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How A Park for the Rich Became a Park for Everyone  What is it we all want? What would be your ideal world? I bet you have dreams, goals, and desires, but I am sure that most of us would like to be free to explore our future while living in a world where everybody […]

Summer has come. Let’s touch the ground barefoot! Earth Look at the ground.Observe what is on it.Squat down and touch it.Put your whole palms on the ground.Notice sensations from the ground under your palms.Dry?Moist?Smooth?Rough? Hold your hands still for a moment.Feel and name what you feel:I feel warm.I feel damp.I feel cold.I feel the dry

“Time flies faster than we think. Stop, notice, and absorb everything around you. This is your call to search for the extraordinary in everyday moments.” In my information sessions on essay writing, I tell students: you don’t need to have a one-of-a-kind experience to impress your reader. I share a tip given by a colleague at my

How can we truly see ourselves for who we are? For the past few years I have been working with successful female leaders for my project “Being Seen”. Being Seen is a celebration for truly seeing who we are – beyond our job titles and day-to-day responsibilities. The question I asked myself was:  Can we use

“The happiness that I get from photography begins with picking up my camera and is ignited several times along the entire process. It is both tangible and intangible. I love seeing the wonderful pictures submitted by so many people – they often give me pause to reflect on so many joys that people are capturing.

Hello SeeingHappy, Welcome to my second post in the series that I call “Surfing on Waves of Wellbeing”. Spring has come. Let’s admire flowers! I hope to inspire you to take a picture of the next flower which catches your eye, and to savor the sense of beauty you are experiencing. I would like to start

Hello SeeingHappy!  Welcome to my first post in the series that I will call “Surfing on Waves of Wellbeing”. I would like to start with the following quote:   There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. –

At the height of the pandemic, as I stood at the kitchen counter carrying my toddler on one arm and chopping vegetables with the other I often felt physically and mentally drained by the exhaustion of everyday life and by the limitations imposed by the pandemic. But the instant my eyes rested on the vibrant

Welcome back to my blog. Last week we explored how to create a narrative from an ongoing event.  As the photographer, you decide what story you want to tell, and it’s a reflection of who you are.  Paraphrasing the famous saying, “Tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are,” I ask

In the previous post, we explored how establishing a relationship with your subjects, beyond a single encounter can help develop a deeper narrative, photographically and socially. I chose to depict the Central Park Softball League from the point of view of the players and their families. I emphasized the friendships, the camaraderie, the fierce competitors,

In part 5 we explored the art of how blending in, returning to the scene, and becoming part of it can be a powerful tool to establish trust and create beautiful and meaningful images. Let’s explore what happens when the photographer is a member of the tribe, photographing other members: that is, when an outsider becomes an

Dear Friends, I hope you have enjoyed Alec’s blog. I personally love reading his pieces – knowing Alec as I do – they sound just like him: he is an enthusiastic street photographer who really enjoys sharing his art. But the point is not to read and enjoy the pieces – the point is to

Last week we explored the art and science of approaching strangers. We went over different approaches such as photographing in public places, photographing public events like parades, etc., staying invisible and getting out of the way, offering gifts representing your neighborhood or community, and using body language and facial expressions to activate the mirror neurons

Welcome back to my blog. Last week we explored the way we can suspend judgement and create trust in order to take honest photographs and, in a social context, create meaningful conversations. In order to do that, we first need to approach strangers. Sounds easy, right?: Look for an interesting subject and approach them and

Welcome back to my blog and the lessons I have learned from street photography that have made me a better photographer and a more caring individual.   In my previous post, we went over the importance of being able to “read” a person—in photography as well as in life. In this chapter, I share the importance

Welcome back.   In my previous post I listed the various lessons I learned by getting close and interacting with people when practicing street photography. These lessons made me not only a better photographer but also changed the way I relate to people: they made my relationships more meaningful. I want to share with you the

I have been a “street photographer” all my life. Since I took to photography as a kid, I liked taking pictures of people.   I moved a lot around the world and I traveled a lot and was fascinated by the differences in cultures and the way people looked. Eventually I started to see not the