The Galilee, a green mountain area in the North of Israel, can be described as one of many things. A touristic area, the wine country of Israel, a biblical history landmark.

For me, the natural landscapes of the Galilee make it unique more then all. The effect of the season changes makes the Galilee wear a new face every few months, and it’s always worth a visit.

The sea of Galilee is hard to miss while visiting the area, and if you’re on a guided tour you’re sure to visit at least one spot on its shore.

Another spot worth visiting is the Banias waterfall. The most beautiful one in the country if you ask me, always with a strong flow (even more during rain and in the spring time). A great place for an easy hike, and of course photographing flowing water, which is always a fun topic.

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I’m not too sure why, maybe from literature or some old movies- but the classical image of a desert oasis has always been this beautiful pond surrounded by huge palm trees amongst some vast sand dunes. Sounds like a great place for photographs right?

While hiking Ein Ovdat- an actual oasis in the Negev desert, I had the opportunity to photograph one of the rare locations where water meets desert on a regular basis. This oasis though has no palm trees, and no vast sand dunes. The structure of the area is actually a deep and rocky canyon, allowing for some very interesting composition including the rock surface, water, sky and some local flora and fauna.

This location is actually very accessible and a highly recommended visit if you’re in the area. A short fifteen minute walk from the car park. All the charm of a real desert oasis, this time- without the adventure. Well, unless the car’s air conditioning is out of order…

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Looking for a common subject as a photographic description for both the French Alps and the Judean desert isn’t trivial. Picking waterfalls as that subject is even more tricky- but with the right timing, and good weather forecast- anything is possible.

In the French Alps, an area featuring quite a bit of my own photographs since I stayed there most of the summer of 2008, clear streams and waterfalls are not a rare sight. Just in “my neighborhood”,  The Brochaux waterfall and the area surrounding lake Montriond have quite a few spots to check out.

A note on timing (1): When photographing waterfalls and running water in general, it’s a good thing to bring a tripod or find a steady spot. You can then use slow shutter speed in order to give the water a bit of a “foggy” effect, enhancing the sense of movement in the image.

Moving east to the Judean desert, waterfalls, and water in general, aren’t as common. The Judean desert does however enjoy the occasional flash floods. The mountain formation and unique soil contribute to the creation of massive flash floods for just a few hours. You need to either be there on the right time, or pay close attention to the forecast. With good timing it’s not a problem to get there just about on time- although flash floods occur only a few days each year.

A note on timing (2): Flash floods start strong and then grow weaker. I’ve had a good enough timing to catch these floods, but only towards the end- not showing just how powerful these floods can be. the pattern of the stream in the image does, however, show the potential.

And so, my waterfall chasing voyage ends, attaching two very different geographical areas by one identical natural phenomenon.

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Ian Mackie, who runs the Adventure Photography Blog has already published on The Wide Lens once. Taking advantage of seasonal changes, then the images were from sea kayak excursions.

Winter has arrived, and with that a change of scenery. As a fan of Alpine outdoors and snowboarding, these images really made me miss the snow- I think they’re a great visual demonstration of the vast outdoors and how little people can be when facing the elements, and besides that- just really nice pictures.

Here are a few samples:

“It hasn’t been the best of winters for backcountry skiing here in the Pacific Northwest. Big storms early, rain in January, nothing since…until recently. March has been very good to us so far and the other day, myself and three buddies were reminded why we ski tour.”

You can check out the rest of Ian’s backcountry skiing images here.

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On the northern most beach of Israel, alongside the border crossing to Lebanon, lies a naturally shaped site dating back hundreds of thousands of years back.

“Rosh Hanikra”, freely translated to “head of the grottoes” is in my opinion a must visit for photographers staying or visiting in Israel. The natural process, described in the official site of Rosh Hanikra, resulted in a complex of under ground grottoes with internal halls and bays opening towards the see. The water in the calm sea of September and October are crystal clear and have a brilliant blue-turquoise color.

The combination of water, rock and the penetrating sunlight make a great mix to play with. Notice though, that without a tripod and a camera that enables to control exposure time (fully manual or shutter priority settings) good results will be much more of a challenge.

Send over photos of cavern and grottoes you took and show them on The Wide Lens