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Panoramas of Israel

In 2012, I joined a Bible Study Tour of Israel. I had recently purchased my first DSLR camera, a Sony A33 and that was perhaps the first big trip I attempted to get some great images of. Unfortunately, the majority of the images were taken with a somewhat shaky hand and blurry eye. That hasn’t stopped me from saving them with a hope for future skills and software. So here we are.

I’ve dug into my archives to play with some of the panoramas I really wanted to work. All of the below images are composites. I combine images with Microsoft Image Composite Editor (ICE). The color edits are done in Lightroom. You can see where some additional touch-up are needed on the rougher images; that work will be done in Photoshop.

Learning how to do a high quality edit for my images has been a long-term goal. One of the best parts of 2020, is having the time to learn new skills and practice them and apply them to my work.

These are quick edits, but I think they illustrate a great amount of possibilities for creative work with tools created for the trade.

Jerusalem, Israel, City on Seven Hills. Looking across to Temple Mount. c. 2012
Haifa Bay, Israel. c 2012
Golan Heights, Israel looking towards Lebanon. c 2012
Tel Dan, Israel. c 2012

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ACAD – Rejected: Lamentations 1

The Deserted City
How lonely sits the city
    that once was full of people!
How like a widow she has become,
    she that was great among the nations!
She that was a princess among the provinces
    has become a vassal.
She weeps bitterly in the night,
    with tears on her cheeks;
among all her lovers
    she has no one to comfort her;
all her friends have dealt treacherously with her,
    they have become her enemies.
Judah has gone into exile with suffering
    and hard servitude;
she lives now among the nations,
    and finds no resting place;
her pursuers have all overtaken her
    in the midst of her distress.
The roads to Zion mourn,
    for no one comes to the festivals;
all her gates are desolate,
    her priests groan;
her young girls grieve,[a]
    and her lot is bitter.
Her foes have become the masters,
    her enemies prosper,
because the Lord has made her suffer
    for the multitude of her transgressions;
her children have gone away,
    captives before the foe.
From daughter Zion has departed
    all her majesty.
Her princes have become like stags
    that find no pasture;
they fled without strength
    before the pursuer.
Jerusalem remembers,
    in the days of her affliction and wandering,
all the precious things
    that were hers in days of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the foe,
    and there was no one to help her,
the foe looked on mocking
    over her downfall.
Jerusalem sinned grievously,
    so she has become a mockery;
all who honored her despise her,
    for they have seen her nakedness;
she herself groans,
    and turns her face away.
Her uncleanness was in her skirts;
    she took no thought of her future;
her downfall was appalling,
    with none to comfort her.
“O Lord, look at my affliction,
    for the enemy has triumphed!”
Enemies have stretched out their hands
    over all her precious things;
she has even seen the nations
    invade her sanctuary,
those whom you forbade
    to enter your congregation.
All her people groan
    as they search for bread;
they trade their treasures for food
    to revive their strength.
Look, O Lord, and see
    how worthless I have become.
Is it nothing to you,[b] all you who pass by?
    Look and see
if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
    which was brought upon me,
which the Lord inflicted
    on the day of his fierce anger.
From on high he sent fire;
    it went deep into my bones;
he spread a net for my feet;
    he turned me back;
he has left me stunned,
    faint all day long.
My transgressions were bound[c] into a yoke;
    by his hand they were fastened together;
they weigh on my neck,
    sapping my strength;
the Lord handed me over
    to those whom I cannot withstand.
The Lord has rejected
    all my warriors in the midst of me;
he proclaimed a time against me
    to crush my young men;
the Lord has trodden as in a wine press
    the virgin daughter Judah.
For these things I weep;
    my eyes flow with tears;
for a comforter is far from me,
    one to revive my courage;
my children are desolate,
    for the enemy has prevailed.
Zion stretches out her hands,
    but there is no one to comfort her;
the Lord has commanded against Jacob
    that his neighbors should become his foes;
Jerusalem has become
    a filthy thing among them.
The Lord is in the right,
    for I have rebelled against his word;
but hear, all you peoples,
    and behold my suffering;
my young women and young men
    have gone into captivity.
I called to my lovers
    but they deceived me;
my priests and elders
    perished in the city
while seeking food
    to revive their strength.
See, O Lord, how distressed I am;
    my stomach churns,
my heart is wrung within me,
    because I have been very rebellious.
In the street the sword bereaves;
    in the house it is like death.
They heard how I was groaning,
    with no one to comfort me.
All my enemies heard of my trouble;
    they are glad that you have done it.
Bring on the day you have announced,
    and let them be as I am.
Let all their evil doing come before you;
    and deal with them
as you have dealt with me
    because of all my transgressions;
for my groans are many
    and my heart is faint.

Footnotes:

Lamentations 1:4 Meaning of Heb uncertain
Lamentations 1:12 Meaning of Heb uncertain
Lamentations 1:14 Meaning of Heb uncertain

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ACAD – Rejected: Jeremiah 6

The Imminence and Horror of the Invasion

Flee for safety, O children of Benjamin,
    from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in Tekoa,
    and raise a signal on Beth-haccherem;
for evil looms out of the north,
    and great destruction.
I have likened daughter Zion
    to the loveliest pasture.[a]
Shepherds with their flocks shall come against her.
    They shall pitch their tents around her;
    they shall pasture, all in their places.
“Prepare war against her;
    up, and let us attack at noon!”
“Woe to us, for the day declines,
    the shadows of evening lengthen!”
“Up, and let us attack by night,
    and destroy her palaces!”
For thus says the Lord of hosts:
Cut down her trees;
    cast up a siege ramp against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must be punished;[b]
    there is nothing but oppression within her.
As a well keeps its water fresh,
    so she keeps fresh her wickedness;
violence and destruction are heard within her;
    sickness and wounds are ever before me.
Take warning, O Jerusalem,
    or I shall turn from you in disgust,
and make you a desolation,
    an uninhabited land.

Thus says the Lord of hosts:
Glean[c] thoroughly as a vine
    the remnant of Israel;
like a grape-gatherer, pass your hand again
    over its branches.

To whom shall I speak and give warning,
    that they may hear?
See, their ears are closed,[d]
    they cannot listen.
The word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn;
    they take no pleasure in it.
But I am full of the wrath of the Lord;
    I am weary of holding it in.

Pour it out on the children in the street,
    and on the gatherings of young men as well;
both husband and wife shall be taken,
    the old folk and the very aged.
Their houses shall be turned over to others,
    their fields and wives together;
for I will stretch out my hand
    against the inhabitants of the land,
says the Lord.

13 For from the least to the greatest of them,
    everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
and from prophet to priest,
    everyone deals falsely.
They have treated the wound of my people carelessly,
    saying, “Peace, peace,”
    when there is no peace.
They acted shamefully, they committed abomination;
    yet they were not ashamed,
    they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
    at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,
says the Lord.
Thus says the Lord:
Stand at the crossroads, and look,
    and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way lies; and walk in it,
    and find rest for your souls.
But they said, “We will not walk in it.”
Also I raised up sentinels for you:
    “Give heed to the sound of the trumpet!”
But they said, “We will not give heed.”
Therefore hear, O nations,
    and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.
Hear, O earth; I am going to bring disaster on this people,
    the fruit of their schemes,
because they have not given heed to my words;
    and as for my teaching, they have rejected it.
Of what use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba,
    or sweet cane from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,
    nor are your sacrifices pleasing to me.
Therefore thus says the Lord:
See, I am laying before this people
    stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble;
parents and children together,
    neighbor and friend shall perish.

Thus says the Lord:
See, a people is coming from the land of the north,
    a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
They grasp the bow and the javelin,
    they are cruel and have no mercy,
    their sound is like the roaring sea;
they ride on horses,
    equipped like a warrior for battle,
    against you, O daughter Zion!

“We have heard news of them,
    our hands fall helpless;
anguish has taken hold of us,
    pain as of a woman in labor.
Do not go out into the field,
    or walk on the road;
for the enemy has a sword,
    terror is on every side.”

O my poor people, put on sackcloth,
    and roll in ashes;
make mourning as for an only child,
    most bitter lamentation:
for suddenly the destroyer
    will come upon us.

I have made you a tester and a refiner[e] among my people
    so that you may know and test their ways.
They are all stubbornly rebellious,
    going about with slanders;
they are bronze and iron,
    all of them act corruptly.
The bellows blow fiercely,
    the lead is consumed by the fire;
in vain the refining goes on,
    for the wicked are not removed.
They are called “rejected silver,”
    for the Lord has rejected them.


Footnotes:

  1. Jeremiah 6:2 Or I will destroy daughter Zion, the loveliest pasture
  2. Jeremiah 6:6 Or the city of license
  3. Jeremiah 6:9 Cn: Heb They shall glean
  4. Jeremiah 6:10 Heb are uncircumcised
  5. Jeremiah 6:27 Or a fortress


New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Panoramas of Israel

Here are some panoramic photos taken on my March 2012 trip to Israel. We started off in Haifa (northern Israel) where we stayed for eight days and made day trips to surrounding locales.

On the slopes of the Carmel Mountains lies Haifa, capital of North Israel. Haifa is a special city due to its diversity of landscapes and culture. Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Druze and Bahai, are actively practiced in Haifa and the surrounding area: creating a multi-cultural social fabric. Haifa also has breathtaking scenery. From itse beaches and curved bay to the forested range of the Carmel Mountains, Haifa is delightful to look at. Haifa is located about an hour away from Tel-Aviv. Haifa is a good starting point for exploring the North Western part of Israel.

Sunrise over Haifa BayThe view from my hotel room - over-looking at Haifa Bay. Haifa sits on the Mediterranean Sea at the edge of the Carmel Mountain range.The Bahá’í World Centre, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel, 2012The Shrine of the Báb, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel.In the center of the Sea of Galilee

 

The Bahá’í World Centre, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel, 2012

The Bahá’í World Centre, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel, 2012

Looking across to a Galilean town from the water

Looking across to a Galilean town from the water

View of the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives
Looking across to the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, Israel (2012)

Looking across to the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, Israel (2012)

View from Tel Dan. Looking across valley towards Lebanon and the town, Ghajar.

Ghajar is an Alawite village on the Hasbani River on the border between Lebanon and the Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights. Dan, is a city mentioned in the Bible, described as the northernmost city of the Kingdom of Israel, belonging to the Tribe of Dan. The city is identified with the tel known as Tel Dan (Mound of Dan), or Tel el-Qadi (Mound of the Judge {“Dan” meaning “judge”, or “one who judges”}) in Israel.

Hazor, mustard plants in the foreground, Jordan valley in the background

Standing on Tel Hazor, looking at the surrounding landscape. Tel Hazor is the site of an ancient fortified city in the Upper Galilee, among the most important Caananite towns, and the largest ancient ruin in modern Israel. The bible gave it the title: “the head of all those kingdoms”.

Hazor, looking towards the Lower City

Standing on Tel Hazor, looking at the surrounding hills. Tel Hazor is the site of an ancient fortified city in the Upper Galilee, among the most important Caananite towns, and the largest ancient ruin in modern Israel. The bible gave it the title: “the head of all those kingdoms”.

Caesarea, israel (2012)

Caesarea, israel (2012)

The last four days of the trip were spent in Jerusalem.

Overlooking the full model of Jerusalem (late second temple period) at The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel (2012)

City of Jerusalem, Israel (2012)

View of the whole city (new and old) from Abraham’s Ridge, Jerusalem, Israel (2012)

Mount of Olives, Jerusalem (2012)

Looking down the hillside of the Mount of Olives, the most expensive burial site in Israel, Jerusalem (2012)

Looking across to the Mount of Olives from the Southern Wall of Temple Mount, Jerusalem, Israel (2012)

Looking across to the Mount of Olives from the Southern Wall of Temple Mount, Jerusalem, Israel (2012)

Western Wall, Jerusalem, Israel (2012)

Looking at the western retaining wall of Temple Mount. There is a makeshift wall in the middle that separates men and women who come to pray. Jerusalem, Israel (2012)

At the Masada Fortress in the Judean Desert, Israel (2012)

At the Masada Fortress in the Judean Desert, Israel (2012)