Project365 after One Month: More Outside Photos

Streetlamp during a heavy rainstorm. I had to force myself to go out to take this photo.

Entrance to Maale Adumim in foreground, Jerusalem in background, taken with LG G3 phonecam while on one of my rather infrequent runs.

City hall tram stop, Jerusalem.

Maaleh Adumim conservatory.

Jerusalem Technology Park office tower, Har Hotzvim, Jerusalem.

Project365 after One Month: Outside

Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum, Jerusalem. I used a long exposure to smooth the water. I didn’t have a tripod, so I set the camera on a ledge and used the timer.

For the purposes of this blog, I define “outside” photos as anything I took outside the house. Only 14 qualified, which probably means I need to get a life. 🙂

Spice stall, Mahaneh Yehuda shuk, Jerusalem, after meeting a friend for dinner. This is only half the shop, by the way. I didn’t have a wide enough lens to include the other side.

Cinema City, Jerusalem, while waiting for my son, so that we could see Star Wars VIII.

Work at 6 a.m. I live 100 km from the office, so I carpool with a coworker/neighbour a couple times a week. We leave at 5 a.m., arrive at 6. I’m usually the first to turn on the lights and deactivate the alarm.

Jerusalem Toastmasters, in Har Hotzvim. I’ve been a member since 2015 and I’m currently its president, which means I don’t have too much to do if everyone else does their job. If you’re in the area, come by for a visit!

Kiosk in Sanhedriya, Jerusalem, on the way to Toastmasters. They seem to sell everything — hot food, newspapers, umbrellas, flowers. The decor is dominated by Sephardi rabbis.

Eighth Night of Hanukkah, 2017

I wandered for a couple hours through the Nachlaot neighbourhood of Jerusalem on the eighth night of Hanukkah (Dec. 19, 2017). Nachlaot is a warren of alleys and courtyards, gentrified houses beside crumbling apartment buildings. Most of the buildings date from the 19th century. It was surprisingly crowded that night. There were two Hebrew-speaking tour groups and a lot of hanukkah parties.

In one of the alleys, a family set up a large table with nine glass boxes and oil-burning hanukkah lamps. They brought out an electric keyboard, a guitar, and a row of chairs. Then each family member lit in order of age. I photographed the youngest boys lighting their lamps (above). I was about 2 meters away and took this with a 16-50mm lens on a Sony Alpha 6300 mirrorless camera. While the lens doesn’t have a long reach, it is fairly small. The fact that the camera is silent is a big advantage when doing any kind of street photography where the noise of a shutter would be intrusive.

Right across the alley from the hanukkah party was this small hanukkiah tied to the bars of a window.

Another hanukkah party, with guitarist and harmonica player, was winding down by the time I got close enough to photograph the large hanukkiah. When it was in full swing the alley was filled with people singing and it was impossible for me to see over people’s heads.

A much smaller party, in an alley that was only about 2 meters wide.

This was one of the more bizarre hanukkiot I saw. A wheeled cart decorated with plastic fruit, streamers, and flashing green and red lights was parked in an alley outside a house. I strongly suspect that the cart is actually used to bring a groom to the chuppah. I’ve seen similar contraptions at kibbutz weddings, pulled by the groom’s friends, instead of the traditional tractor.

More from the Jerusalem Festival of Light 2017

“RGB3D” (Ido Scherf and Shai Shtarker, Israel) was a clever installation. At first glance it looked like a pretty but meaningless display of coloured lightbulbs behind a fence. In front of the fence were three steps, coloured red, blue, and green. When viewed from the top of each step, the lights spelled the name of the colour. I took this photo from the RED step.

“Moon Haze” (Feng Jiacheng and Huang Yuanbei, PR China), or the far side of the moon, literally. I walked around it to the other side to photograph the inflated moon at a reasonable distance, away from the crowds. I included the guy with the phonecam to show scale. The moon is sitting on the 3,000-year-old Broad Wall, one of the ancient city walls of Jerusalem.

I’ve seen some weird things in the Muristan but “Oasis” (Gil Teichman, in collaboration with Nitzan Refaeli and Ronen Nadjar, Israel) tops them all. The installation “includes a special performance of favorite elephants from previous festivals.” Previous festivals? Does that mean previous Jerusalem Festivals of Light? Did anyone see the elephants performing? I saw inflated elephants with a soundtrack of elephants trumpeting. If someone managed to get elephants into the cramped streets of the Christian Quarter, that would have been quite a logistcal feat.

Batei Mahsei has had some stunning video-mapping installations projected onto its distinctive arched facade in the past. This was not one of them. “Dream Machine,” by Liron Gavish, Shootzi, Tal Heuberger, and Ido Ramon, Israel. It was pleasant but not stunning.

“Drawn in Light,” by Ralf Westerhof, The Netherlands, was simple but surprisingly effective. The three-dimensional wire house, trees, and other elements, suspended as a giant mobile, comprised a constantly changing landscape. The house’s rotation revealed new details and perspectives. It’s difficult to show scale in a photo. According to the description, the installation was 13 meters wide.

“Cathedral of Mirrors” (Mads Christensen, Denmark) was an interactive installation with motion sensors. The colours shifted and pulsated when people walked between the columns or touched them.

“Fly,” by Itzik Ilus, Israel. Clear plastic birds lit by coloured lights. This year the route was marked by orange arrow signs. They were much more difficult to locate and follow than the strings of LED lights usedat  past festivals. Please bring back the light strings! You have no idea how many people missed the sharp right turn down the stairs to Batei Mahsei, walking from the Cardo to the Hurva by accident.

“Solaris,” Hurva Synagogue – Jerusalem Festival of Light 2017

“Solaris” is a video-mapping installation by Visualsupport, Poland, incorporating the Hurva Synagogue. The festival brochure describes it as the show’s “world premiere in Jerusalem.” It was pretty, but not amazing. Scroll down for the video.

Concert and Candles in Zedekiah’s Cave – Jerusalem Festival of Light 2017

Where else could you see a piano concert at the bottom of a 2000-year-old cave? “Interactive Shadows” (Studio Insight, Guy Romem, Israel) refers to the cameras set along the path to the bottom of the cave. The cameras project images of the viewers on the walls, with different effects (line drawings, coloured silhouettes, etc.).

The musicians are listed as Yoel Shemesh and Achiya Asher Cohen Alloro. I have no idea who was playing that evening. At one point there was a loud cracking sound. The pianist, without missing a beat, looked over his shoulder at a bench that had collapsed in the middle from the weight of the children.

Selfies….

The Tribe – Fire Dancers at the Jerusalem Festival of Light 2017

Fire and dance show called “The Tribe” (Lital Natanzon, Israel), in the open auditorium on Tsanchanim Road. I can’t say that I noticed any characters or encounters with figures from other worlds, but it was fun to watch. There are only two performances, at 8:30 and 9:15. I recommend you try to get there early, maybe first on your agenda, because it does get crowded.

Long exposures are not easy when handheld at a significant distance.

I call this one Headless Nick. Strange effect!

Peacock and Greek Folk Music – Jerusalem Festival of Light 2017

It’s that time of year again! I love photographing the annual Festival of Light in the Old City. This is the festival’s ninth year. I think I’ve missed only one.

The Peacock (Tim Scofield Studios, USA), was one of my favourite installations. It’s located on Chabad Street, close to Zion Gate. Comprising more than 14,400 individually addressable LED lights, it measure more than 12 m. wide and 6.5 m. high.

I think I was playing with longer exposures when I took this photo.

Here’s a video of the Peacock:

Two Israeli musicians playing Greek instruments. The bowed instrument is a lyra creta and the other is an outi.

In this video I shot, the guy on the right has bells attached to his bow. It’s very cool how he’s able to shake his hand to make them ring in time to the music.

Festival of Light 2016: Purple Route

This year the Festival of Light included a route into the center of Jerusalem. This is not the first time that there have been installations outside the Old City. The first Festival of Light included the City Hall (Iriya). In the photo above, the central Post Office is lit by colored lights that are activated by hitting the mailboxes across the street. This is shown in the video below.

Eiffel Tower, by Luminarie De Cagna, Italy.

Love Jerusalem is an elaborate ad for the “Friends of Zion” museum, but it’s cleverly done. A video follows the photo.

Balls of Light, by Siddhartha (Israel) didn’t knock my socks off but it was a brilliant piece of marketing–after hiking around the Old City for a couple hours, most people would welcome the opportunity to sit down at one of the restaurants or cafes in Nahalat Shiva.

Festival of Light 2016: Photos from the Red Route

The photos above and below are of the installation at the Church of the Dormition. A woman in an elaborate costume sang opera (sounded like Puccini) in front of the church, which was lit by projections. A lot of people liked it but I honestly didn’t enjoy it. The alley behind the church is extremely narrow and it became a bottleneck with crowds of people standing and shooting videos and phone pics. The scale was bizarre–you could either view the woman on a small raised platform or the church, but not both, because of the small viewing area.

“Reflection of Co-existence,” by Cochavi & Klein, Israel.

“Northern Lights,” by Aleksandra Stratimirovic, Sweden.