I love photography, traveling, and exploring all those beautiful places on the earth; over the years, I have developed a habit: I started planning my trips via looking at different landscape photographers’ work. And I will plan my trips just simply because I want to take the same photo.
And this is how I discovered Erez Marom’s work, I was planning a trip to Iceland and found an impressive photo capturing the active Holuhraun eruption, then I started looking at other work of that photographer, and yes, he is Erez Marom!
I started following his Instagram, Facebook and check out his websites. Then I realized a friend of mine joined his workshop and came back with great feedback.
We love Erez’s work; very unique, diversified, and eye-catching. Looking at his portfolio feels like you are on a concentrated “round the world” trip. And I can feel his passion for traveling and exploring the world; this is why we recommend him as the best landscape photographer in Isreal.
Erez Marom – The Best Landscape Photographer in Israel
About Erez Marom
Erez Marom was born in 1980 in Holon, Israel, where he still lives today. Encouraged by his parents from a young age to pursue any artistic tendency, he started playing the drums at age nine and have been an active musician until his late twenties.
Erez was also interested in academic studies, earning a master’s degree in engineering from Tel Aviv University, where he later worked as a maths lecturer. Nothing prepared him for what lay ahead, and he had no clue that his world would turn upside down in the years to follow.
By 2008, Erez saw some impressive images produced by a DSLR. He immediately decided that he has to shoot such pictures and buy his first camera and lens.
Fascinated with the tiny world of invertebrates, Erez started with macro – his first photographic passion. A year or two later, he began shooting landscapes, and this, together with his love for travel, became a fierce obsession that changed both his private and professional life for good.
Today, Erez’s life revolves around nature photography, travel, and everything that comes with them. He is addicted to traveling and seeing the world and everything it has to offer. He became a full-time professional in 2012 and relished his career and lifestyle.
Erez enjoys writing about photography, be it about his life and experience as a traveler and artist or creating his images. Erez is a regular writer for DPReview.com, and he has been published in numerous world-leading magazines and National Geographic calendars and books.
You can find images taken by Erez on postcards throughout Iceland.
In addition to active shooting, traveling, and writing Erez also dedicate a great deal of his time to teaching and guiding.
Erez has led passionate photographers to the world’s most fascinating locations and give them an experience they never forget.
This is how Erez comment about his job “I don’t take it for granted that I probably have the best job on the planet, one in which if I have a vision of some great activities or places I want to visit, all I need to do is work hard, plan it and make it happen. I’ve been fortunate to have met some amazing people from all over the world, from helpful strangers to world-leading professional artists, and to be able to call them my friends.“
Erez Marom’s Notable Awards and Honors
- Gold Star award, Seascape photography (Professional Division), 2018 ND Awards
- 1st Place, Nature Seascapes (Pro), 2 Honorable Mentions, 2017 International Photographer of the Year
- Bronze Star award, 4 Honorable Mentions, Landscapes (Professional Division), 2017 ND Awards
- PSA Silver medal, 2016 Arctic Awards
- Silver Award, 2016 Epson International Pano Awards
- RPS Gold Medal, 2015 Arctic Awards
- Gold Star award, Aerial photography (Professional Division), 2015 ND Awards
- Bronze Star award, Landscapes (Professional Division), 2015 ND Awards
- Honorary Mention, Natural Landscape, 2014 Memorial Maria Luisa International Photo Contest
- PSA Nature Ice and Icebergs Bronze Medal, 2014 Arctic Awards
- UPI Honorable Mention, 2013 Arctic Awards
Interviewing The Best Landscape Photographer in Israel – Erez Marom
Erez Marom and His Landscape Photography World
Q: How did everything start? Why and how did you begin your landscape photographer’s life?
Erez:
I started with macro photography in 2008 but quickly went on to mainly shoot landscape. I love traveling, and I’ve always been a very visual person, so it was natural for me to go into nature photography.
Once I understood that I have an eye for composition and that this is something I can do well and make a living out of, the decision was easy to drop every other career path and pursue a life of adventure and art.
The more you do something, the better you get, and this certainly was the case with my photography.
Photography drew me to travel with the sole intention of getting excellent and unique shots.
The more I succeeded, the more confident I felt to invest in exciting projects like shooting volcanoes from helicopters and traveling far to get extraordinary occurrences (e.g., total solar eclipses, Northern Lights, and icebergs.)
Making it in the ultra-competitive world of nature photography isn’t easy, but if you invest your time and effort into it, breakthroughs happen occasionally.
For example, when I flew my drone above Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, and the intense heat melted its camera, it got massive publicity throughout the internet, and things like that boost your exposure. The same happened with my volcano shots from Iceland in 2014.
Q: I can see that you are running photography workshops and tutorials. Can you tell us a bit about them too?
Erez:
Making a living out of art isn’t easy, but it’s a vital part of being a pro artist. I started by teaching in a few Israeli institutions. I also began writing articles for high-profile websites, mainly DPReview.com, where I got a lot of exposure.
All these helped me start guiding internationally, and until today it’s my primary source of income. It also keeps me free to dedicate a lot of time to pursue my travels and go to new places every year.
The good thing about guiding workshops is that I get to help people better their photography. I have a non-compromising guiding style – I’m honest with my opinions about my students’ images – but that makes people improve rather than stagnate.
I’m a strong supporter of improving and learning the hard way, and I always do my best to give the participants their money’s worth by doing everything I can to help and inspire them.
Another thing that I believe makes my workshops unique is the fact that I don’t adhere to the “normal” workshops most guides do. I try to plan new itineraries in new exciting destinations every year. I have a base of people who follow me to these destinations because they trust me to give them a unique, different, and quality experience in exciting locations.
A good example is a workshop I did in Ethiopia in December 2019, where my participants got to see their first volcanic eruption in Erta Ale volcano. It’s tough to describe seeing an eruption for the first time – it’s like something out of a dream. But that’s my idea of excitement, and I do my best to share it with people.
I have excellent plans for the coming years – I’m doing a new workshop in the Argentinean Puna (a high-altitude desert) and a few other new trips. I highly recommend joining my workshops – it’s the very best way to learn from me, and it’s a lot of fun.
Q: What is your photography philosophy?
Erez:
I believe that art is all about doing something new. If you shoot a composition that other people have already shot – even if it’s in super fantastic conditions – you may have gotten a nice shot, but it’s not art. Always strive to be original and create something new. Travel to new places, try different angles, everything for originality. I can’t understand people who repeatedly travel to the same areas to get the same subjects’ same shots. That’s the worst thing you can do as a photographer, and it’s the opposite of art.
Also, I’m a firm believer in natural post-processing. All those crazy composites with foreground from one place and time and the sky from another place and time, that’s just horrible, in my opinion. If you shoot nature, you probably love and respect nature. Why make up something that wasn’t there? Nature is impressive enough not to be ruined by photoshopping it to death.
Q: What are your favorite parts and the most significant challenges as a landscape photographer?
Erez:
The best part is traveling the world, meeting new and interesting people, sharing experiences, and making art. It is genuinely life on a different level. I do what I want; when I want it, I don’t answer to any boss, fulfill my dreams for a career, make new dreams and complete them as well, on a regular basis. I can’t think of a better path in life.
As for the challenges, the biggest one is staying inspired and creating unique images. I always have to one-up myself and do things I haven’t done before. Plan new trips and create top photos in new locations. This isn’t easy, but it’s a vital part of my life and keeps me energized and motivated.
In the last year and a half, Covid has been an enormous challenge, and I’ve had to cancel many plans. It was tough to stay home and be unable to pursue my art worldwide, but it will pass.
Q: Which is your favorite piece of work? Why?
Erez:
This is hard to answer, and the answer usually changes over time. Still, my favorite pieces are probably the ones that are the most unique: ice caves which no longer exist, my total solar eclipse shots, and of course, my volcano shots from around the world.
Q: Can you describe a typical day or trip of you at work?
Erez:
Every trip is different, but I can give an example of a day shooting in Arctic Norway – something I do for several weeks every year on my Lofoten workshops.
We wake up when it’s still dark (not too early since sunrise is at 10:30!), have breakfast, and drive to the shooting location, arriving an hour before dawn. We then spend half an hour finding suitable compositions while correcting and tweaking their images to make them perfect.
Sunrise comes, and we spend 1-1.5 hours shooting it since the sun is super low at that time of year. After sunrise, we stop for a coffee and then find another location for sunset. After shooting sunset for 1-2 hours, we go back for a rest and a big dinner before heading out again to shoot Northern Lights.
A different example is shooting in Greenland in high summer. The aim is to shoot icebergs with very low light, and in late July, this happens in the middle of the night.
So we take the boat and head out at 22:30, shooting until 2-3 in the morning and coming back to sleep until noon, then having lunch, doing some image critique and post-processing lessons, and heading back out all over again.
The Best Landscape Photographer in Israel – Erez Marom: Cameras and Gears
Q: What cameras and lens are you using? Why them?
Erez:
I use Canon cameras and lenses mostly. A nature photographer uses all focal lengths, from 11mm to 600mm and beyond.
When I need an ultrawide angle, I use my Canon 11-24mm, which is probably my favorite lens since it allows me to get close to the foreground and create unique compositions. I also use my DJI Mavic II Pro drone a lot – I’m a huge fan of aerial photography.
Q: Do you think mirrorless cameras would be great for landscape photography? Why? If you don’t think so, then why not?
Erez:
I don’t believe that equipment matters that much. Mirrorless cameras are good simply because they’re less bulky. They’re not yet responsive enough for challenging wildlife shoots, but for the landscape, they’re great.
Q: Can you suggest a mirrorless camera that you think would be great for landscape photography?
Erez:
I think I’ll get the new Canon mirrorless megapixel monster when it goes out. Other than that, I’m not too knowledgeable about cameras. As I said, equipment is secondary to photographic vision and technique.
Erez Marom’s Traveling and Photography Tips
Q: Can you share with us some Landscape photography tips?
Erez:
- Photography is mostly about composition. Order the compositional elements so that they appealingly balance each other.
- Have patience and be persistent. Sometimes shooting conditions can’t be controlled. You often need to spend time on location to get good results.
- Making art means being original. Don’t repeat what others have already shot. Instead, try creating new compositions and going to new places.
- There isn’t any magic to photography. If you aren’t getting what you want, don’t look to digital editing, but rather improve your technique.
- If you’d like to shoot for a living, ask yourself what you can offer that others don’t.
Q: What is your favorite top 3 landscape photo spots or scene?
Erez:
The three things I love shooting most of all are icebergs, volcanoes, and solar eclipses.
I try to put a significant emphasis on shooting dynamic landscapes and brief scenes that will never return. More generally, I love shooting in the Arctic – I come from a hot country, so cold winter landscapes still seem magical to me, even after spending years of my life shooting them.
Q: Can you give us some traveling tips to Israel?
Erez:
Israel is highly diverse compared to its size. If you’re traveling for photography, you have to go to the Dead Sea and shoot the colorful sinkholes and patterns there. For people photography, nothing is better than Jerusalem. The south is fantastic for desert landscapes.
Of course, if you’re in Israel – try as many foods as possible!
The Best Landscape Photographer in Israel – Erez Marom: Final Words
I really enjoyed interviewing Erez Marom, he is so much more than a photographer, and looking at his work you can feel his free spirit and passion. If you would like to check out more about Erez’s work, please find the following information:
Erez Marom’s website – erezmarom.com