“The Jewish Photographer” is not about any specific photographer of Jewish birth, Rather it is an exploration of what it means to be a photographer through a Jewish lens. A lens is an instrument through which light passes either to be captured in images or to be projected onto a surface. Within photography, a lens can be configured for very close-up projects, configured as a telephoto lens to bring the long image closer, or as other types of specialty lenses. This phenomenon of using a lens to filter what we see yields our focus on seeing through the lens of the Jewish historical experience.
A Starting Point:
Ellis Rivkin PhD researched and taught Jewish history at Cincinnati’s Hebrew Union College. His unique perspective was gained through tracking structural change within the Jewish people in response to events and environmental adjustments such as the transition from biblical agricultural realities to cities and urban life, expanding and deteriorating economies. In response to the global impacts of the ever changing world of technology in which change gives rise to an ever increasing rate of change, professor Rivkin defined being Jewish as follows:
01
To cherish individuality
Individual Uniqueness
Illustrating the unique character and essence of our subjects, we create photographs that tell a compelling story and evoke lasting emotions.
02
To seek out novel possibilities
Preserve Precious Moments
Collaborating with exceptional photographers and videographers, we artfully capture the most cherished moments, preserving them in stunning imagery.
03
To enrich oneself through exposure to varied and exotic cultures
Relaxing Timetable
Openness to physical travel and time travel.
04
To prefer to risk subjective anxiety than to secure within age-old objective constraints
Exploring the contributions of Jewish born psychologists and therapists toward enabling self-actualizing “here and now” awareness, supporting innovative concepts that will make your photoshoot one-of-a-kind
A Visual Experiment:
In our age of AI the following were the results of using Microsoft Designer to create visual images of each point of Dr. Rivkin’s definition of what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century.
