RAFAEL BEN-ARI - ISRAELI PHOTOJOURNALIST AND ON LOCATION PHOTOGRAPHER

Rafael's professional career started when Saddam Hussein and his armed forces invaded Kuwait in 1990. Rafael was recruited into the I.A.F Intelligence where he served as an Aerial Photo Analyst and Military Photographer. Rafael studied professional photography at the New York Institute of Photography (NYI) and at the prestigious Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem, Israel.

Rafael became a freelance photographer at the end of the 90's and has since had his images appear in a large number of publications around the world such as The Times, MSNBC, Le Monde, Stern, Elle, Discover, E!, Vogue, The Independent, Canoe & Kayak, The CUT, The Week, China Daily and many others.

He was honored by the National Trust of New Zealand when three of his images were used on NZ stamps in a collector’s edition. Rafael has also received two grants from the Israeli government for "Excellent Artist in Photography" in 2005 & 2006.

Rafael has showcased his photography in solo exhibitions in Australia, New Zealand, France and Mexico.

His passion for photography has led him to build an independent photography service based in Israel called Chameleons Eye and today, Rafael is one of the busiest photojournalists in Israel.