"Just a little bit further, just a few more sets of steps." - That's what I kept murmuring to myself as I neared the end of my first few mile walk and then climb up The Mount of Olives, as the harsh and unforgiving Middle Eastern sun was beating down on me.
I made it to the top, scoped out my location, took my heavy bag off and just stared quietly into the distance, observing and taking in the moment, and imagining what I was about to create.
I watched as day turned to night, as it had for countless times throughout millenia on these walls I was looking across the way at, the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. It was a beautiful moment. I kept thinking of who else through history has watched this same sunset on these same walls. It was mind boggling.
After the sun finally set, and night began to set in, the day dreaming stopped and the tripod came out!
Here's my image from that night, well, besides the panorama I may post soon too ;) Enjoy!
A stunning view of The Old City of Jerusalem from atop the Mount of Olives. www.SeanGold.com
What an adventure.
A month later and I'm back where I started, in my messy room with clothes that didn't get packed still all over the place, soon to be joined by clothes that did get packed and need to be washed. It's a tougher transition back than I expected, between the lifestyles, the cultures and the mind sets. Part of me is relieved, but more of me is anxious to return.
I wish I had the words, and you had the patience, for me to tell you about all the amazing things that happened and took place on this amazing journey, but that will take time. Much time. So for today I will keep it somewhat brief.
I met amazing new people, seen and experienced amazing places and things, and learned much about history, religion, culture, life, and most importantly, about myself. This trip turned out to be much more than I had expected it could ever be, and I believe it has changed me forever. Though we'll touch more on that later, for now let's get to my first photo I chose to post on my return!
Sunset Over Jerusalem
It was my second day on my own in the city of Jerusalem, and I decided to get a real grasp of the city. I set out to walk to a place called Mount Scopus, which I had less than a great idea where it was or how to get there. I first ended up at Mount Scopus hotel, which annoyingly wasn't located near the actual Mount Scopus.
I ventured on, through all sorts of neighborhoods and lives, the world was unraveling at my feet with every step. I also ventured through some not so safe areas that I was told about, but if you're not going to see everything, then why see anything?
I finally ended up at Mount Scopus, after a long day in the harsh Israeli sun, and 11 miles of walking behind me with my rather heavy camera bag on the whole way.
I arrived just before sunset and was greeted with this epic view of the sun as it set over the city and it was marvelous! I hastily got my camera out and setup my tripod in order to capture the image I share with you today!
Lastly, this is the first image I chose to share since my return, so it must be my favorite, right? Not exactly. It must be the best then, at least? Not really either. It's a lovely image, at least I think so, and I hope you do as well, but that's not why I'm sharing this image with you right now, at this time. It's also for me.
This is a Sunset. We've all probably seen thousands of them. They mark the end of the day, the end of something amazing, and it's sad. But, they also mark something else, the beginning. The beginning of tomorrow, of the possibility for something even better, to build upon what you gained yesterday.
And this is one of the many lessons I have learned on this voyage; I know the sun must set in order to rise.
I look forward to sharing more of my favorite images from this trip, as well as the many stories that I have accumulated as well!
Till next time,
Sean Gold
Shalom!
It's been too long! This is my 13th day in Israel and each and every minute has been utterly amazing! I have so much to share and so many great images to show! Though with all the awesomeness happening, it left me with no time to share or process my images, as well as not being able to find much wi-fi either. I am still on the go but my time is a bit more free at the moment so I wanted to get at least a quick post out, even though I won't have the time to put into it what I'd like, but that will be coming soon! :D
Sunrise over The Sea of Galilee Tiberias | Israel
My first stop in Israel was at a city called Tiberias, which is right on, and overlooking the great Sea of Galilee! It's truly awe-inspiring to look at! This is primarily the main water supply for all of Israel!
On my 2nd day here I made the effort to get up at 5am in order to capture the sunrise over the mountains behind the sea. I also have a couple behind the scenes clips, though I don't have the time to share them at the moment, but I will soon enough!
So here it is, my first image to share from Israel, the beautiful sunrise, right as the sun breaks over the cliffs behind the Sea of Galilee and brings light into the world once again!
Till next time!
-Sean Gold
Greetings!
So as the title states, I'm leaving for my next big trip, and longest direct flight yet, to Israel very soon!
It's been almost a year since I last left the country for my month long trip to Paris last summer!
While in Israel, I'll be seeing just about the whole country and constantly on the move so I'm trying to balance between what I need and what I want so I can be lightweight and mobile, and not end up lugging something around that I never end up using..which wouldn't be the first time for me :P
My gear!My gear selection for my trip to Israel!
So above you can see what, at the moment, I'm planning to be my photo kit. Consisting of my Canon 60D, my 18-135mm lens, my 50mm lens and my 70-200mm lens, as well as my carbon fiber tripod, 580EXII flash (debating bringing 2) and my backpack bag with tripod holster and laptop compartment.
It's never easy cutting the fat with gear, since you can always dream up some crazy scenario where if you had brought that one thing, you would have gotten that shot that you couldn't otherwise, or so I tell myself. But these I feel are the bare bones of my needs, and coupled with a little creativity, ingenuity and perseverance, I think I'll have more than enough than I need!
As far as updates while in Israel, I'm not sure what internet availability will be like and how much time I'll have, or if I'll even have my laptop with me, but I hope to be able to share some images and such while I'm on the go over there, and if you'd like to follow along, the best places to keep up with me are my Facebook Fanpage or follow my personal Facebook Account, and also my Instagram will probably see some updates! You can also find me on Tumblr that I'm playing with a bit at the moment, but plan to post a lot more on in the near future!
Lastly, I'm planning to start writing more consistently and frequently, I'm looking to start posting 3 times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, as my last attempt at daily posts just wasn't working for me.
So until Monday, have a great weekend!
Sean Gold
Hey guys!
So I'm sure in the recent years, in one way or another, you've heard at least something about the NSA, Edward Snowden the spying programs and all the political mess that usually tends to follow it. Well as an artist who uses technology and the internet to create and share his work, and also as an activist who wants to see a better tomorrow for our country and the world, I would like to bring a couple things to your attention.
Now I know it's usually "taboo" for a business or even a person to try to instill their political will on their clients, customers and followers but I feel this topic, though political, transcends politics and encroaches more into our rights as civilized human beings and sets precedent for the way the internet will continue to develop and be used.
So with that little statement out of the way, most of us know that the NSA is collecting as much of, well, everything they can, on everybody, everywhere, all the time. From phone calls, to emails, to photos uploaded and shared on the magnificent innovation we call the internet. Well I'm not too comfortable with that idea, and for the most part, a large majority of America, and even the world isn't either. Even giants such as Google and other titans of business are concerned about these revelations of spying programs.
I think it's a travesty for this creation that enabled us of sharing, learning, educating, entertaining, and communicating unlike anything we've had before, to be get a bad rep and be used to spy on us, with no limit or oversight.
So with a few of my short thoughts on the matter out there, I would like to say that I support the effort known as "Reset The Net on June 5th". This is a movement to educate people on ways to be more secure online and to stop the NSA, as well as other unwanted intruders, from collecting your data in their "world wide net".
This effort is also supported by Google, Mozilla, CloudFlare, and many other hugely respected companies. It has also made press, including the front page of The Guardian and on NBC news.
I hope that you found something here compelling or intriguing enough to make you want to visit www.ResetTheNet.org and at least watch their video and see what the talk is all about, and weigh out your own opinions on the matter.
The internet has changed my life in more ways than I could ever imagine, and I don't think it's in it's, or our, best interest to see it used in such a massive, unregulated, indefinite bulk collection of our data, private and public.
I thank you for spending some of your time to read about this, and if you have any questions on the matter, I'd be happy to answer them or refer sources for your own investigations, and promise new images soon!
www.ResetTheNet.org
Long Live the Internet,
Sean Gold