Photographer’s Description [Ilan Shacham]: I went with my kids to the beach on a winter’s day, and we stood on this rocky outcrop, me enjoying the photography, and the kids enjoying the waves wetting their feet. Well, until a few seconds after I took this shot, when a huge wave totally drenched us and we fled back to the car to get warm and dry. The fisherman didn’t seem to mind…

This beautiful photograph was selected as a ‘Merit Winner‘ in National Geographic’s 2011 Photo Contest.

‘Fisherman’s Beach’ at Palmachim was saved in 2010 from development after a grassroots campaign succeeded in stopping developers from building 350-room holiday village on the picturesque spot. Israel has fewer than 200 kilometers of beach along the Mediterranean. Nearly 50 of them are closed off by the army, and another 50 are city-run with built-up properties somewhat off the coast. Only 40 are considered to be open beaches with no homes, hotels or other structures behind them – most of these in central Israel. [Source 1, Source 2]