Commercial Photography
Years: 1986 to the present
I worked with and for clients in various spheres of photography: product, portrait, theater, magazine; I was involved in collaborations with graphic designers, product designers, advertising companies, and members of industry and the world of high-tech
I found my way to the world of photography when, at the age of 15, I signed up for a photography course at the high school I attended in Beersheba. Upon completion of my military service, I returned to the city and for a year I immersed myself in the study of aspects of photography such as developing, and printing in black and white. That was also when I discovered the Zone System technique for determining optimal film exposure and development, which was formulated by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer. I conducted dozens of experiments with different types of film and developing agents, charted my findings on graphs, and achieved optimal control over the way that I could perceive reality and translate it by means of measuring light, developing and printing, into the photographs that I envisioned.
When I moved to Tel Aviv I worked as an assistant at the legendary Mula-Haramati Studio, and when the two went their separate ways, I became the senior assistant to Israel (Srulik) Haramati. We did fashion, advertising, and industrial photography, and photographed all the productions of the Cameri Theater and the Israeli Opera for several years. It’s true that I started out studying electronic engineering and electronics at Tel Aviv University, but the appeal of photography won out. I left the university and embarked on my own path. After several fascinating years in commercial photography, my attraction to art led me to my studies at the Photography Department at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design.
When I concluded my BA studies, it was clear to me that I wanted to combine photography as my livelihood with photography as an art form, and to lecture at institutions that teach photography. For about two decades I ran a commercial photography studio which allowed me to merge my livelihood with my artistic passion. Over the years I took photographs for designers, artists, assorted commercial companies, magazines, and theaters. The commercial projects took me to places that I had never imagined existed in Israel, and in the studio itself I discovered – through the lens and in conversations – wonderful people and objects. I have never ceased to feel lucky that I am paid to do something that I love so much.
