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.  

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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!