Photography has been with me for as long as I can remember. In my childhood, my father had an old Zorki camera, the Russian Leica II copies, and he had a habit of developing films from our trips in the darkroom. That place with unfamiliar smells and substances had a unique charm for me.

I always asked to be there and learn myself the process of film development, as seeing the blank paper turn into an image was magical to me. Later on, I was accepted to the Faculty of Art and focused on visual arts and analog photography.

Over the years I have moved almost completely to digital, though film and analog hold still a special place in my heart.

When it comes to street photography, it happened naturally to me. Although I also love to do other types of photography such as fashion/ portrait and “directed” photographs, since I carry a camera with me wherever I go, I find myself capturing many things around. On my way, I always find special moments. In my eyes, these moments have social, human, and/or visual values and that’s why I do my best to capture them.

It all started by chance, while I was in Switzerland I noticed a moving neon ad of a woman with a scarf when right next to her was a real woman with a scarf that had a very similar shape. The image and the woman were talking to each other. I liked that moment and saw an interesting story.

Because we are surrounded by coincidences, it is often difficult for us to pay attention to them. The camera is an amazing tool to preserve the moment and in the perspective of time also to infuse it with additional meanings. I believe that the best moments are continually around us. Since reality is the best director it’s something hard to plan ahead.

While doing street photography you can stand at a certain point and wait for a certain “perfect” placing and still be surprised by what will happen a second later. Although it may sound like a cliché, the best photos really happened by coincidence.

About the Author

Ishay (Jesse) Lindenberg is a visual artist and an award-winning photographer. He was born in Israel and is now based in Berlin, Germany. For more of Jesse’s work, check out his website and follow him on Instagram.