Vast spaces,
clay floor shaped into geometric shapes by ruthless heat
all seems beige, yet filled with color
clouds of dust catch morning sunlight
people the size of ants presume to own it all
are we mad???
Vast spaces,
clay floor shaped into geometric shapes by ruthless heat
all seems beige, yet filled with color
clouds of dust catch morning sunlight
people the size of ants presume to own it all
are we mad???
Working on a new series of images. What started like a very successful shooting day, leads to looking back over images I shot in the last year, seeing them with new eyes.
Amazing how images I previously ignored, are the ones I love the most. Previously a beautiful flower, nothing more - now, converting it to black and white I suddenly see the witch. The image definitely did not change. It is me who changed. Maybe this is what Ken Liu meant by ignoring the meaning and listening to the music, or in my case ignoring the subject and noticing the shape.
Stringing the images together into a new narrative. Looking into the best way to convey the motif of an allegory. New pastel colors waiting for a first attempt at hand-coloring images.
Who knows where this will bring me...
As someone who loves photographing the night moods, Halloween is a rare treat for me. Having just finished a night photography project, letting imagination wander in the quiet streets of Santa Monica, I have now a chance to witness how "the veil separating the worlds" becomes transparent and this quiet and beautiful neighborhood turns into a modern rendition of the underworld.
I walk around with the camera, taking in the mood and colors, peeking through the veils. Light shining through cobwebs turns into abstract images depicting the land of the ghosts. A world filled with mystery and magic.
It is this veil between the worlds I am looking for whenever I photograph. The spirit and the story hiding beyond what the eye can see. No better time for this than Hallows' Eve. My trick & treats.
How are ideas born? Where do they come from? What translates objects into new concepts?
A few weeks ago, I visited an inspiring exhibit at LACMA - Frank Gehry. To say his work is inspiring, is an understatement. The funny thing is that it is irrelevant whether I would like to live in such a house (I get a bit dizzy from looking at his buildings ...), or if his original inspirations (crumbled paper ..) sound exciting. His thought process and the way the concept was translated into glass and metal, triggered something in me.
How about showing these building is different way. Near some of the building models, were videos showing the real buildings in their environment. In some cases the videos included interior shots. How about combining the models (physical manifestation of idea) with shots from the videos ( a virtual representation of reality)?
I wonder what would Frank Gehry say of these. Thank you Mr. Gehry for being an inspiration. if you happen to be in Los Angeles - run and see it.
3 days in the forest with the camera. I don't this I will ever get tired of photographing the woods. Thickets of trees, that allow only few rays of sun to penetrate, or trees that break your heart with their naked, desolate posture.
And if the gods of the forest smile at us, magical encounters might happen.
Playing with the camera. I do not want to capture the magnificence of the beach. It's the ripples of light, the salty air, the sound of the waves, the continuous movement that I am after.
Hundreds of images of the beach, and I am still looking for the right way to photograph it. Ironically, it is when I am starting to play and let it happen that some of the barriers break down.
I love trying new things, experimenting with what the camera can do. But every few months, I find myself returning to the initial love - Impressionism. I love how it captures the essence of things. The forest rather than the trees.
New ideas are born. Would I dare to print and hand-paint these? Something to explore now that I start making friends with my printer....
Experimenting today with zone plate photography. No lenses. Ironic when sooo much money went into these fabulous lenses sitting on my shelf. But today, all I took with me to the ebach was the zone plate. Trying to figure out how the world looks via its concentric circles.
....and I love it. Looking at this set of 3 images, it brought back memories of my first photography project, and farther away memories of me as a little girl reading 'Peter Pan in Kensington gardens'. The baby Peter Pan who could fly, since he never doubted that he could. And ceased flying when he started to ask himself whether he will be able to do so without wings.
Looking at the images of the little girl 'flying' bring an unexpected wish. I wish I would not doubt whether I can fly, I wish I would just fly.
3 hours on the beach. Soaked shoes and socks getting dry now in the sun. 3 images capturing one magnificent moment. I am flying !!!!!!!
A summer day. The blue skies complement the light color of the sand.
A flurry of activity, as a flock of sea gulls decides to move. Ideal world? For some. Every time I go to the beach, and I do this almost daily, my attention wanders more and more to so many unfortunate people for whom this is their bed for the night. Maybe for the week or the month, who knows.
I wonder how they see it. Do they notice the blue of the water and the sky? The reflections in the wet sand, or are they too busy thinking about the next meal? Careful to preserve their anonymity, I photograph.
What changed the last year? how come year ago I never noticed them and now I can not ignore the homeless?
I usually take photography very seriously. A full frame camera, handpicked lens. Studying all I can about photographers, art and any other subject relevant to the project I am doing. This is true .....most of the time :)
About a week ago, while in Germany, I thought I would take advantage of the recent fall in the value of the Euro and buy a lens. After testing a multi purpose (24-300mm) one, and deciding it is not good enough I started thinking about alternatives. The times when I need a telephoto or a wide are lens are few and far between. Mostly when we go on trips and we want to document the moment. If so, why to spend so much on (2) state of the art lens for the D750 when a super tele bridge camera might do the job for a fraction of the price? This is how I became the owner of a Fujifilm finepix S1, hence named 'Fufu' :)
While the images are not at the quality of the D750, Fufu comes with some unexpected benefits. It is so light, silent and its automatic mode works so well, that it made me regress to the age of 5, experimenting and having fun rather than being serious about the images I take.
Yesterday, in a very uncharacteristic rainy weather (rain in LA in July???), we drove to LACMA museum to listen to some Jazz and see a photography exhibit. My husband drives, while I sit next to him, and amuse myself with photographing on the go, through the rainy windows. Than, as Fufu is weather proof, I do not hesitate to step outside in the rain, and photograph a lone table and its reflection. A tiny bird aspiring for stardom landed under the chair - just in time.
At the photography exhibit, I saw for the first time an authentic photograph by Henri Cartier-Bresson. The one who coined the term 'the decisive moment'. The one who said the camera is an instrument of spontaneity. I never agreed with him more.
I may not know where I'm going, but I'm on my way....so true. 2 nights, photographing a surreal show, in a surreal place. Something there speaks to me. Makes me work with the images again and again. Try to find what is this place telling me.
The complex layers of life in a place doomed to be destroyed. Beauty found in the most unexpected places. The beauty of decay rather than the beauty of serene beaches. Beauty of art when it penetrates life rather then decorating it.
I will confess I never read Dante's 'Divine Comedy'. I heard about it. Just like I never went to Tel Aviv's Central bus station, just read about the controversial mammoth station, mostly deserted, a symbol of the problematic south Tel Aviv area. As far away from a theater stage as hell is to heaven.
And this is precisely why, this garish place, full of winding corridors, tiny doors leading to nowhere and dark secrets was the perfect stage for Seven - the Mystorin theater's interpretation of mystical texts through movement and dance.
And the camera does its magic again. Photographing the actors in this place makes me realize how locked I still am in photographing nice things in a nice way. While this will always be a facet of me, what else will I discover once I will allow myself to shout?
Looking for a quote as an opening to this post, I found Dante's one:
In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost.
Well, maybe in the middle of MY life, I am coming to myself withing the dark corridors of Tel Aviv Central bus station ....
I know the beach at Netanya for more than 40 years.
That's where I spent time as a young girl.
Where I studied for high school exams.
Where I had my first kiss....
It's the view my dad saw from his apartments' window until his last days. The building is still here. His body is not, but for me his spirit still looks at me when I am on this beach.
Now, before leaving, I went to say goodbye to the beach. With the camera. Trying to capture the present and the past. And who knows, I might have captured a glimpse of the future as well.
April 21st, 2015.Our last night in Kadoyde, Japan. To celebrate the end of our stay, Kobayashi, our host prepares yet another surprise. A sky lantern. He holds the large paper lantern while someone lit the fire beneath it.
For a few seconds, all seems well. Then slowly, the lantern catches fire, and its shape disappears while its spirit emerges.
This reminded me of Constantin Brancusi, the Romanian sculptor and his view on capturing the essence of things.
"When you see a fish you don't think of its scales, do you? You think of its speed, its floating, flashing body seen through the water... If I made fins and eyes and scales, I would arrest its movement, give a pattern or shape of reality. I want just the flash of its spirit"
And if it's the essence of the fire dance we are after, there is no need to look further than de Falla's 'Ritual fire dance' who does it with sounds rather than images.
Dancing as a dialogue.
Between black and white. Between body and mind. Between the dancer and the costume. Between the dancer and its reflection. Most of all, an opportunity to let the body speak. Without words.
Not a portfolio, not an occasional image. Rather, a short story. The story of one dancer who at the age of 17, a shy girl who disliked her body (and how many girls at this age love their looks?) met a dance teacher. A belly dancing teacher who changed her world.
Now, years later, she is teaching women of all ages to free their bodies, love them, love themselves.
Short stories. I like the idea of 'writing' short visual stories. Let's see where this will lead ...
Seeing my work in print, alongside such great photographers is such a wonderful feeling. Proud to share with you the newly published issue of Israeli Lens, this month revolving around cultures around the world. Click the image below to browse it, and take a look at my Japan photo essay as well.
Enjoy
Four days in Frankfurt to celebrate with my cousin her 2nd son's Bar-Mitzva as well as spend time with the family.
In between family dinners, getting dressed for parties ( 5 pair of shoes for 4 days, is this normal???) and walks with my cousin, I was able to spend precious time with my 93 years old mother in law.
On the last day with her, after morning coffee I told her about the crazy travels trips I used to have. 1 day meeting in Australia, 2 day meetings in Rio de Janiero. Since she also traveled quite a bit, I stopped and asked her what is her favorite place?
'Favorite place?' she asked surprised at the question. 'Bratislava. Let me show you'.
And out of the book case, she takes out a book and for the next 20 minutes or so, shows me old photos of the street she lived in as a girl with her parents and her 7 brother and sisters. The happiest time of her life. Unlit at the age of 20 she was taken with all other jews in town to Auschwitz.
'This was the Jewish street, here was our house. Here we shopped for groceries.....' on and on, with a smile, remembering happy old times.
At some point she shows me the bridge and road built where the old street used to be. And the sentence that is probably stay with me forever
"Neither houses nor people remained ....."
Slowly, the 2 week journey to Japans sinks in. So many new worlds and nw experiences, it will take month to really make it all a part of me.
Going over the photographs I took, opens up a thirst for seeing more, knowing more. listening to a class on Buddhism, already finished an autobiography of a geisha. Now I look at the image, and notice the white collar, which when taking the photo, I did not realize signals the fact this is a Geiko ( referred to as geisha) rather that a Maiko ( a dancer, after the initial study but not a geisha yet).
After having my first taste of Japan, there is a wish to go back. To experience more, to understand better what is this voice telling me.
I was fascinated by light from the moment I started to photograph. Learning to see and understand the light is a never ending process.
After a year of intense photography, I realize that when the light is perfect, it almost does not matter what you photograph - the image will be stunning.
The trip to Japan revealed new facets of light . Light filtered by the rice paper. Lights of a lone house in a village at night. A single window lighting up a shady room.
And when you really 'taste the light' - there is no way back. You are hooked.
Just returned from a 2 weeks trip to Japan. A once in a lifetime opportunity to immerse myself in traditions as old as civilization, meet people who live in true harmony with nature.
While it will take months for all the experiences to sink in, there are moments which were so rare, so precious - I need to capture them in here. Not that I think they will disappear, it is more of a hope that by sharing them, I will understand them better.
Late afternoon, almost evening in Kadoide. A small village in North Japan, no one but its inhabitants know it. We live in a restored traditional house, at the edge of the village. Surrounded by mountains, trees and a river. Dinner is almost ready when I look out of the window and see we are wrapped in clouds. Without much thinking, I grab the camera, put on the coat and the shoes (you never wear shoes inside a Japanese house) and go outside.
For about 30 minutes, until darkness covered the mountains, I walk around taking photos. Everywhere I look, the world looks surreal. It's like walking on clouds, heaven, earth and me becoming one. The closest I ever felt to God.