Favorite Photos As Army Photographer
This year I completed my two years and three months of serving as a photographer on the Tel Noff Air Force base.
I made some lifelong friends, saw some very interesting and exciting things, and also developed a liking for taking photos, which I had almost no experience in prior to my Army service.
I have chosen to share and write a little bit about some of my selected photos.
These are not necessarily my best shots, since some of them are classified, but nevertheless, I present to you my favorite photographs.
- This was one of my first assignments as a photographer. My base organized and hosted the annual Air Force day, which basically consisted of some very boring speeches and an interactive quiz. The highlight for many was when the singer Jonathan Mergui came on the stage to sing a few songs. The crowd went wild, filming it with their mobile phones and singing along to all the words. I took it all in and did my best to snap some shots. I’m very pleased with this frame, which displays the joy and delight the crowd had with the performance. There is more Mergui to come, so stick around.
2. People often would assume that as an army photographer I would get to see many combat and secret operational missions. The reality is that most of the time our assignments were events for officers, and this event was one of them, endless middle-aged officers climbing on the stage and swaggering over to General Norkin to shake his hand and receive a rapped book and a framed certificate of excellence.
There is a whole division in the Air Force which puts on these elaborate, lavish, events, which is a bit like a traveling circus, and the bases that host them feel like strangers are invading their homes and taking it over.
I love the lighting in this photo and how General Norkin is illuminated in it.
This photo is from the visit of Lieutenant General Gregory Guillot, the commander of the Ninth Air Force.
I moved around between the two planes and grabbed this shot, amidst the loud noise of the engines revving up before a flight.
A tractor operator works his tractor during a base-wide exercise.
I was assigned to the Binuy (construction)unit for the day and tailed them as they dealt with various scenarios during the excersises.
This is probably my favorite photo, as it shows the genuine friendship between two of the highest-ranking men in the U.S Air Force and Israeli Air Force.
Coronavirus and its rules and regulations were hard on the soldiers of the base, who had to stay on base and not go home for almost a full month.
To cheer them up, the base organized a concert, this one featuring teenage sensation Noa Kirrel.
Was surprised at the level of enthusiasm the crowd showed, as Kirrel was clearly going through the motions, shamelessly lip-synching through the whole show, although it was a baking hot day.
This shot shows the crowd enjoying the show.
A week later, fellow teen pop star and soldier, Jonathan Mergui, visited the base to give a double concert to the soldiers.
I also got the opportunity to take a few frames of the singer next to a plane, and he posed with the same bored and dull expression he puts on for advertising campaigns for Crunch and Castro.
But as soon as the music starts, Mergui undergoes a full transformation. He is no longer the bored and brooding teen, as he becomes full of life and vibrancy.
Unlike Kirrel he does not lip-synch, and he improvises with some smooth dancing moves, with a big smile constantly on his face.
Quite an amazing transformation really to witness from my viewpoint.
As a bit of background to this photo, General Norkin was reflecting on a joint mission along with the German Air Force, and emphasizing the enormity of the cooperation, in context with the Holocaust and its aftermath.
The cooperation was reflected in the design of the badge worn by pilots from both nations and is one filled with emotion due to the historical history.
Thanks for reading!
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