Israel
A Holy Energy
What resonated most about Israel was its holy energy.
Sometimes I stood in the market or at the Wailing Wall shooting the same challah, woman, or rabbi 18 times; at other times I would see the photo before I took it, and know I could not shoot it again.
I’d visited 15 years before, to celebrate a bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah with four generations of my extended family. This time, I was meeting the family of my boyfriend (who would, soon afterward, become my fiance).
The Israelis I met were friendly, yet tough; the land was warm, but rugged. This mingling of opposing characteristics inspired most of these photographs.
The attitudes of the people - their postures, expressions, laughter or sadness - suggested that their way of life was bound to this particular land.
I carried their energy home. Even though it could not be cultivated anywhere else, it was still deliciously contagious and electrifying.
What's your view?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
October 14th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
[...] Big World Magazine » A Holy Energy http://www.bigworldmagazine.com/a-holy-energy – view page – cached Sometimes I stood in the market or at the Wailing Wall shooting the same challah, woman, or rabbi 18 times; at other times I would see the photo before I took it, and know I could not shoot it again. — From the page [...]
October 14th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Good Photography and people shots….wish I could’ve seen more !
October 15th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Thank you, Shobha.
October 15th, 2009 at 10:51 am
Hmmm, was that too tight an edit?
October 16th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I like this sentence “The Israelis I met were friendly, yet tough; the land was warm, but rugged.”
It’s hard to think of Israel without thinking of Palestine and vice versa. I am absolutely willing to do that. But when I read “The attitudes of the people (…) suggested that their way of life was bound to this particular land,” I’m thinking about the conflict. “Land,” obviously, is such a big word.