Documentary Photographer, Atalia Katz, on Loving Her Career

At 63, Atalia Katz travels the globe, working as a documentary photographer. Online, Her work has been featured internationally on both photography and lifestyle websites, while her tangible prints have been exhibited in New York, Tel-Aviv, Africa, Scarsdale, Denver, and Jerusalem.

Interestingly enough, it was laundry that ignited Katz’s career as a photographer. A fascination in how different cultures throughout the world wash clothing, quickly inspired Katz to document the differences as well as capture life’s other fleeting moments. Over the years, she has caught people, landscapes, mundane activities, and animals on camera. For the artist, photography is an important means of self-expression, creativity, and discovery.

Her interest in the arts began at a young age. A graduate of Israel’s Oranim Art Education Seminary, Katz also has a background in sculpture. Aside from photography, Katz’s other interest lies in alternative medicine. In this realm she’s studied reflexology, and homeopathy, and Alexander Technique – an educational process and healing practice on the misuse of muscles – for which she is a certified teacher. But, eventually the art form won her attention. She grew her talent as a photographer at Tel-Aviv’s Camera Obscura School and the International Center of Photography in Manhattan.

Today, Katz splits her non-traveling time between her two homes in New York and Tel-Aviv. Though currently residing in Israel, the world-class photographer reached across oceans to talk with SharpHeels about her work, being a woman in her field, and advice she offers to aspiring women photographers.

How and when did you start taking photos?
I started to photograph professionally after being exposed to the world of documentaries. I was touring in Vietnam and Cambodia, and there I was struck by the concept of laundry in different cultures, which I’ve taken with me over time to a number of different locations. Doing the laundry, a chore the Vietnamese and Cambodians take such pride in, is, by contrast, a task, which is hidden away in places such as New York.

This focal point challenged me to showcase my perspective as a documentary photographer.

What inspires you as a photographer, what do you try to capture through your lens?
As a documentary photographer, I shoot objects which excite me or when I have a personal interest in them. It’s a type of expression that demonstrates the similarities and differences between people, nations and places.

How do you get the perfect picture – do you know ahead of time a photo is going to be a good one?
The moment you have the right light and setting whilst shooting – that’s when you have the perfect frame. This isn’t a simple goal to achieve. It requires a lot of shooting, energy and skill at that given moment. Factors such as environmental conditions also play a part.

You can’t plan documentary photography ahead of time – the whole idea is to freeze the moment you want to display.

As a professional, freelance photographer, how is your work life different from the average office job?
Office work is fairly predictable in terms of workplace, hours and expectations.

As a documentary photographer, I head out on a journey laden with cameras and lenses, so the suitcases are heavy and the work hours aren’t regular. I shoot from dawn through dusk and focus on my relationship to the location and the subjects of my shots.

Sometimes I’ll return again and again to the same location, as there are days when the end result just doesn’t measure up. Much of the work is done out-of-doors in sometimes challenging conditions – but I enjoy the work immensely and the results delight me.

In your experience, have you been treated differently in regards to your work because you’re a woman?
Obviously my gender makes an initial difference to the subject, but this passes in an instant. My innermost identity is not that of a woman – rather, a documentary photographer and partner to the reality in which the subjects live.

What women have inspired you to become who you are?
I’m not influenced by anyone in particular. What influences me is the need to showcase – and I’m constantly pursuing that path.

If you had to pick, is there one career highlight?
Nothing compares to working in a field you love. Each time you shoot there’s a different light, different people, cultures I never imagined existed, a changing and exciting world. I consider myself privileged.

What advice would you give to emerging young women photographers?
Obviously young women today are super-busy, and are faced with a number of constraints, including family commitments. These issues often prevent them from traveling to the places they want to photograph, and from shooting as freely as they might like.

So I’d recommend that whenever or wherever you can find the subject, the emotion and the time to shoot – just get into the spirit of it and make a start.

Katz maintains her ever-growing portfolio via her website. She invites those interested in her work to visit her online profile.

Photos courtesy of Atalia Katz (featured)