Travel Photography | Ilan Wittenberg Photographer

The Art Dealer

Delighted to win a Gold award for ‘The Art Dealer’ in the Monochrome category at the North Shore National Salon of Photography🥇
It was an early morning and only a couple of hours to spare before my departure flight, but I braved all odds and seized the opportunity to explore the vibrant flea market on the outskirts of Istanbul 💯
Luck was definitely on my side when I stumbled upon this incredible man who just exuded authenticity! With such a charismatic presence and a backdrop to match, I couldn’t resist asking him to look at the camera📸 We clicked instantly and he graciously posed beside his eclectic merchandise. The connection was natural, and the moment was magical. 🔥
The genuine delight on his face when he saw the photo on the back of my camera was priceless. He requested a copy to frame and hang on his wall, proving the profound impact that a simple photograph can have in bridging cultural gaps and capturing the true essence of a moment so beautifully🖼️ I’m so grateful for this experience.

(c) Ilan Wittenberg

Faces of Humanity

Faces of Humanity is a documentary collection with little or no changes to the actual scene. I asked people to look straight into my camera, so these are not candid photos. The strength of this series is in giving viewers a rare opportunity to connect with people in their natural environment. This diverse group of people serves as a timely reminder that, despite our many cultural differences, we can unite as a community through the power of photography.

This is a celebration of our shared values: hard work, the importance of family, and caring for each other as humans. I hope that through these photos viewers learn more about people with different backgrounds from around the world: Ruanda, Morocco, Tanzania, Cairo, Jerusalem and New Zealand. The show offers opportunities for people to contemplate, absorb, and increase their awareness of the complexities of human experience. Each photograph reveals an individual with a story that has shaped their life.

We connect with others by making eye contact – reading their expressions, feeling their emotions and getting a glimpse of their souls. I want viewers to form meaningful connections with these people: to see them as human beings, not simply subjects in front of a camera. I purposely created portraits that allow viewers to make direct eye contact with each person, so visitors can form emotional connections with these individuals.

In sharing this portfolio, I encourage viewers to show empathy: to accept others and to recognise the value of cultural diversity. We would all experience an enhanced sense of community if we took the time to appreciate interactions which allow us to discover the world beyond our familiar boundaries. We are all wonderfully unique, yet, at the same time, we are deeply similar.

I am presenting these photographs in timeless monochrome, to ensure consistency and flow of the series amidst the chaos and clutter of the busy environment. The portraits are crisp and sharp, to allow the details to inspire the imagination and to evoke emotions. My aim is to create an authentic portfolio of diverse individuals in a foreign land. My goal is to tell their stories using a clear narrative style and enduring quality.

Tires – Morocco

Clyde Scott – Auckland

Frank – Auckland

The barber – Auckland

Shish Kebab – Cairo

Knife sharpener – Morocco

Man with a Hat – Jaffa

Shells – Taranaki

The Library – Auckland

Boy and his Eel – Taranaki

The Fish Merchant – Akko

The Counter – Akko

Blue Collar – Jaffa

Dead Chickens – Morocco

The Garment Merchant – Jerusalem

The Paper – Jerusalem

Souvenirs Galore – Jerusalem

The Fist – Jerusalem

MAGGI – Morocco

Bric-à-brac Rwanda

Tutsi Girl – Rwanda

Men with canes – Rwanda

Woodwork – Rwanda

The Barber – Morocco

Arthur was sitting and waiting for customers in the same barber shop that his father established 60 years ago in Melbourne. It took three visits to the store and $100 to convince Arthur to have his portrait taken. I then had my haircut… AIPP Silver with Distinction Award.

Boys and Cart – Jerusalem

John and Rebecca – Auckland

Queen Deemi – Auckland

Just Bagels – Jerusalem

Essential Oils – Jerusalem

Wayne and Jennie – Auckland

Sitting on a Cart – Cairo

Man with a Beany – Jerusalem

Backgammon – Jerusalem

Man with a Ring – Alexandria

KAKAO – Jerusalem

SINGER – Jerusalem

Father and Son – Jerusalem

Three Brothers

Hubble-bubble – Alexandria

Bananas – Cairo

Two Men – Cairo

Sitting by the Cross – Alexandria

Scales – Jerusalem

The Department Store – Jerusalem

Money Changer – Jerusalem

Boy with a cart – Jerusalem

Souvenir Shop – Jerusalem

Mono Rhino – Jaffa

ITANGA – Rwanda

Dying the Wool – Morocco

Magazine Shop – Jerusalem

Delinquents – Auckland

Just Beads

Man with a leather Jacket – Auckland

The Donkey – Morocco

Brass and Copper – Morocco

Shoe Shining – Rwanda

The Fly – Egypt

All the presidents – Egypt

Man and his Dog – Auckland

Standing Proud – Morocco

Cowhide – Tanzania

The Hut – Tanzania

Timid – Tanzania

Standing in the Rain – Tanzania

Joy – Tanzania

Maasai Women – Tanzania

Sewing Machine – Cairo

Sitting by the hut – Tanzania

Sitting Down – Tanzania

The Look – Cairo

Shoe Laces – Cairo

The Maasai – Tanzania

Man with an Apron – Morocco

The Look

(c) Ilan Wittenberg

Portrait Open

Awesome to win a Silver with Distinction for ‘The Three Brothers‘ in the Portrait Open category of the 2022 NZIPP Iris Awards. They are standing together at the end of their working shift. From left to right are Andrew BUHIGIRO (the oldest), Paul RUDAKUBANA and Peter SINDIKUBWABO. They are employees of the Muhabura hotel, tidying the garden and sometimes helping in customer care. The hotel is located in the calm of the Musanze town, at the northern province of Rwanda. ❤

‘The Three Brothers’ – Silver with Distinction, NZIPP Iris Awards

‘The Underpass’ – Bronze, NZIPP Iris Awards

‘On the Tree’ – Bronze, NZIPP Iris Awards

(c) Ilan Wittenberg

Finalist

Honoured and delighted to be a Finalist in the Travel category of the NZIPP 2022 Iris Awards. The winner will be announced on Monday gala dinner.

Protected: Nathalie Album

(c) Ilan Wittenberg

No Vacany

Awesome to win a Gold Award for No Vacancy at the 2022 North Shore National Salon of Photography 🥇Heading to Auckland, I left Wellington really early at the end of the New Zealand Art Show back in June. It was dark and wet, with very little traffic when I passed through the sleepy town of Levin at about 06:57 AM. Thinking about my life, the eight hour, 650km journey ahead, and the $120 speeding ticket I got driving there, I noticed something red at the corner of my eye. I kept driving for another 30 seconds and then said to myself something to the effect “F**k it, I can’t just drive past this opportunity”.

I stopped the car, did a U turn, and returned to the scene. Searched for my tripod at the back of my cramped rental vehicle, and set up my camera on bracketing mode. I took five shots of every scene, each with a different exposure, from 4 to 0.4 seconds long. I was trying different angles to see which perspective is most effective. I then risked my life and set up my tripod on the median line to take some vertical snaps from a closer distance when two trucks came flying. capturing a total of 72 photos I was content that I have enough material to work on. Three minutes after leaving Levin heavy rain came pouring down from the sky. The final image is a composite of six photos, each taken with a different exposure to maximize balance, harmony and visual impact.

Here are some of the judges’ comments:
“OH MY GOODNESS! What a unique original image… They’ve done it in such an awesome way. The clarity is fantastic. The thing that is most clear about this image is that at 6:57 AM there was No Vacancy at that motel. It’s beautiful, it’s so graphic, it’s strong and it’s bold.”
“There is something very cinematic about it. It reminds me of a Kevin Tarantino movie. Something really sinister is going to happen in this place…”
“I love the sterility of it, I love the simplicity of it. Such a powerful and strong image. And then, to have that power pole, to come out, and be just in that perfect spot… this photographer is so incredibly lucky, or very talented… Great image, well seen, well captured, well presented.”

Gold Award for ‘No Vacancy‘ at the 2022 North Shore National Salon of Photography – Scapes category

Steve-Album

(c) Ilan Wittenberg

Faces of Humanity exhibition clip

Artist Statement

(c) Ilan Wittenberg

Gannet Triptych

Gannet Colony - Muriwai, Auckland, New Zealand

(c) Ilan Wittenberg

Faces of Humanity exhibition opening event

The Tor at Waiake Beach

(c) Ilan Wittenberg

Waiake Beach

Ahhh, these awesome rocks and those beautiful clouds…

That’s what happens when I scout for a location with some character and drama.

looks out to the Tor, a presque-isle at the north end of the beach that becomes an island at high tide.

Presque-isle (from the French presqu’île, meaning almost island) is a geographical term denoting a piece of land which is closer to being an island than most peninsulas because of its being joined to the mainland by an extremely narrow neck of land.

Wendy Album

(c) Ilan Wittenberg

2021 Iris Awards

Wanaka Tree

(c) Ilan Wittenberg

Faces of Cairo exhibition layout

(c) Ilan Wittenberg

Dome of the Rock

Temple Mount – Dome of the Rock – Al-Aqsa Mosque – The old City of Jerusalem

located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock is an Islamic shrine at the center of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, and one of the three holiest Islamic shrines in the world. It was initially built in 691 on the site of the Second Jewish Temple and destroyed during the Roman Siege of Jerusalem. The original dome collapsed in 1015 and was rebuilt in 1023. Being one of Jerusalem’s most recognizable landmark it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to belief, the rock inside the mosque is the spot from which the Islamic prophet Muhammad ascended to Heaven accompanied by the angel Gabriel. Usually packed with tourists and locals, I was the only one to visit the site early morning when the forecast was for snow. It was so cold that there was no one on site and I could get a beautiful reflection off the wet marble stones just before the storm.

(c) Ilan Wittenberg

The Janie Seddon Motueka Shipwreck

The Janie Seddon was built in 1901 in Glasgow, Scotland for the Government as a submarine mining vessel, and spent its early life in Wellington working for the Royal New Zealand Navy. She was used in port during both world wars and was the Examination Vessel during WWII. According to some reports, it is credited with firing the first shots of World War II, a warning shot across the bow when the liner “City of Delhi” would not stop on request on September 3, 1939. It was the last surviving military ship to have served in both world wars – rumour has it she even fired the first shot in WW2.
When her military days came to an end, Janie was purchased in 1947 by the local Talley’s fishing group as a fishing trawler, the first in their fleet. It was sold as a fishing vessel to the Motueka Trawling Company and worked in Motueka as a very useful coal-fired steam trawler. As a coal-powered ship, she proved unsuitable as a fishing vessel and her size prevented her from operating in the coastal waters of Tasman Bay.

When she was retired from fishing, in 1950, the Janie Seddon was laid up on the Motueka Wharf. It was anchored next to the sandspit for protection. Unfortunately, when the tide went out, she sat on her anchor and it holed her hull. She filled with water and stayed there until a scrap metal dealer decided to try a salvage. At low tide, the Janie Seddon was dragged by bulldozer across the estuary to the site where she sits now. The scrap metal dealer planned to cut her up into pieces for sale but he went broke trying to do that! The Janie Seddon is made of very strong corten steel and all dealer’s tools broke down! After sinking at her moorings a few years later she was stripped of anything of use and left to the elements. The rust made the holes along with the scrap metal dealer’s attempts to cut her up.