Color Strategy

I am most impressed by one of my favorite reptiles, the chameleon, mainly because of its sophistication, shape and ability to change its body color.  As well, the leaf chameleon moves in a back-and-forth motion to imitate a leaf swaying in the wind and as a result, deceives the predators and prey. It can reach undetected within centimeters from the prey and then cunningly move in on it very quickly.

The photo below, which placed first in a competition on the National Geographic World website, earned me worldwide recognition and was published in the Israeli magazine edition.

As with any work of art that starts with an idea and imagination, I searched for an emotion which is technically difficult to capture. I went to great lengths and spent years trying to photograph prey. At times the prey managed to slip away and at other times either the lighting wasn’t perfect or the angle or background wasn’t suitable. It’s kind of a mind game between me and the animal whose instincts are much sharper than mine. With these photos I fulfilled a dream that is one of the wonders of creation. The same sticky tongue movement launched towards its prey at an astonishing speed of 07.0 seconds. The chameleon’s long tongue is twice the length of its body, including the tail.

Seconds after taking the shot, with much trepidation, I browsed through the photos fearing that I might have missed the miraculous moment and though my heart skipped a beat while filming, this time I was not disappointed. To this day I receive commendations, accolades and feedback of encouragement. Often a long tedious day of filming yields no results, however in the end “the joy is in the journey and not in the destination”.