Rachel Neiman
April 17, 2015

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”.

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“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.

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“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“.

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“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.

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“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”.

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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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