In the photo lab of one of Tel Aviv’s favorite photography spots, HaPhoto, we spoke to the heir, Lear Landau about his experiences.
How many years have you worked professionally in photography?
It’s a tricky question. I’ve been doing this since I was about six years old, because HaPhoto is my parent’s lab.
How did your family get involved with photography?
In ‘86, my dad, his dad and my mom bought an existing photo lab, and we’ve been at the current location for 13 years. Growing up, I hated that HaPhoto was chosen as a career for me; as a teenager, I really didn’t want to come here. It took me years to realize how awesome this place is – for everyone and for myself. It allows me to do something I am sincerely good at.
What’s your speciality at the shop?
I’m used to seeing colors, color corrections and color adjustments that are needed. When you’re six years old, printing hundreds of pictures a day, it grows on you. Many people can do very good color adjustments, but I do them very, very quickly. These days, people don’t appreciate a quick and good job – something that specialists are able to do. You know, those old workshops – camera, bikes, woodworking, etc – with 50-to-70 year-olds behind the counter who tend to charge less, work quicker and don’t want you to argue with them because they know what they’re doing? Nowadays, people are looking for a near-perfect job that takes way too long. So, you get young folks who just got into the profession and just wank over everything, who take too long to do the simplest job, charge way too much, and when they’re done don’t know how to fix what they’ve screwed up!
© Elie Bleier
The weirdest photo you’ve worked on?
We’re very discreet about our customer information. If you’re not our customer, then...you know...fuck you. But in this case, since it was a documentation of performance art, I suppose it’s okay to talk about. A performance artist sewed a jacket out of raw fat and wore it. I printed those when I was 14 years-old.
I have to ask: digital or film?!
It’s a stupid question, and I have a stupid answer: both. You get so much from each one of them. When I take pictures, I take film. But day-to-day, I shoot digitally because I have it in my pocket. When you want to take a picture you’ll love, use the tools that suit it. In your heart, if you feel that a Nikon FE will do the best, great, but if you feel that it’s your cell phone, so be it. When it’s art, it’s about the feeling you have when you use the tool.
HaPhoto, 33 Allenby St, Tel Aviv