mahlon.r.haunschild@xxxxxx wrote:
>
>Seriously, I can't wait to hear of his (mis?)adventures in the Holy Land.
>Have fun and shoot well, Ulf.
>
Well, I'm back, here is a trip report:
As this was to be a social get-together with my family, this was not meant
to be one of the more important journeys I've made, photographically spoken,
that is. Nevertheless, I got a few days and stolen moments to do what I
really urged to do, here are some highlights:
Birds: My very first morning, having been in the country for just the night,
I went down to a park in central Eilat. This does not sound very much of a
wilderness experience (it isn't) but many. many birds stay hear for a while
before migrating further north. In my first hour I spotted a white-throated
kingfisher, beautifully sitting in the palms in perfect morning light, just
the 300/4.5+1.4 on the tripod, perfect, jippiieee! This bird is one of the
most stunning kingfishers, and rare, at least in this area. Things just
couldn't start any better!
Further on I shot fan-tailed ravens in flight at the Massada rock with the
65-200/4 and Tristams starlings, different shrikes and wheatears with the
300/4.5 only, many of them full-frame. White-spectacled bulbuls, though very
common in human surroundings, "needed" the 2X on the 300, though.
Landscapes/scenics: Timna Valley/Park is just as fantastic as many american
deserts, and yes, it also has a sort scenic drive for conventional cars.
Surely a "must" if one ever stays in this part of the country! Solomons
pillar were shot with 24/2.8 and 16/3.5, deep, deep red rocks against a blue
sky on Velvia, hmm!
Here I also made an encounter with a beetle very, very reminiscent of the
more famous ones of the Namib desert (the one standing in 45 degree position
so it can lick morning dew running down to its' mouth). Perfect match for
the 90/2, once it stood still!
Having been in northern Arizona last year and not being able to go down in
Antelope Canyon because of thunderstorms around, I got my "revenge" in Red
Canyon, northern part of Eilat mountains. It bears great resemblance to the
slot canyons of America, though a tad darker and redder. Red canyon is 30
meters at the deepest and as very little light enters this deep down, I
stayed a bit higher up, 10-15 meters, where colours were fantastic. The
light in these gorges are surprisingly best in the middle of the day, I
myself arrived at noon. Hiking and entering this very narrow, deep gorge
with equipment and big tripod is an achievement all by itself, but very
rewarding, Moderate focal lengths apply here, 35/2 and 50/3.5, stopped all
the way down, came to use here.
People: Need I say more than: Jerusalem! Beautiful, picturesque as few, with
a history filled with events and blood, "the air is so thick of prayers
and dreams it's almost hard to breathe", as an Israelan poet has put ut.
This wasn't really my part of the trip, but I managed to get some decent
shots of the western wall, olive mountain and too many historical places to
mention here. For candid shots the 65-200 was irreplacable, really, and as
long as you didn't point your gear right in the face of people, no one
really including orthodox jews, did mind. I never take a photograph of a
person if there is disproval in his face. As in other cities, in central
Jerusalem one must be very precaucious of yourself and your equipment, money
etc. lot of pick-pocket thievies abound. There really is no room for
fiddling with a big bag with camera stuff. My solution was to never open the
bag outside, and to switch between the 35/2 and the 65-200/4 on one body,
having one of the lenses in my pocket. A limitation, yes, but not a very
large one, yet IMO necessary.
Epilogue: One word comes to mind: Fantastic! Fantastic people, very
friendly. Israel is a very well-organized country, especially when you come
to think of it's neighbours... As for safety, I can promise that the
Israelan police and military does all it can (and that is MUCH) to protect
tourists from entering any area that might be considered unsafe. You can
safely say that the authorities do monitor every move made, I never felt any
unease at all, not even in Betlehem which is on the West Bank and is guarded
by Arafat's boys, though this probably was the least stable part I visited.
This country certainly is a "must" for any traveller, either for the
nature-lover, history-seeker, sun-seeker or whatever. I hope I can return
for a longer adventure, instead of this compromised one-week journey. I
certainly recommend Israel, especially if you are just a tiny bit interested
in history and, of course (need I say this?) religion.
I've tried to be as Oly-specific as I could, but probably failed while doing
so. Please forgive me for this, if any of you have further questions I'd be
more than happy to answer them, please feel free to email me privately or
(if Oly-related) to this list!
Shalom
Ulf Westerberg
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