Foto Friday – Ron Shoshani’s Israel Eye Candy

March 5, 2010 - 2:49 PM by

The first thing people think when they see works by Ron Shoshani is that they aren’t really photographs. They are. But given our generation’s obsession with artifice, Shoshani takes care to ensure that his models – in his case, buildings, cities and even rocks – wear a healthy layer of makeup.

“Everything undergoes cosmetic treatment these days – models, TV presenters, even chefs dress up their food. We put makeup on everything. And that’s how I relate to photography. But the subject has to have a good basis. And when I take pictures, I look for and show the beauty.”

Using what he calls his ‘Secret Sauce’, Shoshani is able to make things appear as if they’ve been sprinkled with a dash of ‘Ever-So-Much-More-So’. “I always check the weather before I go out to photograph. Some things look better in daylight, others at night. I generally examine a site 2-3 times before the actual shoot. And I wait for the right day.” Working with a digital camera, he takes an initial set of photos after which the real work begins.

“The ‘Secret Sauce’ is to select the site, get it under the right weather conditions and then I start the maquillage. I can work on a frame for three days, I can work on it two weeks – post-processing or retouching – what people call Photoshopping, though I don’t necessarily use that.”

Israel becomes beautiful through Shoshani’s lens, particularly Tel Aviv, a city that can appear unlovely and unkempt to the uninitiated. “Every major city in the world has an image, like a poster, that shows it is an interesting cosmopolitan place. I wanted to create that sort of image, that makes people say ‘Wow, I want to go there!’”

Shoshani is also well-aware that his audience has both little viewing time and a limited attention span. “People view thousands of images a day and the amount of time people will spend on looking at a photo is maybe a quarter of second. So I try to create ‘eye candy’, one shot that will make you stop and think and see things not as they usually are. I try to make people look in wonderment. The photo of Tel Aviv skyline… you can look at it a long time.”

Shoshani’s work hangs in the lobbies and meeting rooms of Israeli companies. “They are proud of Israel and want to show that it’s a modern, technological and inspiring place.” Many more images are on view at his Facebook page and framing-quality prints may be ordered directly by writing to ronsho@gmail.com. (Shoshani says his prices are “comfortable”). Since posting his work on Facebook, Shoshani has received thank-yous from all over the world. “I got over 600 comments in three days. People were very emotional, writing things like ‘You should show this to the world’. I’m happy to. It’s not Zionism. I just think this country has an enormous variety of things to see.”

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , • Category: Art, Foto Friday, General, Israeliness, Picture of the Week, Profiles, Travel 

Comments

6 Comments on Foto Friday – Ron Shoshani’s Israel Eye Candy

  1. Ron Shoshani on Sat, Mar 6th 2010 6:31 PM

    2. well……
    i love Tel Aviv, i do !

  2. Sadie on Mon, Mar 8th 2010 4:18 AM

    3. Magical!

  3. Patti on Wed, Mar 10th 2010 7:41 PM

    4. Great stuff. It is High Definition photography which I also use as method. The site stuckincustoms.com has wonderful tutorials.

  4. Foto Friday – Ron Shoshani’s Tel Aviv winter | ISRAELITY on Fri, Feb 18th 2011 9:46 PM

    5. [...] image, he works his magic using a combination of digital techniques. You can read more about it here, order prints directly from directly from ronsho@gmail.com and view many more amazing images on his [...]

  5. Hotels Nicosia on Tue, Mar 29th 2011 11:10 AM

    6. Very unusual combination of colours for city landscapes.

  6. Foto Friday – Summer’s end with Ron Shoshani | ISRAELITY on Thu, Sep 15th 2011 11:14 PM

    7. [...] his digital magic, creating hyper-realistic images that seem to almost jump off the screen. (A previous column provides a more detailed explanation of his work [...]

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