ron shoshani presents high-gloss tel aviv

5/11/12 Ron Shoshani presents high-gloss Tel Aviv - May 2012

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3 May 2012

Israeli photographer shows theworld the first modern Jewish cityin all its true beauty, revealing itslandscape in aspects verydifferent from traditional notionsof Tel Aviv.

Photo: Ron Shoshani

Ron Shoshani presents high-gloss Tel Aviv

By Olga Lavi

Ron Shoshani is a professional photographer w hose photographs appear regularly in theIsraeli magazine Time Out Israel. Within a few minutes after the appearance of a newphotograph, hundreds of "Likes" are recorded on Facebook.

The secret of his popularity is that Ron Shoshani does w hat no one did before him.

Ron grew up in a family w here a lot of attention w as paid to design. This contributed to thedevelopment of his interest in photography, especially in the tourist genre. At some pointRon noticed that there is a big difference betw een the w ay cities like New York, Londonand San Francisco are presented in glossy international magazines and the imagesrepresenting Tel Aviv.

"It w as really sad. On the one hand are glossy pictures of cities w hich, believe me, I haveseen in reality and at close range, and they do not look as fantastic as in the magazines.But the sell is successful - tourists come from all over the w orld.

"And w hat about Israel? How do w e look in the eyes of the w orld? Again and again, thereare images of a market w ith oranges spilling all over, a couple of Hasidim w ith sidecurls,people w ith bronze skin on the beach, a soldier w ith a gun, the Wailing Wall - and that's it.What, w e have nothing more to show ?

"Now adays every self-respecting city is interested in tourism and has a portfolio of photosshow ing its potential and the beauty of its landscapes. Tel Aviv has as much to offer asthose other cities, I'm absolutely sure.

"Current trends in photography can turn any place into "eye candy", w rapped in brightlycolored w rappers, and, in the case of Tel Aviv, underlining the dynamism and urbanenergy, the special magic for w hich the city is famous. And, most importantly, these photoscreate an irresistible desire to see the city and the country w ith one's ow n eyes. To seethe living miracle, to communicate w ith the city directly, not vicariously or virtually.

"I realized that my city deserves such a portfolio, deserves it as a modern developing city,endlessly interesting for tourists. A city of business and entertainment, the sea andnightlife, w onderful parks, fascinating museums, and diverse architecture.



Tel Aviv (Ron Shoshani)

"So I decided to make Tel Aviv high-gloss, w orthy of attention and inspiring the urge to dropeverything and come to know it personally. My motivation w as particularly inf luenced bythe publication of a ten-year city development plan, w hich involves dramatic changes in theshape of Tel Aviv. Therefore, the urgent need to capture the moment, the beauty of the cityin w hich w e live, here and now , before it grow s into a small Bangkok, to capture it fromabove, unchanged, nostalgic and familial. "

Shoshani began his project about tw o years ago, and it continues to gain momentum. It's aprocess of revealing Tel Aviv's landscape, its contours, in aspects very different fromtraditional notions of Tel Aviv, like the difference betw een w alking along the street w ithyour head dow n, or w atching the city from the w indow of an airplane during takeoff orlanding. Shoshani gives us a brief glimpse of the city from another dimension. He's takinghis time in photographing the Israeli metropolis: he not only w ants to show a portrait of amodern city, but he also f inds amazing camera angles, and the usual, familiar Tel Avivbuildings often look completely unrecognizable.

Shoshani has ambitious plans - he's going to come back to the same places in ten or f if teenyears to capture changes in the shape of the city. Dynamics of development are importantto him; he captures them w ith his photographic eye, every shot conveying love and respectfor Tel Aviv, intimate and very personal.

It's hard to believe, but the richly colorful images do not go through much post-shootingtreatment. "I'm doing an easy color correction, and the w hole process is barely ten minutesper image," says the author.



Tel Aviv (Ron Shoshani)

His special secret is dramatic lighting and natural phenomena, going to shoot very early inthe morning or in the midst of a storm, returning time and again to the same point to capturehis ideal image.

"I love my city. And I w ant to show it to those w ho have never been here, as w ell as tothose w ho have lived here for years and have not seen all its matchless beauty. Once agirl from Thailand w rote me that, after view ing my pictures, she decided to come to Tel Avivand see it w ith her ow n eyes. And w hat do you think? She arrived w ith her friends andthey asked me to be their guide through the places they loved in my images... It w as verytouching, and in fact, this is the best aff irmation of w hat I'm doing. "