The Holy Tree & Mountain of Moses

[Ahmed Shahat]

This holy tree is inside the Monastery of Saint Catherine, South Sinai, and under the Mountain of Moses.

The Holy Tree

Above the monastery is Mount Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. Because God spoke to Moses in these places, this area is sacred to three world religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The story of this mountain and the tree are mentioned so many times in the holy Qur'an informing how prophet Moses reach this place with his family and God spoke to him. It is very inspiring place..

The Mountain of Moses

[Viana]

OK, Ahmed, at this risk of offending you, I will comment.


Where is this revered tree as a subject? What I see is an over exposed, long-range photo that could be anything from a transient place in the desert to a refueling station. The interior photo is also over exposed; no idea what the plant is and the fire extinguisher is really incongruous given the subject matter.


IMHO, the issue is one of focal point. I do not see one.

[Ahmed Shahat]

Dear Viana,

In spite of I can't claim that your message is clear to me, I should thank you for the critique . Anyway, I guess you need to read more about the place. Hopefully, you will find the subject I have seen.

For more information, Please Google " saint catherine " or visit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_C...y,_Mount_Sinai

Thanks

[Ahmed Shahat]

Dear Viana,

In spite of I can't claim that your message is clear to me, I should thank you for the critique . Anyway, I guess you need to read more about the place. Hopefully, you will find the subject I have seen.

For more information, Please Google " saint catherine " or visit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_C...y,_Mount_Sinai

Thanks

[Mark von Kanel]

Ahmed,

I was sitting on the fence here not going to comment because you are obviously move by the spiritual nature of the place and your visit there BUT remember that this is a photography web site and the images youve posted do not do the area justice

#1 The revered tree is not the focus of the image, you have to much in the way of the surrounding building involved, the exposure id out, and the fire extinguisher draws the eye away from what you are trying to draw our attention to

#2 eeerm struggling with what you are trying to show us here, the image has no focal point at all, the buildings in the foreground are barley noticeable and the exposure is wrong , the lens flare adds nothing to the image.

I wish you no offence at all ahmed and im sure i would be as moved as you were should i visit this holy place, but that said, these images were posted for critique, and as images, for me they just dont stand up

[Viana]

Dear Viana,


In spite of I can't claim that your message is clear to me, I should thank you for the critique . Anyway, I guess you need to read more about the place. Hopefully, you will find the subject I have seen.


For more information, Please Google " saint catherine " or visit:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_C...y,_Mount_Sinai


Thanks

I am aware of St. Catherine’s, Ahmed. It is a world heritage site. I have some great photos of it in one of my library books on world monasteries.




Sorry that you feel I was not clear let me try again. The point for me is that the photo is overexposed and out of focus. The tree is not the focal point in your shots, especially the one in the landscape. The fire extinguisher needs to be removed on the interior shot. Both should be PS processed, but they will still be lacking due to the composition.




If you want people to have the sense of place, one of reverence, wonder and miracles then your photos must reflect that. Otherwise, it is simply a tourist snap.




It is always best to wait for the golden hours at dawn and dusk in order to produce the best effects—in this case, perhaps colourful and golden glows as well as deep shadows.


Mark has made some good suggestions.


There are thousands of images of St. Catherine’s on the web. Some are good others not so. These might give you some ideas for next time: http://tinyurl.com/7s2t59g

[Reynold Mainse]

Hi Ahmed,
I think it is great that you posted these images... it shows that you are interested in learning and improving... as we all are. Mark and Viana made several good observations and suggestions to your post. I would encourage you to study others photos of this location that Viana linked you to and ask what is it that make the most impressive photos great. Also, do a study on the rule of thirds - rarely good composition is achieved when the main subject is dead centre - Also look for strong leading lines (lines or Directional objects in the image that lead your eye to the main subject) As well, I would encourage you not to take a photo quickly unless you are in a hurry... every potential image has 360 degrees that you can observe it from and often different elevation perspectives.
Thank you again for submitting the image. I look forward to seeing more of your work.
reynold

[Ahmed Shahat]

Hello all,

I really appreciate your advices and comments on my post. For sure, I will consider your guidance in the future.

In fact, I when toke the shot for the tree I didn't have the luxury to neither position myself properly nor chose the time. There was only one position to take the photo showing the tree completely. More over there was a fence (12 ~ 15 meters) in front of the tree and it was crowd. Of course it I couldn't reach the fire extinguisher. Probably, when I posted these shots, I was under the feeling that it was a golden opportunity to catch these photos.

Again, thanks for comments and advices.

Ahmed

[Mark von Kanel]

Ahmed,

im sorry if i was harsh, you take pictures with your heart.... just go do them again with both heart and mind...