Computer programmer turned urban planner Moti Pinhassi is also a photographer with a love of Israeli vistas and a special interest in taking pictures from high above the ground.
“Heights aren’t a big problem for me,” he writes in his blog, HaPan.co.il. “Those who know me, know why. I love to photograph places from a number of angles – sometimes wide angles, other times long shots. Sometimes its the same angle but I play with the zoom lens”.
“The photos that you see on my site aren’t computer-processed and aren’t digitized but are printed individually, after which I glue them one to another, and send them to be framed. Yes, I know that there’s software that would do the work for me… but I don’t at all enjoy letting the computer do the work for me.
“To tell the truth, this website doesn’t do the pictures justice. It’s hard to understand how a two-meter long photo truly looks when viewed on a 15 inch screen. Plus, the brightness and often the contrast aren’t as good on the computer screen. For that reason, I recommend viewing them as they are in reality“.
“Even if you’ve traveled Israel a lot, you still probably haven’t seen Israel’s cities photographed in this way”, writes commentator Erez Ronen in web publication Holes in the Net.co.il.
“Instead of using smartphone apps or Photoshop, he works in a manual, analog method: he photographs a series of pictures, develops them, and using scissors and glue, affixes them one to the other to create a personal, handmade panoramic image”.
Pinhassi is now working on setting up an exhibition and, to that end, has launched a crowdfunding campaign on HeadStart.co.il, inviting potential backers to act as curators andl select their favorite out of 170 images, mostly from Israel “and a little bit from abroad”. Along with the exhibition, he intends to publish a book especially designed for panoramic pictures. Definitely worth checking out, as he still has 30 days left and is already two-thirds of the way towards reaching his funding target. Plus, the campaign page also provides a glimpse into his creative process — as does his Facebook page: The Personal Pan.
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