yesterday evening i was asked to shoot the opening of an art exhibition by a very dear young woman, natalie. the exhibition is on display in an improvised gallery. it was very crowded, the lighting was horrible and only one of the open spaces had air conditioning. that’s the main story but not the real story.
the real story is that of natalie and her sister.
it’s a story of love, admiration, respect, and mostly it’s about sharing life together. that’s the real story!
nir
Filed under admiration, exhibition, gallery, life, love, natalie, photography, respect, share, sharing, sisters
uri has come a long way since…
uri’s draft, march 2006
and since …
basic training saturday visit, april 2006
more than 12 months into his service uri has undergone rigorous training, hours of study and many nautical miles in numerous types of crafts. he has strengthened and toughened. he has matured and ripened. he has developed seeds dorit & i planted, qualities that waited to bloom. and he is blooming! uri is content, full of interest, enjoying the challenges, eager for more! and we are so proud of him!
friday we were invited to haifa to take part in a ceremony honoring his graduation of the advanced stage of naval officers course. 33 graduated from over 100 that began the course. he still has a long way to go – another 16 months before he is fully ordained an officer in the israeli navy, but friday’s ceremony commemorates a significant milestone in his naval training.
we were fussy over the need to leave jerusalem at 06:00 to be in haifa by 08:00, but uri and his team mates left base at 03:00 to manually row zodiac inflatable boats in the cold mediterranean night prior to greeting us for the ceremony.
gathered near the beach with other proud parents, siblings and friends, we first saw them coming in from the sea. everyone cheered them as they rowed their last few meters to shore.
the ceremony was festive as the cadets marched and stood in formation and their officers, wearing festive navy whites, ran the ceremony.
lieutenant colonel yosi mashita, commander of the navy academy, shakes uri’s hand after pinning a gold commanders’ pin to uri’s left shirt collar
a gold commanders’ pin …
a symbol of the understanding of the value of life, the life of others, the commander’s responsibility for their lives - a legacy passed from generation to generation in israel’s society.
there are other traits required by a commander – knowledge, professionalism, integrity … but most important is the understanding of life – a commander’s ability to take it or to preserve it.
and the grand finale – a rose presented to mom!
so, attention! officer on deck! … soon.
nir
Filed under boat, ceremony, challenge, character, commander, craft, determination, diligence, feelings, formation, friends, friendship, honor, image, israel, life, military, navy, photo, photographer, photographers, photography, photojournalism, pride, responsibility, soldiers, son, stock photos, thoughts, zodiac
Filed under death, decision, documentary, editorial, image, life, marcus halevi, photographer, photography, photojournalism
adolescence is a rough ride. anyone on that roller coaster, parents and siblings included, is going to get dizzy. as a parent it’s one of the greater challenges i’ve been through.
adolescents live with constant internal turmoil, battling a need to define their unique identity, to figure out who they are, their self worth, in their own eyes and to establish that in the eyes of friends and family. it is a time of struggle between being the child of a parent and being an independent adult – two things that usually seem incompatible. with so many battles raging inside a teen is it really a wonder parents can become casualties of war?
nir
Filed under adolescence, adolescent, art, battle, casualties, casualty, challenge, child, dad, distress, dizziness, dizzy, extreme, family, father, fatherhood, feelings, image, insane, insanity, life, mothers, parent, parenthood, parenting, photo, photographer, photography, roller coaster, teen, teenager, war
i don’t think i ever voted for him but somehow i was happy every time he was re-elected. the lion – the symbol of jerusalem.
teddy kolek. 28 years the mayor of the most difficult and facinating city in the world.
Filed under celebrity, death, documentary, eulogy, funeral, image, israel, Jerusalem, life, mayor, photo, photographer, photography, photojournalism, politics
“Spend lots of time with your children! Have them near you day and night and love them. And let yourself be loved in those wonderful years that will never return!” – Leopold Schefer
to my dear children,
although life has greyed my hair and i am far from the boy of 24 who first became a dad, the love i have for you has only deepened with age. as i look back in time, remembering each of you from the moment of birth, i see my love for you was not wasted. you are all wonderful individuals, each a reflection of my heart.
i cannot say i have no regrets or that “i wish i could…” has never crossed my mind but my intentions were always good and i tried to do the best i could. i hope that no matter on what twisting road life will take you always remember i am there for you. please, don’t hesitate for a moment to say “dad, i need you”. seek me out. i’ll be there for you. i’ll try not to judge. i will always forgive. that’s what i do, i’m a dad.
i love you dearly,
nir
Filed under dad, daughter, family, father, fatherhood, feelings, forgiveness, image, life, love, parenthood, photo, photographer, photography, son, thoughts
the most difficult moment is parting at the entrance to the operating room. hoping for the best, terrified of the worst. desperately tried to show confidence but found it impossible to hold back the tears. i couldn’t find words … only “i love you princess” with a hug and a kiss. she’s my baby, my princess, she’s in mortal danger and i can’t do anything about it.
friday night, after midnight, tamar called; “dad. i need you, i need an ambulance” she cried. my heart fell, but i was out the door. i arrived on my motorbike, in the rain, through three red lights, before the paramedics loaded her on the ambulance. we rode together. tamar was in pain. i wished i could take her pain.
out of o.r. – it’s difficult to describe the relief of seeing tamar awake. semi-conscious and confused, but awake! i pray tamar will not suffer permanent damage that could leave her scarred for life, physically and emotionally. we have a long way ahead.
nir
due to a few requests … “in spite of!” is now available through google video.
i suggest you turn on your sound, maximise your browser, click the small arrow at bottom-right of viewing screen and choose ‘smooth video’ and ‘fit to window’.
hebrew english
if anyone has an idea how this video can be used to raise donations for the hostel i am all ears. i have tried everywhere i could think of. i would very much like to print a catalog of the exhibition with additional photos that were not displayed, as a type of photo album to give to the girls. something for them to have with which to remember this period of their lives. some of the girls do not have any childhood photos at all!
nir
Filed under art, distress, documentary, feelings, image, israel, Jerusalem, life, photo, photographer, photography, photojournalism, publication, shelter, social welfare, story, women
love, happiness, satisfaction, pride, content, concern, thankfulness and optimism.
and here is the image that goes with them;
and there is one very special person, very dear to my heart, who has made all this happen…
nir
Filed under concern, family, feelings, happiness, image, israel, life, love, optimism, photo, photographer, photography, pride, satisfaction, thankfull, thankfulness, thoughts
november / december 2006 edition of “the world of photography and video”, published by the israeli association of photographers and cinematographers, has published my project “in spite of!“.
5 pages, 10 photos!
the full project can be viewed HERE
nir
Filed under art, distress, documentary, image, israel, Jerusalem, life, magazine, photo, photographer, photography, photojournalism, publication, shelter, social welfare, stock, women
the rabbis don’t think so! for the past two weeks they have been wreaking havoc in the streets of jerusalem. burning, rioting, throwing bricks at policemen, blocking traffic, threatening lives - they call it protest. they call it preservation of sacred values. they ‘speak’ in the name of God. do they really?
freedom of expression, democracy, abomination, sins – words being thrown around lately. are they important words, God? are they worth lives?
do you really love gays less than rabbis?
a compromise was reached. gays would not parade but rather hold a closed rally at the hebrew university sports stadium in jerusalem. everyone claimed victory, but it was a sad event. much less participants than in previous years. less colorful. jerusalem’s secular residents held hostage by a violent gang of hooligans backed by a copyright on God.
but still they come…
nir
Filed under art, barbaric, belief, danger, dangerous, democracy, documentary, extreme, faith, frightening, gay, God, holyland, homosexual, image, israel, Jerusalem, jewish, judaism, lesbian, life, photo, photographer, photography, photojournalism, politics, primitive, scary, stock, terror, terrorism, threatening, uncivilized, violence, vulgar
last weeks rains upgraded some of the grade iii rapids to grade iv. i wasn’t fully aware of exactly what this meant. that proved to be a mistake. the safe landing of our group of 11 required true rowing abilities, as a coordinated group. with 3 young kids, 1 grandmother and my ‘athletic’ abilities we didn’ t have what it took. our guide should have warned us. he didn’t.
the scenery from our raft leaving bovec slovenia was beautiful – dramatic tree covered mountains and clear blue skies. the pale green waters were initially deceivingly calm. but pretty soon the river began to hint what it had in store for us. we hit the rock. the rafts left side went up high. man overboard! i’ve heard that so many times and there’s probably a correct way to deal with it. but when it’s three overboard it becomes quite a challenging situation. yael, 9 year old keren and i were able to feel the soca’s wrath. it was an educationally frightening experience. it made me realize the extent of our mortality and left me humble in face of the forces of nature. i was pretty much helpless against the current, trying to push keren back towards the raft and trying to grab onto the rope while gulping in huge amounts of water. i have never before come so close to drowning. the few scary moments left me physically and emotionally empty. i was angry. i was frightened. my body ached all over. my muscles trembled with exertion. i was thankful we got out of it ok. it was close.
i consider myself a very responsible person and a very responsible father. i blew it today, big time. it won’t happen again!
nir
Filed under art, bovec, danger, dangerous, distress, documentary, extreme, frightening, green, image, landscape, life, mortal, mortality, mountain, nature, photo, photographer, photography, photojournalism, raft, rafting, rapids, river, scary, scene, scenery, slovenia, soca, sport, stock, threatening, wrath
