All images by Omri Shomer. Used with permission.
When you look at the street photographs of Omri Shomer, you start to see work that’s typical of many photographers though in a different way involving the use of specific lighting, color, and urban geometry. Indeed, Omri’s work is pretty fantastic from an artistic standpoint. The 34 year old Israel-based photographer started taking photos at the age of 13. His early influences are rooted in using an 8mm video camera which then branched out into using a 35mm pocket camera.
Here are more words from Omri:
I have been working as a copywriter in advertising agencies for 7 years. But I reached a stage where I was missing something. Through my work with the art director, I had more and more contact with visual concepts, and this, in turn, stimulated me to photograph in a more conscious fashion.
At the moment I use a Fujifilm XT10 with 27mm f2.8 and 18 â 55 mm lenses; a Canon A1 camera with a 28mm f2.8 and 50mm f1.4 lenses and a Sony RX100 II. I think that smaller is better and size does matter, I can get closer and that is the key to a good picture, and creative of course.
Creative photography is the new way, for me, to express myself as professional creative person. Photography gives meaning to my life. Without it, I would probably lose my sanity, because it gives me a voice. After seven years, in which I only wrote and was under the sort of intense pressure that only an advertising agency can create, I have had enough of writing. Photography gives me the ability to carry on telling stories, without writing, and, in particular, to continue creating which is the most important to me.
The photographers that influence me are: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Robert Capa, John Free, Eric Kim and also local Israeli photographers, such as Alex Levac, Felix Lupa and Gabi ben Avraham.
