Niv Glazman, 28, lives in the hip Florentin neighborhood of Tel Aviv, studies at the Holon Institute of Technology, and works normally as a barista at Benedict.
But it’s not his coffeemaking skills that are gaining him notoriety throughout Israel and beyond. It’s his artistic pictures of city life.
If it paid the rent reliably, he’d be photographing full time. He long ago stopped calling it a hobby.
“It’s not easy to make a living from photography,” Glazman tells ISRAEL21c.
“It’s not easy at all to be a freelancer, to have to find work all the time. In these days when everyone has a camera and knows how to photoshoot, you need to be unique.”
The uniqueness of GLAZ Photography lies in Glazman’s eye for shots that “transmit the feeling behind them, always telling a happy story of Tel Aviv.”
One of his inspirations is the Tel Aviv street photography of Evyatar Dayan.
Walking around the city with his Nikon D610, Glazman scans the scene for faces and spontaneous situations that pop out at him.
“I never know what will happen when I go out. Sometimes I come back home without any ‘good’ picture,” he says.
“I like taking pictures of people. I think human beings are the most interesting creatures.”
Like most street photographers, Glazman doesn’t ask permission to take people’s photos.
“The street is a public place and once you go to the street, you’re part of it,” he says.“I try to take photos that do not insult people. Sometimes I do ask a person for a permission, but the result will be different.”
Glazman wasn’t particularly interested in photography as a kid, even though his father is an avid hobbyist photographer.
All that changed when he finished his military service and his dad bought him a camera and a beginners’ course as a gift.
“And since then, the rest is history,” he says.
“These days I have my own studio at home and I try other directions of photography by creating my art from scratch and making my own setups.”
With many talented photographers roaming the streets of Tel Aviv, what does Glazman feel makes his photographic style stand out?
“Well, that’s a good question. I don’t feel I stand out. I just do what I love, and I love what I do. I want to bring my audience my point of view of my little world,” he replies.
“I try to make people ‘feel’ my photos. A good photo, in my opinion, is one that made you stare at it more than few seconds. In these modern times of Instagram and Facebook, it makes a difference.”
You’ll want to stare at more of Glazman’s pictures on his website and on Instagram.
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