an hour in the Dead Sea holding different positions (certainly the longest I have ever been in the salty water, and an experience I hope never to repeat), and an hour standing in the sun, I started to feel a bit like beef jerky, wellsalted and laid out to harden in the sun.

The Naked Sea Installation: overexposure?

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Would you rather see just this lone person at the Dead Sea shore or a thousand?
If American artist Spencer Tunick has his way 1,000 Israelis will converge at some as yet secret meeting place at this lowest place on earth, undress, and pose naked for his photographs and videos.
On Saturday, Shabbat, the Sabbath.
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Supposedly it is meant to call attention to the fragile nature of the shrinking Dead Sea and to make you vote for the lake as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature -- oh, yeah, and to improve Israel's image in the world.
Tunick also wants to prove that the Jewish State is the only country in the Middle East with religious freedom. (We'll see about that . . . )
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If your kids aren't looking over your shoulder, you might click here to see a clip of Tunick's style in other countries.
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Three thousand Israelis volunteered for the project.
Only one thousand were selected.
I wonder how these chosen people were chosen.
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Red tape might block this mass photo shoot.
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OK friends, I can hardly wait to read your comments!
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Hopefully the little sliver of hazy January sky above the mountains of Jordan, just after sunset, qualifies this photo for Sky Watch Friday.
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UPDATE: I can hardly believe it! They really did it. See the first photo and first news article about the photo shoot at Haaretz.
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Lunar landscape by my son

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My son the photographer took this picture on the night of the lunar eclipse this month.
You can click and enlarge it a bit.

Edo lives in Los Angeles and does professional photography.
Thanks for e-mailing me the moon, dear Son!
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UPDATE: Edo says he used a 70-200 lens with a 2x extender, Canon body and lenses.
And that he photographs events, people and corporate on location.
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I'm happy to share the beauty with all at SkyWatch Friday.
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Bridge shadows and trams

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Shadows of four of the 66 steel cables on Calatrava's Bridge of Strings.

(My gift to Hey Harriet's Shadow Shot Sunday.)

Catenary masts have sprouted all along the bridge.

The overhead wires were just recently electrified.

Now we anxiously await the first test of the new trams going over the bridge on their own power.

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A photographer at work (or at play) in the shadow of the bridge.

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(The bridge being for Louis la Vache's Sunday Bridges.)
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The 119-meter bridge mast towers over the parked, still-not-ridden-in trams.
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More shadows! Of both bare and leafy trees waiting to be planted along the route of Jerusalem's light rail.

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Hopefully the system will open in April and we will get our first pictures from inside the carriages.

Meanwhile, these new signs of progress are exciting!

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Making a home for archaeology

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On June 30, quite by accident, I made an exciting archaeology discovery that made me very happy.

While walking over to the Israel Museum, I noticed this helium balloon floating with a camera suspended from it.

The cables tethering the balloon led to this construction site.

I hurried over to investigate and was overjoyed to discover that here will be built the NATIONAL CAMPUS FOR THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF ISRAEL!

The bulldozer in the photo was just beginning to scratch the surface.

So far, this group of huts and containers is all there is, as far as I know.

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In the background you see the green oval of the Hebrew University stadium.

( This and the following two photos are courtesy of the image gallery at

The Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Inc.)
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But here is what it WILL look like maybe even next year already!

This is so cool!

The roof here in the scale model is meant to look like the black canopy netting under which we diggers excavate in the hot season.

But this one has a hole in the middle which will collect rain water and funnel in down into a pool, like a waterfall!
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God bless architect Moshe Safdie and his great ideas!

Read his Design Concept for the campus here. You'll love it.

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Also inspiring are the The Vision and the Mission Statement for the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel.

Here is part of The Vision:

"By creating the National Campus, nearly one million objects in the Archaeological National Collections [including 15,000 fragments of Dead Sea Scrolls], the National Archaeological Library and Archives, the National Archaeological Conservation and Restoration Laboratories, the housing facilities, the archaeological education centers and the headquarters of the Israel Antiquities Authority will be brought to a safe and permanent home, in Jerusalem's Museum Hill. . . . "
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At present, all these treasures and resources and people are scattered all over Israel and mostly can't be seen. It is time they got a place all their own.

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The treasures collectively represent the cultural heritage of the Land of Israel, and in a way the archaeological work conducted in our country is also universal in that it preserves the heritage of all mankind.

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This good news is my contribution to That's My World Tuesday.

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Look Ma, no hands!

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The newsmen were focusing on Jerusalem Mayor Barkat at the recent rededication of the Old City's Flower Gate (aka Herod's Gate).

But I found it more interesting to watch the photographers instead.

This was new to me.
A kind of video camera stabilizer, I suppose?
Can some of you tell me what it is called or more about it?
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Bridge to Education

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Jerusalem has a new little bridge that was put up last summer.
I was happy to discover it a few weeks ago--perfect for Louis la Vache's Sunday Bridges meme.
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It is useful, pretty, and what's more . . . it is a Bridge to Education!
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The Gesher la-haskala creates a unified urban college campus, connecting the Esther Gottesman Center for Technology with Hadassah College Jerusalem’s traditional home in the building that originally housed the Rothschild Hospital on HaNeviim Street.
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The website says "The Gottesman Bridge is a physical statement and visible affirmation that Hadassah College Jerusalem is a seminal, cohesive institution of higher education."
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Most interesting for us bloggers, the 4-year, B.A.-granting institution has a Department of Photographic Communications!

Their web page promises that "Graduates will specialize in business/advertising photography as well as news/documentary photography. The program will provide students with tools to gain a unique perspective of the complex nature of the world in which we live; courses will offer students insight into the inherent complexities of representing society and the individual. Materials will be complemented by the study of the ethical issues in the world of communications."
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For dramatic time-lapse photography of how the bridge was hoisted and installed by a dancing crane, see the lively little video at
http://www.hadassah.ac.il/site/NewsImages/Bridge/base.html .

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