With the outbreak of the 1948 War of Independence, he joined the army as a military correspondent, which allowed him to use his photographic skills.
When he left the army, he married fellow-soldier Rivkah Sucharman, the daughter of Russian immigrants, and took up a scholarship to New York’s School of Modern Photography, where he graduated as top student in 1952.
Returning to Israel, he was appointed director of the Jewish Agency’s photography department.
In his six years there he captured with his lens the state’s early years, in particular the various waves of immigration and the country’s multi-faceted development.
Thereafter he worked freelance for commercial and institutional commissions. He was hired by Professor Yigael Yadin for his pioneer excavations of the Judean desert and elsewhere in Israel.
Using his specially developed shooting techniques, he disclosed the image of a lion, invisible to the naked eye, on a seal he had been asked to photograph.
From 1978-83, he headed the photography department at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Community College, where he endeared himself to his students for his positive approach and encouragement, supporting rather than disparaging their efforts.
His love of people is well expressed in his many portraits, of the famous and quotidian alike, which he never took without the subject’s permission.Like all his work, these are characterised by a powerful use of light, natural or studio.
His photographs have illustrated hundreds of books and been exhibited in Israel and abroad. He received numerous prizes, the most recent from the Israel Museum earlier this year.
His style is considered classical, with subjects rendered in a clear and often dramatic fashion.
He died from complications following a road accident, in which he was knocked down on a pedestrian crossing.
He is survived by his wife, two daughters, a son — also in film and photography — and 10 grandchildren.
