Israel
I especially love to photograph historic places such as Israel. I began my time there in the modern city of Tel Aviv. One of my favorite places is the ancient port of Jaffa. Meandering through the alleyways of the old city with it’s textures and aged stones and buildings takes me back in time. From the ancient port I walked along the promenade with the modern city of Tel Aviv before me. One of the places I explored was the Florentin section. I found it to be a hip young area that reminded me of the east village in NYC. The buildings were painted with murals and graffiti.. not just a few but every building in the area where I was photographing. Everywhere I looked there was someone’s artistic creation.
Next I made my way up the Judaean mountains to one of the oldest and holiest cities in the world, Jerusalem. I photographed many different people and cultures while there. Whatever one may believe in there is a sense of sacredness within the old city.
I feel very much at home in the Shuk , the Arab Market , which consists of narrow ,winding ,alleyways. It is always a treasure trove for photographs as well as a chance to meet people and to bring home memories. It also leads right to the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The church is a place I have photographed several times, it is magical with the incense and chanting and the caverns and huge Romanesque ceilings filled with glittering mosaics and candles. It’s a place to explore and to go back in time.
Some of my more colorful photographs are from the Mahane Yehuda Market which by day is a busy marketplace filled with all kinds of delicious treats . However, at night it has become a very trendy, lively spot to eat, drink , listen to music and to be surrounded by art. It has become a national treasure since a British artist, Solomon Souza has been painting murals on the closed shutters and doors of the 360 stalls. He’s not done yet but his spray painted portraits of historical and contemporary figures, Rabbinical portraits, Arab personalities, and biblical characters are something to see.
Some of my most magical photographs occurred at night in Akko or Acre which is a port city in northwest Israel on the Mediterranean coast. It has been continuously inhabited for 4000 years. My blue harbor photos are of the ancient remains of the Crusader harbor. I used various filters and exposures to create the deep hued photos.
The beauty of the country is evident whether it’s Tiberius’s harbor with wisps of cloud formations over the western shore of the Galilee or the barren landscape of the Negev Desert .The people and varied cultures that inhabit the small but monumentally important land of Israel are a constant inspiration for me.
