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. Rafael studied professional photography at the New York Institute of Photography (NYI) and at the prestigious Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem, Israel
