The bench Photograph - Limited Edition of 20

I began my adventure with Photography at the age of 20, in 1976, in France. At that time, I was practicing Street Photography during the day, working as a taxi driver during the night and as an assistant to an Advertisement Photographer during the weekends. All that, to make a living in Paris. Four years later, I had to make a choice between Photography and Philosophy, and so I decided to go with Philosophy. I never stopped “shooting” with a camera, but during the next 29 years, I practiced Photography more as a “devoted amateur” than as a professional. In 1986, I relocated to Tel-Aviv, Israel, where I founded the local branch of the New Acropolis school of Philosophy. About twenty years later, in 2008, I made my way back to Photography adding to it my Philosophical experience. Philosophy, for me is what reveals the meaning of life. Art is the way I have chosen to approach this meaning. The camera is the medium I use to capture the hidden beauty present in life, all around us, and my photographs allow me to make this invisible beauty visible and to offer it for all to see. This specific combination of Philosophy and Photography is also emphasized my work called “PhotoSophy”. It is reflected in a blog, as well as in an album-book and various exhibitions seen countries as Israel, France, Austria, and India. As a Street Photographer, I use the technical aspect of the camera as an instrument for expressing my philosophical vision and way of life. Thus, I use minimal equipment: a single lens (28 mm) full frame camera. No flash, no tripod and no artificial effects…. I always shoot in “Manual” mode, which leaves the technical decision to the photographer, and not to the software. I believe that the technical aspect should be as “transparent” as possible, as to not conceal the essence of the picture. This means that mastering it is essential because only then the technical aspect can be forgotten. It is the only way the photographer can focus his feelings and intuitions on his art. A picture is much more than the way a person can describe it. The most important thing in a picture is invisible. It is an emotion, a sentiment, a nostalgia, harmony. For me, a good picture does not reflect the subjectivity of the photographer. It captures the state of a particular moment – the moment in which the photographer chose to close the shutter – and this moment is chosen because the photographer recognizes it – consciously or not – as a “Decisive Moment”.