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Out
of the way sites
This may not appeal to the
average tourist, but then again the Pictorial Library is not targeted
for the average tourist. But Bible students and teachers will
appreciate pictures of important biblical sites they may not have had a
chance to get to, like the Philistine cities of Gath or Ashdod.
Or the Galilean hometown of the prophet Jonah, Gath Hepher. Or
the important Mts. Gerizim and Ebal where the
children of Israel re-confirmed the covenant with God on multiple
occasions.
Tour yourself
Travel
through the mountains of Upper Galilee and see the terrain and the most
important places. Visit a number of biblical locales in the
rolling hills of the Shephelah. The Pictorial Library allows you
to "learn" or just get a feel for the land of Israel by
"flipping" through the pictures.
Why not video?
Isn't
video a better way to "see" the land? Certainly video
has its advantages, but still photographs have not lost their
appeal. Whereas video requires you to proceed at a pre-determined
pace, images allow you to set your own. Whereas video takes you on
a pre-determined tour, images allow you to make your own. Whereas
video can take a lot of time to view, images are much more
versatile. Images can be incorporated into PowerPoints, utilized
in webpages, saved as desktop wallpapers, used in screensavers, and
printed easily.
Take
your own pictures
Some believe that it's cheaper to take their own
pictures than spend $200 on the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.
Certainly taking one's own pictures is valuable, but it's doubtful that
it's more cost-effective. For instance, the average student or
teacher comes on a tour of Israel (or Turkey or Greece or Egypt). They bring 15-30 rolls of film and shoot away. They
go home, spend $4-10/roll on developing, and then realize a lot of their
pictures didn't turn out so well. Someone was standing in the way,
the clouds caused shadows in the wrong places, the air was hazy, they
didn't maneuver so the power lines weren't in the way, the guide didn't
give them enough time, etc.
Then they want to digitize them.
So...they scan their prints. This is mostly a waste of time, as the quality
of prints is very poor (for digitizing pictures). Better yet, they
go buy a $1000 slide scanner and scan their slides or negatives. Each slide
or negative scanned takes 2 minutes
minimum. And then you have to name the picture, organize the
pictures, crop the pictures, adjust the pictures, etc. It's a lot
of work and time and expense and in
most cases you won't get the quality of pictures on the Pictorial
Library. And you certainly won't get the quantity or
variety.
The
advantage of living there
Coming on a single two- or
three-week tour is all that most people can do. But when you live
in Israel for more than ten years, you have lots of opportunities that
most don't get. Opportunities like:
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Spending
the three major Jewish festivals at various places in the country, esp.
Jerusalem.
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Photographing the best panoramas on the
clearest days.
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Hiking hundreds of miles of trails
throughout the land with camera in hand.
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Reading the
Bible in the morning and realizing that you've never seen that before,
that afternoon you can stand at the spot. You don't have to make a
list for the "next time you're there."
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Running across
the border to Jordan or Egypt for a weekend trip.
The
advantage of teaching there
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Visiting the major biblical
sites again and again, in the different seasons, at different times of
the day.
Knowing the important discoveries at each site,
not missing something because the guide had to skip it that day for lack
of time. Understanding the whole picture - how the
biblical sites relate to the region, how the regions make up the
country. This perspective means you get pictures that others
wouldn't think of taking. Thinking about how to
communicate the Bible - what would be the best picture that
"says" to your students what you want it to. Often one
picture can say more and better than what the best communicator can
describe in words. That's not to discount the millions of ideas
for which no pictures exist. But if you're trying to describe the
twelve tribes assembling on Mts. Gerizim and
Ebal, you'll have less chance of
miscommunicating with a picture. Or three pictures from different
angles.
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