Photography - Happy New Year's Blues

"It’s almost New Year, snow‘s still fallin’ down/
Yes, it’s almost New Year, the snow ‘s still fallin’ down/
And my baby ain’t here to hold me/
I’m the loneliest man in town." Lonnie Johnson - New Year's Blues


Well.. as you probably guessed, this post will be dedicated to the new year's blues. 
I guess I am not the only one having the blues this year, and therefore this post was created for all of you who have the new year's (x-mas' or birthday's) blues.

You know the drill - last year everything was perfect... You had the woman/man of your dreams, maybe you had money or a good job, you had the feeling that this is just the beginning and life is going to be even better! But, in few months everything was gone.

"Now the stage is bare, and I am standing there, with emptiness all around." 

Elvis Presley, Are You Lonesome Tonight.

Here are some photos who make the loneliness and the blues look pretty.

A Lonely Streetlight

This streetlight, actually been captured in the morning...

It is a classic 40's or so design, and I decided to give the picture a film noir touch. A darkness and a spotlight were added in order to make the streetlight stand alone with all his glory. We can feel the coldness and the darkness of the night, as well the loneliness. But... the minimalism and the clean lines, make us admire the object.

A Dry Tree

I was wandering around a field, when I found this dry tree.
It was standing all alone, with its yellow leaves. It was kind of sad to see the tree out there without any flower or a bird around it. Everything around was dead and dry, except the sky. I took the picture with a wide angle lens, my intention was to capture the gloomy brown and yellow tree with the perfect blue sky.

The contrast between them, makes the picture more interesting and optimistic.

Mr. Blue

The man is standing in front of the sea. Reflecting, thinking about his life. He doesn't look very happy, he is Mr. Blue. 

The blue tones, the texture of the water and the wood rail, give the photo a lyrical quality. It is indeed a melancholic scene, but a beautiful one.

Even though this post was a little blue, I wish you a very happy new year, may 2012 will make all your wishes come true!

Photography/Digital Art - The Importance of Composition

Hi there!

This post is dedicated to the importance of composition, in photography and in art.
Now's days we have many applications and software that help us improve our photos - to enhance the color, to retouch the pic, to make it retro/vintage style and more... We can even find a camera that can take a perfectly focused picture, so we don't have to master all the photography techniques - the technology will help us with most of them.

All of these apps and gadgets ARE helpful, but they cannot transform a boring picture to a more interesting one. If you don't have a good composition, you could make the picture prettier, but it still going to look boring, nobody will give it a second glance. The other way around is different, if you have a good composition, most chances are that people will tolerate (to some point) a poor focus, light or noise.

Let's look at these photos:

Good light and color, poor composition

Poor light and color, good composition

Which picture is better? Most of us will find the second picture more interesting. The composition is much more appealing (the movement and the position of the bar), even though that the light is poor. On the other hand we can't do magic with the first picture, it has a better light and a stronger color, but that is it! Take a look at the second picture after a little bit of lighting, crop and contrast...

Good composition, light and color

I had the same situation, the other day. I was walking in a rural area, looking for an interesting place to take some pictures. Suddenly, two cyclists popped up in front of me... my camera was off, and I tried to capture them as quick as I could. The picture was blurry and the light wasn't perfect, but the composition... it was awesome! The minute I saw the picture, I knew that it has a great potential.

Let's look at the evolution of that pic.

The original - interesting composition, far from perfect focus, light and contrast

Improved light and contrast, better but still imperfect focus

The post processed result was better, but still I thought that this composition needs a better presentation.
So I decided to think out of the box, and to change the photo to a digitized impressionist paint... I had to experiment some filters and to adjust some variables, but the final result was exactly as I imagined - bright colors, noticeable brush strokes and a well presented nature.

Digital impressionist paint

The cyclists and the green background also gave me an idea for a logo - created with vector art.

So, (I'm sure that you already know) in my opinion a good composition is a major (maybe the most important) part of photography and art. You can play with the filters, light and the focus, they are the side dishes... the composition (as shown) is the main course.

That's it for now!  Thank you for visiting my blog, I hope you enjoyed it :)

You can find more of my art at my Zazzle store, feel free to browse around!

You can find more art pieces at my Squidoo lenses :
Pop Art
Abstract Art
Still Life

Photography - Anti Beauty

Hi there!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder thay say, I must agree. Especially in photography, the most unatrractive scenes and objects, sometimes look apealing and interessting even more than our usual everyday eye candy.

In this post I gathered some of my Anti-Beauty gallery. Maybe you'll find some beauty here too...

I was strolling on a sunny day, looking for something interesting to shoot. It was hot and I couldn't find anything. All the flowers have gone, not a single color around, besides that dead boring brown. I thought to myself, if I can't find something worth shooting, I must find the beauty in the ugliness. Suddenly I saw a common housefly buzzing around a dried flower, with thorns around him. In my mind I was thinking, everybody wants to take the perfect photo of the beautiful flower with the bee or the butterfly around it, and I have the perfect opportunity to shoot the exact oppsite! so I did.




I hate to see garbage on the streets, it's an ugly habbit, just throw it to the near trah can, it's not so hard!
Saying that, I couldn't ignore the photo opportunity here... The red plastic cup laying there on the green grass. The contrast, the minimalism, the inappropriate object and the question : "why did you take that photo?!" all make it worth while.

Respect the elders!
Those two dead leaves were hanging there, in a majestic way. The sunlight was caressing them, showing every detail of their old being. All the young leaves were standing in the background in a perfect position, just to make those two oldies pop up even more.
What can I say, sometimes death is beautiful.

12 long years I was driving on the same road to the same job. Every morning I've noticed that wreck on the side of the road. Many times I thought to myself that I must go there, to look around, I really liked it, especially in the winter time. Last year I finally did. I picked a very cold and cloudy weather and examined the place.

The green grass carpet, and the grey clouds have created a perfect scenario. all I had to do was to find the right angles.

Take a look :

Well... I hope you enjoyed all the garbage and wrecks around!

Thank you for visiting my blog :)

You are welcome to visit my:

• Zazzle store where you can see more of my art.
• Abstract Art lens
• Pop Art lens
• Still Life Art lens

Photography - 1 Plant and Red Poppies

Hi there,

I am not a big fan of floral shots, I think that most of them look the same, and there are too many of those pictures anyway. Eventually you get bored looking at them. That's why I am trying to take those shots in a different way.

A rainy day is such a pleasure for me, I like the smell, the atmosphere, the clouds in the sky... everything looks more romantic and special, even the common things. I like to grab the camera and capture the obvious things who looks majestic (after the rain).

One rainy day, I was walking with a friend, we were trying to find some things to capture, and we couldn't find something special. but then... suddenly, we've noticed a small plant, not a very special one, but the rain drops on its leaves looked like pearls, or diamonds - now, that is majestic!

The same day, we haven't found much things to capture, it was a lovely day but without many results, besides of some flowers here and there. I looked at those plain red poppies, and thought to myself, how can I make them more interesting, more artistic? I started to shoot them from different angles, but they still were very simple and boring. Just before I left the place frustrated, I decided to disable the focus, and to shoot them in a blurry mode.  When I got home and looked at the photo, I liked the result, It was like a painting, a hint of red flowers in a green creamy ocean. 

Weeks later... the sun was shinning, we went to visit the same area, and discovered a huge field of poppies! it was marvelous, everywhere we looked we saw that red ocean, that was the nature at its glory. We thought that we've arrived there pretty early, and we would be the only people there, but I guess we were wrong...

That specific beautiful weekend day, the beautiful scenery and all the happy people were captured in that happy, and optimistic photo.

This photo reminds me that life is beautiful, you just have to look around, and to appreciate the little things. 

That's it for now, thank you for visiting my blog.

If you enjoyed my work you are welcome to visit my zazzle store, where you can find more of my designs and photography. 

And... if you love artת make sure to visit my Abstract, Still Life and Pop Art lenses, for some beautiful galleries of young and talented artists!

Digital Art - A Little Bit Of Abstract

Hi there!

This post will be dedicated to Abstract Art.

A word about Abstract :
Abstract art is an art form that takes the reality as we now it, and puts it aside. it could be unrecognized shapes, semi-recognized reality, or geometrical figures, but it will always take the liberty to show us a non-existing reality as we know it. Sometimes you can see, or imagine some resemblance to our known world, most of the time it will be extremely unique and exclusive. It will force you to use your imagination and feelings, to visualize... that is probably the reason why some people like it, some don't. You have to use your own mind, and recruit your life experiences in order to figure out the art by yourself, two different people will see and feel different things, and that's the beauty of this art form!

That's why I love Abstract, there is no right or wrong, good or bad, everyone can see their thing, and it's ok. For me it's way more interesting than those classic paints that look like a photo, although they have amazing details and accuracy. I guess I prefer discovering my own explanation, and to hear other people opinions regarding the art.

I would like to show you some of my recent Abstracts, with my point of view.

Circles and Squares

When I take a photo, or digitally paint an abstract, I usually feel and imagine the piece. Many times, especially when I paint, I feel like in a journey. I explore many things, correct and start all over again, until I find the destination. Sometimes it amazes me - to start a new concept, and to finish it in a completely different way. In this piece I tried to create a simple but sophisticated combination of colors and shapes, with a retro feel. I was quite happy when I saw the result.

Crazy Colors

This piece was originally created with only two colors - black and red. During my journey with that particular paint, I felt that I have to see in front of me some colorful waves, unrestrained messy happiness. At the end it was looking like a celebration of color and movement - an absolute joy.

Triangles Madness 

This one shows us the chaos and the order. we can see many colors in unrecognized shapes all over the canvas. but if we look closely we can see that the colors are placed in triangles - sinuses order. and in between we can find some figures and symbols.
Like in nature, the chaos and the order are mixed together.

Polls

In this one, I wanted to evoke a cold and unpleasant feeling. Cold black metal polls, that won't meet in a colorless framed environment. To me, it's like the modern world, many of us are communicating less with each other, and more via technology, we are working to much, and we limit our world to our well-known daily routine.










That's it folks :)
In future posts it'll be my pleasure to share with you some photography Abstracts.

You can see more of my work on my fan page on facebook.
          or on my Zazzle store, where you can purchase my art.

More art you can find on my lenses on "Pop Art", "Still Life" and "Abstract" - great art galleries, created by young and talented artists, make sure to check them out!

Have a great day !

Photography - Portraits

Hi there!

My great joy as a photographer is to capture the life around us, and to deliver my feelings and thoughts through the photos. Still life, animals or people - we can always show them through our eyes, and through our point of view, and that is a powerful privilege. When we photograph people, especially head portraits,  it is more difficult. When I take a half body portrait or a head shot, I imagine the essence of the subject - how does he feel right now? how was his day? his history, etc. all of these questions help me to decide how would I like to show him to the world, I might be wrong with my assumptions about the subject (e.g the subject could've had a wonderful day, and I by mistake, thought he had a horrible one), but it doesn't matter - It's meant to be this way, the viewer will only see my side of the story, because it is the only truth that exists in my photo. However, I try to tell it through the look in the subject's eyes.

Let me show you some examples :

I was walking on the street of Jaffa, it was evening. Suddenly I stumbled upon a nice little street market, with a lot of art, junk and tourists. I was chatting with one of the stands owners, and I've noticed that someone was unpacking some packages behind him. It wasn't for long until I've noticed that this guy, has a special character. He is a good looking man, who seems to have a lot on his mind, the wrinkles on his face show us that he probably hasn't had an easy life, yet it makes his face more intriguing. The look in his eyes is full of sadness and thoughts about tomorrow. He hasn't had a lot of joy in his life, and the future doesn't look so bright either.
(Again it's all in the eyes of the photographer...)

Buenos Aires, Argentina. In a well located restaurant in the famous "La Boca" neighborhood, I was eating lunch with some friends, enjoying the fresh air, the music and the tango. An old and distinguish man walked towards us, and asked if everything is ok. He was talking with some of the Italian girls and told them, with a satisfied smile, that his parents are also originally from Italy. After he left our table, he continued with his job : shouting at the waiters, giving orders to the tango dancers, and chatting with the clients - running the restaurant just like he did for 30 years. I caught him standing at the entrance, looking to the horizon, contemplating, maybe thinking about his legacy. This man has a lot to handle, his eyes reflect his experience and good nature, his clothes - elegance. I was impressed.

A Brazilian show in Tel Aviv, Israel. A guest singer was invited to perform a song. I was sitting very close to the stage, and could really feel that she is enjoying the moment, her eyes were smiling, full of love. I had to take a picture of her - singing and enjoying the moment, it was so inspiring.

This one is also was captured to remind us the joy of the moment. The girl in the picture looks super happy and feels really good. You don't know if she had a happy, sad or boring life and it doesn't matter. When we look at this picture, we think - she is having a great time, at THIS moment, and so should we. Let's try to enjoy every moment of our life, even if sometimes it's challenging.








Until the next time!

Have a wonderful day.



Btw : You can see more of my work on my fan page on facebook.
          or on my Zazzle store, where you can purchase my art.

More art you can find on my lenses on "Pop Art", "Still Life" and "Abstract" - great art galleries, created by young and talented artists, make sure to check them out!

Photography - Black & White / Monochrome

Hi !

I am not a big fan of black & white photography. The life around us is colorful, so many tones, and shades. We all remember how long we've been waiting for a color TV, PC, cell phone, iPod etc... so why we have to throw the colors away, and to sink to a colorless world?

Well... for me.. I like to use the b&w option almost never, but sometimes I have to, just to make a point, or to send a certain message. This post I'll show you various examples, and the thoughts behind them.

Morning... it's early, and you have to go to work.
You are still tired, but you have to start the daily routine. Brush your teeth, wash your face, shave.
You feel a little worn out, but you do it automatically.

When you look at the picture, you feel a little bit heavy, slow, and tired - The same feelings you experience every working day morning. The b&w gives more emphasis to that feeling.

It was a full moon night, and I was looking for the perfect angle. I managed to take a shot, with a beautiful composition - the moon hanging in the middle of the tree branches. I didn't like it... I wanted to shoot a romantic and magical picture, and all I got was a boring, soulless pic...
I decided to change the setting to a monochrome - purple, and took the pic again. There it was... special, romantic, mysterious feel, almost like a paint.

Tel Aviv, Israel, a regular evening outside the opera house. I was trying my new 50mm lens, shooting the dark streets. Changed the angle, and found an interesting urban scene. I wanted to give it a "New York at the 70's" kind of feel, and the b&w mode astonished me, it gave it an urban cinematic touch! Not bad for a regular boring street in Israel...

This one was definitely meant to bring you an aroma of an old Italian film.
The look in her eyes, the shadows and the yellow tons are helping to deliver the atmosphere.You must agree that this photo wouldn't evoke the same feelings in color.












That's it for now,
Thank you for visiting my blog, I would love to read your comments and suggestions :)

btw:

If you like to see more of my photography and digital art, you are welcome to visit me on Flickr.

If you like to purchase my art, or just want to browse, come and visit my  Zazzle store

For more art articles - visit my Squidoo lenses about Pop Art, Still Life or Abstract



Have a wonderful day :)

Photography - Candid Night Photos

Hi there!

I must confess I love taking pictures of strangers, especially when they are not aware. I like the genuine pose, to catch them in their everyday activity, thinking, arguing, talking, smiling. There is only a quick window of opportunity to catch the perfect pose, if you'll miss it, you may have a picture of the object - but obviously it would not tell the story as you wanted.

I've noticed that candid night shots are much different than the other "clear day and perfect light" pics, not because of the more challenging conditions (you must adjust your camera carefully, use all the light that you find, and do it fast), it is simply different atmosphere, mood, everything looks more intimate, darker and melancholic or at least I get that feeling. In the night conditions, sometimes I sacrifice the quality of the pic for the perfect pose, that tells the story. It doesn't matter to me if the picture is a little bit noisy or a little bit blurry, I just want you to look at the objects and think about their story.

Here are three candid night shots.


This young couple is Jewish orthodox. During a music festival in Safed, Israel, I saw them , hiding from the crowd, under a tree. Usually it's very rare to see an orthodox Jewish couple sitting together in a public place, talking and sharing their feelings, their love. Normally they do that in a well hidden place, when no one can see them. My guess is that they were atheists, and used to do that before. Lucky for me.

The unusual building

On a full moon night, I went to do some urban night photography, mainly architecture. When I placed my camera on the tripod and tried to shoot an unusual building, I saw two girls, talking. One of them seemed to be troubled, I couldn't see them well, because I was too far. I had to take that shot, even though I knew that the results won't be perfect.




After I've cleaned and processed the pic, I've noticed that the emotion in that picture is intense - the sad girl, sharing her feelings, her supporting friend with her worried look... dramatic.

Days of tension. The soldiers were recruited, to watch the border. Everyone left their families, wives, children. They are going to stay here at least a month, live in a bunker, not to see a daylight as long as there are bombing around. I saw that tiny, dirty room, no air, no windows, and it reminded me a prison, a despair. I had to take that shot.  

Thank you for visiting my blog!

You are welcome to leave a comment ! :)

If you have the chance come and visit my "still life" or "pop art" squidoo lenses - for some great artistic items by young and talented artists!

or my Zazzle store  for more of my art, you can actually purchase. 

Pop Art - Those Red Hot Lips

It was another boring night at the local pub. we drank a lot, had nothing to say, and we had absolutely no desire to listen.

"HEY!", she said with a surprising energy, "You told me that you bought a new camera, let's give it a test drive!"
"Now?" , I asked, "It's almost 3 am"
-"Yes! now, you always wanted to make a photo session with me, or at least you said so..."
-"Oh, ok, but let's do it outdoors, there is a nice playground I know, nobody passes there at this hour"
-"YAY ! let's go!"

10 min. after, we found ourselves in an empty playground, taking pictures and laughing like two idiots. She loved the spotlights, to be the center of attention. She posed and posed and posed, quicker than my camera. I couldn't handle the poor light, and her fuzziness, but kept going anyway. I was thinking, I am going away in a few days, and those photos will probably be my only chance to remember her, so I have to do my best.

In between she asked me to focus on her lips - "I think that they are the most beautiful part of my body", she said. I couldn't disagree - though I thought to myself... there are more parts that could draw attention...

When I got home I found that most of my photos were far too dark, I tried to save them. Lucky me, her natural beauty popped right away even in the worst conditions.

This one was my favorite - a little bit off focus, just enough to create the little circles of light (bokeh) on the nails, lipstick and lips.

3 years after, those lips have inspired me to do a pop art piece, more colorful and vivid.

I'll always remember that night, especially because it felt more powerful and significant than it really was...



You can find the lipstick poster and more pop art items at my zazzle store

Make sure to visit my still life and pop art articles - a beautiful photo galleries of some talented artists.


Thanks for visiting , leave a comment if you want, I would love to read it!

Vector Art - Mi Buenos Aires Querido

Hello everyone!

During my travelling in Brazil, I met a lot of people from Argentina, most of them from Buenos Aires. As I kept moving on in Brazil, I realized that I must visit Argentina, have to see another culture, to meet my new friends again in their home base. To be honest I never planed to get out of Brazil, I just wanted to explore the country and to enjoy the experience, to visit Argentina or another South American country, never occurred to me. But in September after some emotional roller coasters I decided to change scenery / people and to cross the border to Argentina.

My first stop was in Cordoba, a 20+ hours bus ride. I was invited by a friend of mine

Orange juice, coffee and media lunas

to spend a week at her place. It was lovely. Every morning I spent some time at the local coffee house, with the neiborhood's elders, it was quite an experience.
I tried to understand their jokes and discussions, while enjoying my rich and traditional breakfast (coffee, orange juice, and 2 media lunas). It was funny and relaxing. Simple, but it felt like a dream (I always loved places like that, where time stands still, and the block's parlaiment is active). They immediately figured out that I am a stranger, but I didn't care. After a few days, the waitresses smiled at me, and the old parliament gave me a nod! I've become a celebrity.


After a week in Cordoba, I felt capable enough to deal with Buenos Aires.
I found a nice hostel in a lively, artistic neighborhood - San Telmo. It was really a great place, every Sunday there was a huge fair. You could hear tango and other music styles everywhere... a lot of home made pastries, memorabilia and junk. I found myself listening to a young tango band, who performed in a little street corner, and attracted a lot of crowd. The singer was so emotional, you could understand him even without speaking the language, and the band... it was a real treat to see them playing, the instruments were practically dancing in their hands.

For me it was a magical moment, and I started to look for more tango shows. Fortunately it was all around me.

In many cafes you can find a lot of tango dancers, who will appreciate your financial contribution to their art at the end of their act.

As I took this photo, I knew that I will use it someday to relive that special tango feel. The original photo was fine, and had the right pose, but it was taken in broad daylight, with some tourists around. I felt like I owe the tango more... and decided to give it the right scenery, magic and lights, using vector art.

And that was the result.

Carlos Gardel (1890-1935) was the most famous Tango singer in Argentina at his time. He found his death in a plane crash, leaving his devastated fans a great musical heritage.
Until today you can find his portraits every where -  painted as a graffiti on the streets, in traditional tango places, cafes, even in some ice cream places.

I also decided to do my version of Carlos Gardel's famous portait using vector art.

I must include a link to my favorite Gardel's tango "volver" and to "mi buenos aires querido" - just to get the feel.

I never planned to visit Argentina - stayed there for 6 months ...   I guess it was OK ;)

That's it for now,  hope you enjoyed it.

I encourage you to leave a comment if you wish.

Have a wonderful day.



btw : if you like to see more of my art take a look at my zazzle store.
        or take a look at my pop art post at squidoo

Photography - Alone Again, Naturally

Hi there!

To feel alone... everybody feels that way now and then.
Sometimes that feeling helps you discover your inner talent, or some hidden energy, that normally wouldn't be revealed. It gives you some edge, your mind is more creative, you have the urge to do something, anything! and that gives you more artistic drive.

"A Lonely Streetlight" by IBadishi

As for me, I had a lot of spare time, during my travelling. I met some wonderful people, but many times I found myself walking alone, feeling a bit lonely, and wondering what to do.


I remember myself visiting Porto Alegre, the capital of the Rio Grande do Sul state in Brazil. I had arrived especially to visit a good friend of mine, after a long 12 hours bus journey. Everything was perfect, she picked me up from my hostel and gave me a city tour, it was a beautiful Sunday morning. To be honest the city is not a very touristic one, but while we were walking together, I pointed to myself to come back and sit by their huge river (which was the main attraction in the city - for me, anyway).

After a nice and joyful day and night, I began to explore the city alone. As I mentioned before, there weren't many touristic things to do or to see, and therefore not many tourists to meet...
I won't lie, sometimes I found myself thinking, what am I doing here? why do I waste my time in this place? but nevertheless I always stayed at least a week in such a major city.

I began to discover some hidden gems, such as the nice bakery 5 min from my hostel. Every morning I sat there, relaxed, with my cappuccino and my pastry, watching the students running and forming a queue in front of the bakery, making noise, chatting and laughing, enjoying their 10 min. break. I loved it!

And as I promised to myself before, I went back to visit the old river, on a cold windy day. Nobody was there, beside an old gentleman who sold some mulled wine. That hot alcoholic drink, in that winter day, was PERFECT! I thanked him, and sat by the river, with the wine on one hand and a cigarette on the other. My mind wandered while I was gazing at the whispering giant - the huge river. I was thinking, yeah I am here alone but it is not so bad, you can find the beauty in it, it was so comforting to find the strength in me...

While I was sitting there I have noticed a beautiful tree log, floating there, elegantly. I was thinking, well... this log reminds me of me right now! it is by itself, floating quietly, relaxed. I might as well take a picture of it, to remind me that moment.  and I did , I loved the result.

"Silence" by IBadishi

Sometimes to be alone is not so bad, sometimes it makes you grow as a human being, and appreciate the little things in life.

See you soon on my next post.

btw :

You can find a poster of "Silence", "A Lonely Streetlight" and other photos on my zazzle store
or
To read my lens about Pop Art - lot's of cool designs there!