Nicky Blackburn
March 11, 2013

Choosing a winner for our first-ever photo competition was not easy. We were amazed by your enthusiastic response and received hundreds of fabulous pictures that really show off the Israel we know and love.

It was tough, but nevertheless we had to pick just three winners. You can see the top photos below. Prizes of an iPad Mini and Amazon gift vouchers are now on their way to the photographers.

Thank you to everyone who took part in this contest. We thoroughly enjoyed looking through your entries.

Grand Prize: An iPad Mini

“Zohar in Zippori, Galilee” by Ittai Bar-Joseph
“Zohar in Zippori, Galilee” by Ittai Bar-Joseph

The composition and coloring of this photograph are beautiful. It has great atmosphere and a huge amount of charm.

Second prize: $100 gift voucher from Amazon

“Happiness is Golden” by Daniel Buchen
“Happiness is Golden” by Daniel Buchen

Buchen writes: “This photo was taken in a flooded underpass on Kibbutz Yagur after heavy autumn rain. I kept my good friend at a distance as I tailed her with my camera. Seeing the graffiti on the wall and her reflection in the water, I told her to do something that made her feel happy. This is the result.”

Third prize: $50 gift voucher from Amazon

“Charedim on a speedboat” by Steven Winston
“Charedim on a speedboat” by Steven Winston

Everyone loved this lighthearted photograph of a Hassidic family boating on the Yarkon River. Winston writes: “I took this shot in Park HaYarkon, Tel Aviv in April 2012, three weeks after I had made Aliyah from Scotland. The park and boating lake was full of families enjoying their leisure time but one boat stood out amongst the others. I love the expressions of joy and concentration and generally I just like how it shows the charedim in a fun and everyday way.”

We would also like to share with you some of the other photographs that we loved.

“Israeli Diversity” by Robert Pines
“Israeli Diversity” by Robert Pines

Pines writes: “’Israeli Diversity,’ taken from the amphitheater of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on Mount Scopus, celebrates Israel’s diversity of people, of geography, and of thought.”

“View from a Gas Station” by Dina Lustiger
“View from a Gas Station” by Dina Lustiger
“Kotel Diversity” by Jade Sevelow
“Kotel Diversity” by Jade Sevelow

Sevelow writes: “As I have travelled all over the world, it has been proved over and over that while Jews come in all shapes, colors, and backgrounds, we always share a special connection with each other.”

“Girls Wanna Have Fun” by Darryl Egnal
“Girls Wanna Have Fun” by Darryl Egnal

Egnal writes: “Happiness shines through with the laughter these girls are sharing. Taken on a trip in the Negev desert.”

“Golan Heights Rainbow” by Jade Sevelow
“Golan Heights Rainbow” by Jade Sevelow

Sevelow writes: “As my mom, sister, and I drove from Eilat to Haifa we saw many wondrous things. This moment was particularly incredible as my mom flung the camera at me and shouted ‘Take a picture of that!’ because she was driving.”

“Arava Mountains” by Nancy Weiss
“Arava Mountains” by Nancy Weiss
“The Musician” by Rimonah Traub
“The Musician” by Rimonah Traub
“Flock of Seagulls over the Kinneret” by Nechama Averick
“Flock of Seagulls over the Kinneret” by Nechama Averick
“Snow in Jerusalem” by Noam Revkin-Fenton
“Snow in Jerusalem” by Noam Revkin-Fenton

Revkin-Fenton writes: “A little change in weather won’t stop the Jewish people from praying at the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites in Jerusalem. Here they protect each other from the falling snow as they pray.”

“Cloud Puffs over Tel Aviv Crosswalk” by Rachel Neiman
“Cloud Puffs over Tel Aviv Crosswalk” by Rachel Neiman

Neiman captured this unusual cloud pattern when it appeared over busy Namir Boulevard in Tel Aviv.

“Sea of Flowers” by Yonatan Wexler
“Sea of Flowers” by Yonatan Wexler
“Deserted Port” by Yael Mizrahi
“Deserted Port” by Yael Mizrahi
“Palm Sunday” by Lori Gauthier
“Palm Sunday” by Lori Gauthier

Gauthier writes: “The processional into Israel is something I will never forget!”

“Happy at the Harbour” by Michal Avior
“Happy at the Harbour” by Michal Avior
“Pilot in Training” by Shai Harmelin
“Pilot in Training” by Shai Harmelin
“Fisherman” by Damir Selimhodzic
“Fisherman” by Damir Selimhodzic
“Day’s End at the Dead Sea” by Denyse Kirsch
“Day’s End at the Dead Sea” by Denyse Kirsch
“The Only Cat We Saw at Masada” by Laura Brodie
“The Only Cat We Saw at Masada” by Laura Brodie
“Desert Yoga” by Yael
“Desert Yoga” by Yael
“Sun’s Rays Show Ghost in Bell Limestone Cave?” by Ralph Loewenthal
“Sun’s Rays Show Ghost in Bell Limestone Cave?” by Ralph Loewenthal

Loewenthal writes: “Just caught this nymph-like young person spotlighted by the sun in the Bell Limestone Cave near Ramat Beit Shemesh.”

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