desert riff

flood water in the Makhtesh Gadol

The desert here is mostly rocky, and scarcely knows water, but the effects of water are seen everywhere and sometimes during winter, you can even see floods transform the landscape for a few days. Enormous gullies, canyons and erosion craters carved out of the earth - all these point to the fact that water even in its absence has made a tremendous impact on the landscape. The patterns one sees here are fascinating. I always try to capture these on camera, but there is something in me, a subconscious self, that states that images should be free (this is just a fancy way of saying that I take bad photographs). I have many rolls of film all containing various shades of brown, which were so beautiful in the desert, but is just so boring when reduced to the dimensions of a postcard. But here is one photographer, Guy Shachar, who is devoting his time to show the desert as one who really loves it can. His site also has powerpoint presentations about israel for download.