Foto Friday – Avraham Cornfeld – The panoramic view
Filed under: Art, design, Foto Friday, General, Technology
Avraham Cornfeld is co-founder of HOLD ME, a visual identity and web design boutique graphic design house that creates across a range of media. Computer graphics and photo manipulation are inherent to what he does, but Cornfeld started out as a photographer, studying at the Hadassah College of Jerusalem. He views the technologies he learned there — and continues to use in his imaginative and original works — as tools he has had to master, so that they would not be his master.
Cornfeld has created a series of striking panoramic images, in many photos are taken in the field and then “stitched” together electronically. This series is called “Borders”. (Click for large-format version)
And this is a series called “Strips”. (Again, click for large-format version)
Cornfeld says his interest in the panoramic format stems from a a desire to present his surroundings, as much as possible, from his own point of view. In an interview (in Hebrew) posted on the reDesign website, he says, “I deconstruct and reconstruct the landscape, combining dozens, sometimes hundreds of photographs in order to fashion a whole. The end result doesn’t document the landscape precisely but rather describes something new that I saw there and that excites me again every time.”
To get an idea of how Cornfeld works his magic, take a look at these two original shots.
And here they are, once embedded into the panoramic tapestry.
The end result:
The small format afforded by Israelity doesn’t do this lively — and large (over 3 meters long!) — photo montage justice. It’s best viewed on Cornfeld’s personal website, where prints may also be ordered.
Foto Friday – Elyssa Frank has a TLV secret
Filed under: Art, Foto Friday, General, Life, Sports, Travel
Photographer Elyssa Frank is passionate about Tel Aviv. You can tell from the albums she posts on her Facebook page MADE in ISRAEL. A few days ago, before the dust storms hit and our skies turned yellowy-white, Frank took a stroll somewhere.
Frank likens the expanse of mossy rocks and sea to the Irish countryside… Mediterranean-style.
And through her lens, the shells that wash up on the shore become jewels…
The album is entitled “Someone shared a beautiful secret with me…” and Frank won’t disclose the location. But it’s easy to spot a few landmarks, like the old lighthouse… and the running path by the Israel Electric Corporation’s Reading power station pretty much gives it away!
Nonetheless, it’s nice to know that between the dance clubs, restaurants and sports facilities there are a few quiet spots left at the Tel Aviv Port.
More of Frank’s street photography is available on her MADE in ISRAEL page (check out the series on the headphone street party that took place last weekend). Portfolio collection viewings available upon request.
Foto Friday – Tel Aviv Contrasts with Gabriel Benaim
Filed under: Art, design, Foto Friday, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life, Picture of the Week, Travel
Tel Aviv is a city of contrasts, not only for the lifestyles that coexist within its boundaries but in its very appearance. Up close it seems trashy, flashy and colorful. But take a step back and what you see are light-hued buildings set against dark shadows cast by the bright unblinking Mediterranean sun.
Black and white photographic imagery — captured the old-fashioned way on film and printed on paper in a darkroom — may be the ideal way to present that contrast.
And printing on silver chloride paper — a rarity nowadays — could not be more perfect for the many shades of grays along that spectrum.
Photographer Gabriel Benaim’s work was first profiled by Israelity last year. Since then, a lot has happened. His first solo show opened last month at the Walter Keller Gallery in Zurich, and his “Tel Aviv at 100″ series has been included in the Center for Fine Art Photography’s portfolio showcase. Plus, German magazine Photonews has published a selection of Tel Aviv shots in their May issue.
In his gallery notes, Walter Keller writes: “I am taken by the alertness, the quiet attention to detail of the images. Strolling, leisurely meandering like a flaneur, Benaim captures this city that was founded 100 years ago.”
“Using a large-format camera, Benaim presents us near perfectly produced silver gelatin contact prints. And this in itself is a breath of fresh air given the current confusion within the production of contemporary photography. Almost like a moment of silence in the midst of a noisy performance, Benaim’s images are calm, unhurried; photographs that pull the brakes on the race that is our urban life.”
Visit Gabriel Benaim’s homepage to view more of his work.
Foto Friday – Ah, Jerusalem!
Filed under: Foto Friday, General, History and Culture, Religion, Travel
Mikhail Levit is a talented photographer who was born behind the Iron Curtain where he began his career as a photo-journalist. Today, Levit lives in Jerusalem where is one of the founders of the “Jerusalem 36″ photography club and an active contributor to the Jerusalem Shots website.
For Levit, Jerusalem isn’t just a place to live. The city lives within him and inspires his work. There is the modern city of Jerusalem…
© Mikhail Levit
…not-so-modern Jerusalem…
© Mikhail Levit
Ancient Jerusalem, city holy to three monotheistic faiths…
© Mikhail Levit
© Mikhail Levit
© Mikhail Levit
and Jerusalem, city of eternal beauty.
© Mikhail Levit
Levit’s photos have been exhibited in Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Germany, France, England and Singapore, with solo exhibitions in Ukraine, the US, and Israel. In 2002, he returned to his roots with a successful personal exhibition in Moscow. Prints of Levit’s work may be ordered through his website.
Foto Friday – Discovering Acco with Elena Comens
Filed under: Art, coexistence, Foto Friday, General, History and Culture, Life, Picture of the Week, Travel
Acco (Acre) is a city that no one thinks about throughout the year — until the annual fringe theater festival comes around. It’s a shame because the old city of Acco hides hidden treasures like the Bahai gardens, (more beautiful yet less famous than their Haifa counterpart), that frame the Shrine of Baha’ U’ llah, founder of this secretive religion. Acco’s Crusader Era walls and the seaport are picturesque, and the fish restaurants serve generous and tasty portions.
One person who has picked up on the city’s charms is Elena Comens. New York-based Comens is an award-winning artist who began as a portrait painter, specializing in character study portraits. She picked up a camera after a photographer visited one of her art exhibitions, “and encouraged me to see my world through a viewfinder.”
The scope of Comens’ documentary photographic work “covers elements of poverty or wealth, social change, environmental locations, age relationships and how people communicate within their cultures.”
“Some have used the phrase visual anthropology to describe my work. Documenting people and places along my journey provided me with the opportunity to embrace the relationship of humanity within our environment.”
Comens’ online portfolio entitled, The Spirit of the Land, The Spirit of the People, Israel is a celebration of all areas of our tiny country. She writes, “Although small, Israel has welcomed immigrants from all over the world and consequently has a multi-national flavor, curious in its blend of east and west, remarkably diverse in its people and strikingly beautiful.” Acco, an city with both Arab and Jewish populations, is a good example of what Comens means.
“My primary focus is to capture the essence of a people within their cultural environment. This endeavor is even more rewarding when I can share my vision with others.” More images by Elena Comens, color and black and white, can be viewed at her online gallery.
NOTE: All images supplied by, and courtesy of, the models and/or photographer and are not public domain.
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