Israel's Military Bigwigs Graduate [56K warning]

[The Grim Squeaker]

My baby officers from my military service are all grown up " Sniff" and I was invited to their graduation ceremony, which is just in front of where my math and physics studies are held in Mt Scopus (Jerusalem university), so that was convenient for me to visit .

The graduation ceremony of the 36th Israeli National Defense College, complete with the Prime Minister of Israel Bibi Netanyahu, COS Gabi Ashkenazi, Minister of Defense Ehud Barack, the head of the Uni of Haifa, ambassadors, Germans, Marines, Pilots, snipers and lots of senior civil service officials from the various branches of the government whose members participated and graduated this year :

Ending speech by the Prime Minister of Israel: Darth Bibi.
Subtitle: How we will crush the Rebels and will have Peace
INDC-12

(Seriously, he was congratulating a bit then talking about international fellowship, the Iranian atom, support for a demilitarized Palestinian state, peace, and the need for international cooperation to deal with terrorism and the threat of nuclear terrorism).
INDC-11

INDC-10

INDC- German student

Ltc dr .

INDC-8

Part of the back crowd

INDC- Navy

INDC- USA

Marine

INDC- USA

Navy Pilot. (Best damn X X pilot in the navy 3 years running).

INDC-4

INDC- Marine

INDC- Sniper

One of 3 snipers watching the ceremony

INDC-1

Gershon Hacohen, head of the IDF colleges. Nice guy, but very biblical.

INDC

IDF philharmonic.

(I was sitting far away and my light metering isn't working, so cut me some metering/blurryness slack, I don't know what happened to my stupid camera . Working on manual at 300mm at night is a headache).
Also, it's not just military officers in the INDC, there are also police officers of high ranks, officers from the prison service, the former head of the Suroqa research facility as well as other civilian research facilities, etc'.

[Thanas]

Ltc dr? Did he have a doctorate?

[The Grim Squeaker]

Ltc dr? Did he have a doctorate?

Yup. He was an assistant professor in education and small infantry tactics in Germany at one point in his career, he had a thesis in education before he came to ISrael and did the second degree (and graduated with distinction). He's also a Lieutenant Colonel.

It's funny how Germans stack titles, to be honest I wish I could do that myself. (Well, morel like I wish I had titles to stack )

[Simplicius]

INDC-4 could have been good if the guy was properly in-frame as a subject, but he's just coming out of the bottom and is badly lit, so no dice there. That first one is awesome, though - that's a keeper.

[The Grim Squeaker]

INDC-4 could have been good if the guy was properly in-frame as a subject, but he's just coming out of the bottom and is badly lit, so no dice there.

I liked him being in the dark compared to the illuminated straight flag. And poking his head in.

That first one is awesome, though - that's a keeper.

Hehe. A have better expressions of him, but most went in the bin, the focus and light metering were SEVERELY fucked up.

[Simplicius]

I liked him being in the dark compared to the illuminated straight flag. And poking his head in.

That may be so, but what draws more attention: big bright areas or small dark ones? What says "I am important": occupying 75 percent of the frame, or just poking into a bottom corner? A little dark guy in a little dark corner next to a huge bright white flag is plainly not an important part of the picture and probably got in there by accident, otherwise he would be properly-lit and given a prominent place in the frame.

This is why basic composition is important. Photographs tell stories, and composition is the way that the story the photographer wants to tell is clearly told. It, more than anything else, marks the line between good and bad photographs, whether "good" is an interesting snapshot, a fortuitous candid, or a carefully-made studio scene.