Israel Behind the Lens is a special series highlighting some of Israel’s top photographers. Below, photographer Tami Ellison shares her most memorable photos captured in Israel in 2015 and the story behind them.
A tapestry of stories and history, wherever you are…discovery.
From the green hills of the Galilee with vineyards growing along the shores of the Kinneret
To the sandswept Judean Hills
to the towering skyscrapers in Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan
Across the shell-filled sandy shoreline in Caesarea where the sky and sea meet on the blue horizon
Here in Jerusalem rough hewn stones reflect a melange of golden hues
While the stones of Western Wall hold the dreams and wishes of generations past and present their hope-filled messages carried on high to the upper stones
Beneath the city walls in Ir David, the city of David, a passageway, a water channel, history unearthed
This is home – a wonderous place filled with juxtapositions and endless possibilities…young and old, black and white, religious and secular, Jews and Arabs together and at the end of the day we all just want to be living here in peace.
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Seeing Israel from behind the lens is how Tami Rishona Ellison discovered photography. As a scientist, Ellison had already developed a keen eye for detail and it was during a month long visit in 2012 that she used her pocket Nikon CoolPIX 3X camera to freeze-frame moments reflecting Israel’s vibrancy, textures, colors and light.
“After returning to the States, I found that a single image couldn’t convey the richness of my experiences.” What emerged was a story, a juxtaposition of multiple images thematically linked by her patent-pending photage process which creates a 3D like visual illusion in 2D space. Described as contemporary surrealism, these dynamic visual illusions create an emergent visual and visceral experience – a description aptly applied to Israel.
The confluence of people, places and spaces in unusual juxtapositions is a recurring theme in her work and life. Shortly before making Aliyah in the summer of 2014 she gave a gallery talk and made reference to a passage attributed to the wind from Perek Shira. Months later, she was commissioned to create an exhibit for Jerusalem’s Bloomfield Science Museum; the theme the wind. She has also exhbited her photography and photage works at Hebrew University, Mount Scopus campus library and at the Neve Eshkol Regional Center. Conflu3nce is also the name of her health technology company which integrates the photage process as part of a brain games strategy and brain training system for people with a wide range of cognitive issues.
“I’ve been fortunate to be able to combine my passions in science, math and art,” and which began quite simply while exploring Israel from behind the lens. To see more images from Tami, or to purchase, visit her website. Selected works are also available through Israel Framed. To contact Tami, email: or call +972-050 228 3877.
