Abigail Klein Leichman
February 18, 2020

Dina Alfasi started snapping pictures of random people on Israeli mass transit more than a decade ago.

Her soulful iPhone pictures of fellow commuters from all walks of life have captured the hearts of social-media users and won award after award.

“It seems to me that I just bring in moments that people no longer pay attention to in their daily lives,” Alfasi tells ISRAEL21c. “Little magic moments that are in front of us all the time. Just look.”

“Screen Saver” by Dina Alfasi won an honorable mention in the ninth annual Mobile Photography Awards.

The latest accolade for Alfasi is first prize for street photography in the ninth annual Mobile Photography Awards – plus five honorable mentions across three categories.

“Clouds and Valleys” by Dina Alfasi won an honorable mention in the ninth annual Mobile Photography Awards.

She took up the hobby simply to break the boredom of her two-hour bus and train journeys from her home in Hadera to her job as an architect at Rambam Healthcare Campus in Haifa.

“With the iPhone in my hand, to pass the time, I looked around at the people and started photographing them and posting the pictures on Instagram. I got a lot of compliments and slowly it became something I did every day while commuting,” Alfasi told ISRAEL21c in 2018.

“Short Espresso” by Dina Alfasi won an honorable mention in the ninth annual Mobile Photography Awards.
“Looking for Inspiration” by Dina Alfasi won an honorable mention in the ninth annual Mobile Photography Awards.

In the past few months alone, Alfasi had two photos listed in Tech Smash’s “Best Apple iPhone Photos Ever Taken,” was named one of PhotoWorkout’s “Best Instagram Photographers Using Their Smartphone,” was featured in the December 2019 issue of India’s Better Photography magazine; was named Pictar’s Photographer of the Month for November 2019, won a Photographic Museum of Humanity prize for mobile photography, and was featured in the Cheerz Photo Festival in Paris.

“Waiting” by Dina Alfasi won first prize in the ninth annual Mobile Photography Awards.
“I Have a Dream” by Dina Alfasi won an honorable mention in the ninth annual Mobile Photography Awards.