Foto Friday – Edward Kaprov helps splice the ends

November 20, 2009 - 6:28 PM by Rachel Neiman · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Art, Foto Friday, General, Pop Culture, Religion 

Splicing the Ends is the name of a new art exhibition that opens next week, November 28th, at the Amiad Center in Old Jaffa. Over the past two years, Amiad has emerged as a unique center for the arts in Jaffa’s newly revived Flea Market area, now a hot nightlife spot for Tel Aviv’s young bohemian set.

According to the organizers, the exhibit celebrates the winter season festivals for the three major monotheistic religions — Hannuka, Christmas and Eid ul Fitr — by “telling the story of mankind through the different religions… exploring the themes of immigration, living as an individual and as part of a community, and how one relates to oneself and to one’s environment.”

The show features works by over 30 painters, sculptors and photographers , including Edward Kaprov. A veteran immigrant to Israel from the former Soviet Union, Kaprov has worked with Israel’s biggest newspapers including business daily Globes, Haaretz and Yedioth Aharonot. His features have been published by National Geographic, GEO, and Russian Newsweek as well as other publications.

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His work on display in “Splicing the Ends” deals with how religion informs day-to-day life in Israel, whether in the army…

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…at a soup kitchen for hungry children…

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…motivating political protest…

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Kaprov’s work ranges from news and commercial photography to personal projects, including a series on Shamanism in Israel.

Splicing the Ends runs from November 28 through December 21 at the Amiad Center. A portion of the proceeds from the exhibit will go to ILAN, Israel’s Foundation for the Handicapped.

Foto Friday – Israel through the IR filter with Yariv Drory

November 13, 2009 - 6:00 PM by Rachel Neiman · 1 Comment
Filed under: Art, Foto Friday, General, Travel 

Winter is upon us, more or less. Last week, the rainy season began in earnest, then backtracked for a week of unseasonably warm weather. Now, they tell us, it is now due to return with some serious cold, wet weather. It’s too early to tell if there will be snow this year but this series of images by Yariv Drory brings the thought to mind.

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Drory has a particular interest in infrared cameras and his images of the Israeli summer landscape through the IR filter are almost hallucinatory.

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In real life, the trees are green and the skies are blue but through the IR filter, the trees turn a feathery pink, the skies are black, the seas white, and spiky brush and weeds turn cottony and soft.

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According to Wikipedia, which has a very nice entry about infrared photography, “When these [IR] filters are used together with infrared-sensitive film or sensors, very interesting ‘in-camera effects’ can be obtained…false-color or black-and-white images with a dreamlike or sometimes lurid appearance… mainly caused by foliage (such as tree leaves and grass) strongly reflecting in the same way visible light is reflected from snow.”

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Also, according to Wikipedia, “…other attributes of infrared photographs include very dark skies and penetration of atmospheric haze… compared to visible light.”

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More photos by Yariv Drory are on view at his website.

Foto Friday – The Israel Photography Exhibition 2

October 16, 2009 - 3:06 PM by Rachel Neiman · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Art, Foto Friday, General, Travel 

Untitled-1POV, the Israeli Photography Exhibition at Hatachana, the Old Train Station in Tel Aviv’s Neve Tzedek, came out swinging earlier this month with individual retrospectives of works by well-known Israeli photographers. Additionally, there were also collective exhibitions on view at Hatachana — well worth visiting — and on YouTube. These include works by leading photographers, yet-unknowns and news agencies, the unsung heroes of photography in the field.

Last Summer

Israel Sun photo agency

Tomorrow’s Photographers

Foto Friday – The Israel Photography Exhibition

October 9, 2009 - 6:09 PM by Rachel Neiman · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Art, Foto Friday, General, History and Culture, Pop Culture 

Neve_Tzedek_Train_Station_rerfurb_1POV, a retrospective of new works by Israel’s leading photographers/curators took place this past week at Tel Aviv’s newest landmark, the refurbished old train station structure in Neve Tzedek (pictured left). For those who missed the show (and that includes your humble scribe), POV has provided video portfolios for the group, as well as individual photographers. A portion of these works are presented in this Foto Friday column, with more to follow. Enjoy! And for those who can’t wait, visit the POV website and YouTube channel.

Show Portfolio

Moshe Shay

Yuval Tebol

David Perlov

Foto Friday – Sukkot in Jerusalem

October 2, 2009 - 12:04 AM by Rachel Neiman · 4 Comments
Filed under: Art, Foto Friday, General, Holidays, Religion, Travel, coexistence 

The awe-ful part of the Days of Awe are behind us and now it’s time to party! Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, is the holiday when Jerusalem gets itself all decked out…

© RomKri

…and small wooden sukkot, or tabernacles, spring up overnight…

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…dotting the urban landscape.

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The Municipality of Jerusalem gets into the act too, with a large public sukka – the perfect opener to this month’s Autumn Nights Festival

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…as well as the annual Jerusalem March, attended by walkers from all over the country…

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…and from all over the world!

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Another event taking place at this time: the International Christian Embassy’s Feast of Tabernacles festival, this year celebrating its 30th anniversary. The festivities begin today with a worship concert at Ein Gedi, continue with a week of prayer and Bible teachings, and conclude with the Jerusalem March on October 6th.

Below is a montage of photos from last year’s Feast of Tabernacles. The photos above are courtesy of the wonderful Jerusalem Shots website – always worth a visit. And here’s wishing a Chag Sameach (happy holiday) to us all!

Feast of Tabernacles 2008 Photo Montage from ICEJ on Vimeo.

Foto Friday – Apples & Honey

September 17, 2009 - 11:35 PM by Rachel Neiman · 1 Comment
Filed under: Art, Foto Friday, General, Holidays 

One of the more lovely traditions of Rosh Hashana is eating apples dipped honey to symbolize our hopes for a sweet new year. At this season, you start seeing apples and honey everywhere. Body artist Flora certainly does…
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Dorit “Dot” Malin, a talented architectural and stage lighting designer, created this lovely image incorporating dance and light.
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Israel’s Fruit Production and Marketing Board has chosen to market apples the old-fashioned way…
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And there are a slew of apple-themed New Year’s animations on YouTube! A small selection follows. Enjoy! And a healthy, happy and prosperous Shana Tova to all.

Picking apples for New Year at Kibbutz Malkiya

Apples and Honey

Shana Tova – the Apple’s Perspective

Shana Tova – Another Apple

Foto Friday – Gil Lavi’s Soldiers in White

September 4, 2009 - 6:59 PM by Rachel Neiman · 1 Comment
Filed under: Art, Foto Friday, General, health 

Gil Lavi is a world-class commercial photographer, portraitist and brand image consultant. He also has a keen eye for documentary photography, as seen in his series, “Soldiers in White” which explores the world of Israel’s emergency medical technicians at Magen David Adom.

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The living quarters where sleep can be interrupted in a moment…

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… as EMTs launch into action.
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Lavi also takes special note of the relationship between religious and secular EMTs…

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… and the camaraderie between male and female, young and old.

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MDA’s heroic efforts in bringing medical services to all sides under the most trying circumstances have been well-reported by ISRAEL21c , but Lavi’s is a more intimate look. It’s a far cry from the high gloss commercial work for which he is famous — Lavi was named one of the 300 most influential Israelis under 40 for 2009 by Forbes magazine — but ties in to his photographic roots: during his army service, he was a photographer for the Ground Forces Command and then head of the IDF Still Photography Department. In fact, darkroom fluid flows in his veins: his father is renowned photographer Moshe Lavi (more about him, hopefully, on another Friday).

Other works by Gil Lavi can be found on his website at http://portfolio.gillavi.com/

Foto Friday – A Walk Down Nachalat Binyamin

August 7, 2009 - 8:15 AM by Rachel Neiman · 1 Comment
Filed under: Art, Blogging, Foto Friday, General, Life, Travel, design 

Every Tuesday and Friday, there’s a crafts fair on Tel Aviv’s Nachalat Binyamin Street.

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There’s no end to the coverage about it, because it is a very good event that has managed to maintain high standards of quality for over a decade and a half — no mean feat, as so many other so-called crafts fairs start out in promising fashion, then sink quickly into a mire of cheap crap from India and China. But the TA municipality keeps close tabs the Nachalat Binyamin artisans and artists, many of whom staff their own booths.

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Most visitors pay more attention to the products than the sellers, as is only natural when shopping. And that’s where the photographer’s eye comes in.

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Photographer Jessica D. Korman, a recent new immigrant to Israel, took a stroll down Nachalat Binyamin and — aside from snapping shots of the wares for Tchochkes.com, where she is a regular contributor, she also took a look at what goes on around the booths.

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Korman, who studied interior design, says she looks for architectural elements wherever she goes, “to present a different view of an object or event.”

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“I like photographing everyday scenes,” Korman says, “always looking for a different angle or perspective to the mundane or even the ‘ugly’ side of things.”

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A former picture editor for publications such as Scholastic, Star Magazine and Woman’s World Magazine, Korman now works as a Visual Communications Consultant in Jerusalem. “What I love about [photo editing] is that it is the marriage of written content with images. The proper choice of image will enable one’s work to have the greatest impact. Besides, what better job is there than getting to look at pictures all day?”

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There’s inspiration everywhere. More of Korman’s work is available on her website, The F Stops Here.

Foto Friday – Footprints

July 31, 2009 - 11:30 PM by Rachel Neiman · 3 Comments
Filed under: Foto Friday, General, Pop Culture, Travel 

Sometimes it’s good to take a moment and see Israel from a different vantage point. In summer if you look down, for instance, you’re very likely to see “balatot” — the ubiquitous light limestone floor tile — plus a variety of fun footwear that takes you from work to the beach and back again.

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A trip to the Dead Sea affords another type of shoe, suited to mud baths and salt water.

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Which is different to what you’d wear to snap some sidewalk graffiti while walking up and down Rothschild Boulevard at Tel Aviv’s Laila Lavan all-night street fair. (This takeoff on the Peace Now logo says “Shalit Now” in reference to captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit).

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And sometimes a girl needs to take a rest from those heels at a sidewalk pub (note the Ackerstein paving blocks so typical of Tel Aviv).

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A little culture never hurt.

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Though these shoes might — especially the price. (Three thousand-plus shekels!)

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Thank goodness, at the end of the day, there’s a place to relax on the edge of the Med.

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PR woman Efrat Gurman is a consummate media professional who’s made a career out of positioning things differently. She’s a colleague and friend to photographers and in her few spare moments, snaps pictures of her own, mostly of of things that interest her – or that she makes interesting. For more of her “Footprints” series click here.

Foto Friday – Sexy Tel Aviv

July 11, 2009 - 7:06 PM by Rachel Neiman · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Foto Friday, General, Israeliness, Life, Pop Culture, Travel 

Tel Aviv nights are sultry and sexy. Or muggy or humid to the cynics. But for those who love summer in the city, going out clubbing on a Thursday night is just the right thing to do. After all, what’s a little sweat between friends?

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Tel Aviv abounds with dance clubs, bars and night spots. According to the Gay Tel Aviv website, “For a great vacation, you’ve found the right place.”

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The municipality also actively supports that view — and one expects no less from a city hall with a street number of 69! — and will host the annual gathering of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association this coming October. Given Tel Aviv’s gay-friendly status — and the fact that October in Israel has the loveliest weather — registration should be brisk.

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This photo series was taken by citizen journalist/blogger David Shankbone, who wrote about Gay Tel Aviv, his night at the TLV club, and DJ Ofer Nissim (pictured), as follows: “One of the most excellent spectacles to behold in Israel was the amazing high energy of famous Israeli deejay Offer Nissim as several thousand men and women went insane. The entranced audience must have been what Jonestown looked like before the Kool-Aid…”

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Click here for more about that night out on the town.

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