I am a local guide lever six with over a million views. I am overwhelmed that so many have enjoyed how I see the world of Light, color, and texture. I must confess, however, that this confirms a decision I made about 15 years ago to pursue photography as a standalone addition to my large and varied talent stacks, which include sociology, statistics, navigation, rabbinics, and chaplaincy.
What I want to share with you is something about my process and how I view what I capture. There are many people, far more talented than I, how may have said the same things; but, this is what I want to say.
I look at the World about us all with Awe. When I view a person, it is through eyes of gratitude. I am in the presence of another Soul, to be honored for that spark of life so visible in their faces. My responsibility is to ensure that the settings are correct, the image properly composed, properly lit; but, when I press the shutter, and experience that moment of darkness when the mirror lifts and the light strikes the sensor, it is not me that takes that image. I am awed by the result and give thanks.
When I view a panorama, which I assemble like a mosaic in Photoshop after processing each piece in Photomatix, I start by asking how BIG do I want the image to be to contain my Experience of that scene, that Light. For me, an image is like a collection of visual data, from which a larger image can be assembled that takes in as much light and color as possible. I start collecting those pixels after which the work, the craft, begins.
I began photography when I was seventeen using the camera as a source of documentation: where I was, what I was doing, how other people were going about their daily lives. As a student in India on a fellowship, I recorded how people worked, what were the social processes in play, and, in general, being an observer.
In Seattle, 1989-91, I began an extended project of documenting urbanscapes and the homeless; but, I did so through the perspective of a sociologist–an outsider looking in.
When I retired to Israel, I began researching traditional astronomy. I wanted, however, to capture the incredible beauty I saw through the lens of the telescope. THAT experience began my serious engagement as a photographer. Taking a two year program in photography, I learned about stacking, noise reduction, and astro-photography. In the course of acquiring those techniques, I stumbled on the HDR process. However, as fun as it is to make garish images, I chose to make my HDR images as natural as possible. Astronomy teaches that there is more light than the eye could see. Patience and control over the physical camera are mandatory; the results, however, are awe inspiring. One learns that there is more to the World than our eyes experience.
That said, I began creating large HDR images of terrestrial space. Landscapes with more light than we see but are actually present. I learned to trust my intuition; to see beyond seeing. In all, my work became a mystical process.
My teachers told me to step into the picture; learn to connect with what you are capturing; find the subject; and then move closer. It is not, however, a physical closeness; it is an experiential closeness where intuition is the key. You have to see the print in the viewfinder, they told me; but, I found the process begins before the viewfinder and well before the print.
For me, the camera is dumb. It never sees what I see. With HDR lessons learned, I have found a way to modulate the compound images to match what I experienced in that scene. Taking the images is merely the second step in the process.
I moved to France and began giving expositions of my work. All well received but the market being such as it is, there was little sales, and well below the actual cost of producing large format panoramas. Still I wanted to share my experiences with the world that has been so good to me through these experiences of AWE.
I gave away many large prints; but, I still wanted to give more; to share my experiences with the world.
One day, I began to look at the images posted on Google Maps. Here was a venue for me. If I cannot sell them, and I wind up giving them away, why not post them for the world to see?
I have an extensive archive of over 100,000 gallery quality images taken across the world: Israel, India, France, Morocco, and the US. It was easy to do. I just followed my wanderings and posted images from my archive.
The World, that has given AWE, responded. For that I am grateful.
I close with the following advice. A snap shot is a myth. Modern devices conceal more than they reveal. A moment is an eternity; not a “snap.” In that instant, there is Awe, there is something transcendent. Learn to follow intuition, your experience of that Awe. You are not documenting a place, a thing, a person, or an event. You are communicating your Experience of Awe and gratitude in that moment.