Abigail Klein Leichman
October 22, 2019

A software engineer during the week, Evyatar Dayan goes out on the streets of Tel Aviv most weekends and stalks photo ops. His patience and his eye for composition result in dramatic, droll and delightful pictures he posts on social media for the fun of it.

“I wander around with my camera trying to think a little outside the box and see things that use a little bit of imagination, humor or sarcasm,” Dayan tells ISRAEL21c.

Many of his shots capture contrasts or similarities that most of us would miss as we walked by.

Telephone companions in Tel Aviv. Photo by Evyatar Dayan/ThisIsTelAviv
On the leash, real and fake. Photo by Evyatar Dayan/ThisIsTelAviv

“You need to manipulate your mind a little and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. You need to focus on something that looks like something else and wait for something else to come along,” he explains.

“I often start with half an idea, like a background wall, and wait for something to blend with it in a way that will say something or be funny,” Dayan adds.

Contrasts in romance. Photo by Evyatar Dayan/ThisIsTelAviv
Mom and baby, 1+1. Photo by Evyatar Dayan/ThisIsTelAviv
Tel Aviv street photographer Evyatar Dayan. Photo: courtesy

Dayan, 42, has been doing his Tel Aviv street photography as a hobby for a decade, but he has loved taking pictures since he was a child growing up in Beit Shemesh.

He uses a Canon 5D Mark IV camera today, “but seriously it’s not important — I can take a good picture with my phone,” he says.

Dayan says he posts the pictures just to get reactions from people. The vast majority are positive – typical comments are “awesome,” “genius,” “fantastic.”

He’s only missing the wings. Photo by Evyatar Dayan/ThisIsTelAviv
The mural and the man: a matched pair. Photo by Evyatar Dayan/ThisIsTelAviv

“I’ve had some people who contacted me to buy photos, but this is not my goal or my livelihood,” he emphasizes. “The process is great for me; it’s like therapy.”

Still in love. Photo by Evyatar Dayan/ThisIsTelAviv
A caregiver and her charges in Tel Aviv. Photo by Evyatar Dayan/ThisIsTelAviv

Because his photos are spontaneous and candid, he never asks permission from his subjects before clicking the shutter. Most of the time they ignore or don’t notice him although sometimes people have asked him not to take their picture.

Similar hats, worlds apart. Photo by Evyatar Dayan/ThisIsTelAviv
A pedestrian’s dress complements a painted car. Photo by Evyatar Dayan/ThisIsTelAviv

“Probably 50 percent of my photos that I publish, people in the photo recognize themselves and write to me asking for the picture. Usually they’re happy about it. Only twice they asked me to remove it,” Dayan reports.

A contrast in pillows. Photo by Evyatar Dayan/ThisIsTelAviv
Eagles and pigeons. Photo by Evyatar Dayan/ThisIsTelAviv

So far, he has posted about 900 photos and has 34,000 followers on his “This is Tel Aviv” Facebook page, started in 2013. He has another 6,000 followers on Instagram.

Dayan, a new father, said his favorite pictures are those “that are a little hard to explain or you don’t see the point immediately.”

Check out his full portfolio here and here.

A woman’s belt and a sidewalk stripe blend seamlessly in this photo by Evyatar Dayan.

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