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Foto Friday – Local Testimony 2010

Local Testimony, the country’s largest and most prestigious annual exhibition of international and Israeli press photography, opened this month at the Eretz Israel Museum.

Photo: Mohammed Muheisen, Daily Life category

The exhibit presents images from the past year of war and peace, politics and society, culture and art, nature and the environment, sports, portraiture, multimedia presentations and more.

Photo: Shlomi Nissim, Nature category

The exhibit also includes a special focus on the work of its curator, photographer Galia Gur-Zeev, who notes, “As the curator of Local Testimony 2010, I regard this as a chance to compare this year’s photos with those of previous years that deal with the same topic.”

Photo: Rina Castelnovo, Politics category

“Press photos always appear together with a mediating text which imposes meaning and interpretation that are not free of manipulation. Separating a photo from the text enables freedom from verbal linearity and a transition to the photograph’s timelessness.”

Photo: Amir Cohen, Daily Life category

“Now, the documentary photo is open to new observation, new interpretation, and the suspension of our gaze.”

Photo: Moti Milrod, Portrait category

Local Testimony runs through January 15, 2011, and is open till 10:00pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

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Foto Friday – Olives take center stage

The humble olive finds itself in the eye of a political storm this year with reports of violence and vandalism from all sides. (Perhaps the fairest assessment of the situation comes from a new Oxfam report which puts the blame squarely on… well… everyone, which is kind of refreshing). Meanwhile, the fruit of the Olea Europaea tree is ripening and olive-picking activities – also on all sides – are at their peak.

The annual Galilee and Golan Olive Branch Festival started last week and features two weekends of activities for tourists to Israel’s northern region. The festival, a joint initiative of the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee, the Galilee Development Authority and the Israel Olive Board is being held under the slogan “A Tribute to the Olive in Different Cultures”.

Activities include visits to olive presses, workshops, hikes, cycling tours, spas and gourmet eating. In addition, an Open House initiative offers visitors a glimpse into the lives of Galilee residents – Jews, Arabs, Druze, Circassian – including traditional food, music and crafts.

Hananya Farm is one of the country’s major producers of olive oil. Located in the Western Galilee, it is both the headquarters of the Olive Board and one of the festival’s four information centers, offering a wide range of workshops and activities.

These include picking and pressing the olives in an old-fashioned press, guided olive oil tasting, explanations about the olive harvest, an arts and crafts fair, farmers market and musical performances beneath the olive trees. Guided hikes (many with KKL-JNF guides), cycle and jeep tours are also available.

A few words about the Olive Board. A statutory body representing the interests of Israel’s olive producers, it sets standards for olive oil quality and production. In recent years it has adopted an additional aim: promoting the health benefits related to olive oil consumption. Their website contains a range of information, from the history of the olive in Mediterranean culture to the varieties of olives grown in Israel, like Barnea, which was bred specifically for modern olive and olive oil production methods. Truth be told (and it’s worth reading the Oxfam report with this in mind) stone presses are nice for promotional festivals and niche markets but that’s not really how this stuff gets made – or makes it – in the mass market.

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Nostalgia Sunday – Jerusalem the Center

Jerusalem is central to Judaism. And no day is that fact made more evident than Tisha b’Av, the Ninth of Av, the day on which both the First and Second Temples were destroyed and the Jews exiled. It is a day of fasting and mourning, but also of study, prayer and hope that Jerusalem will one day be truly rebuilt and the Jews returned to their ancient homeland.

To mark the upcoming holy day, here are some pictures of Jerusalem, ancient and modern, courtesy of the excellent Jerusalem Shots website.

© trionfo

© RomKri

© trionfo

© Misha Burlatsky

© G. Eric and Edith Matson

© RomKri

© trionfo

© Олег Велобегов

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Foto Friday – Elyssa Frank has a TLV secret

Photographer Elyssa Frank is passionate about Tel Aviv. You can tell from the albums she posts on her Facebook page MADE in ISRAEL. A few days ago, before the dust storms hit and our skies turned yellowy-white, Frank took a stroll somewhere.

Frank likens the expanse of mossy rocks and sea to the Irish countryside… Mediterranean-style.

And through her lens, the shells that wash up on the shore become jewels…

The album is entitled “Someone shared a beautiful secret with me…” and Frank won’t disclose the location. But it’s easy to spot a few landmarks, like the old lighthouse… and the running path by the Israel Electric Corporation’s Reading power station pretty much gives it away!

Nonetheless, it’s nice to know that between the dance clubs, restaurants and sports facilities there are a few quiet spots left at the Tel Aviv Port.

More of Frank’s street photography is available on her MADE in ISRAEL page (check out the series on the headphone street party that took place last weekend). Portfolio collection viewings available upon request.

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Foto Friday – Israel Independence Day is Coming

Israel’s 62nd Day of Independence is coming and the country is bedecked with flags.

© Michael Freilich

All over Israel, the holiday will be celebrated with fireworks…

© Dudi.

And more flags…

© RomKri

As the citizenry continues its peculiar custom of showering friends and complete strangers with shaving foam. Well, that’s better than the other custom of hitting one another over the head with squeaky plastic hammers. And no, I’m not kidding about that.

© RomKri

And of course, Independence Day would be nowhere without its most important tradition, the outdoor barbecue!

© Пётр Рогов

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