Photo by Oded Balilty
Oded Balilty: The Photo Soldier
In 2007, Oded Balilty won a Politzer for his photography under the “Breaking News” sector. The photograph pictures a lone citizen fighting with all her might against Israeli soldiers as they push to evacuate a town, with hundreds more citizens in the background. According to the Pulitzer website, the Israeli Supreme Court voted to demolish nine homes in Amona right before this photograph was taken. Amona is a western bank settlement, more commonly known as Palestinian territory within Israel. This photo shows the strength of the Israeli government and the weight and carelessness they carry for their citizens, especially when those citizens do not fully align with them.
Oded Balilty is an Israeli photographer who was born in 1979 in Jerusalem. He has lived and worked there his entire life. He learned photojournalism and photography by reading magazines such as the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). He worked for multiple photographing companies as a photojournalist including ZOOM77 and Yedioth Ahronot, a daily paper in Israel. The Associated Press (aka AP News) also hired him at the height of the Palestine Intifada in 2002. Balilty is currently the only Israeli photographer to have won a Pulitzer Prize.
As all Israelis are required by law, Balilty completed his time in the military starting at eighteen. This gives his photographic work in this particular picture extra meaning, as he was once in the position of the soldier- and is now in the position of the civilian.
Balilty’s history in photography varies geographically. He won his award in his home state of Israel and, once hired by AP News, was repositioned to Beijing from 2007 to 2008 before moving back to Israel where he photographed current events for AP.
In an interview with Steve Bisson of Urbanautica, Balilty speaks about his experience as a photographer and his truths. When Bisson asked Balilty about his opinion on manipulating images and the recent controversy, Balilty said, “the first thing that I learned is not to manipulate, stage, or change the natural scene.” He compares the world to the bible and says that sometimes you simply need to see the story as is and tell it. Although not in words, I believe that he uses the Torah as a personal guide when photographing as a way to keep himself true to his work and to the world without modifying the scene and world around him for the popularity of his photograph.
As Balilty progresses in his career, he moves to more portraits from his typical action photography. He was asked about his view on staged portraits like he moved over to, and he claims, “I don’t see it as staged photography or that I changed the reality,” because his goal is to capture the person and tell the story through the person, not to position the person in a flattering way to impress the subject or viewer. Everything he does is in an effort to tell a story relating to war-, and in the case of his series The Forgotten Jewish Veteran, he aims to capture the lives of soldiers who are, as the title says, forgotten. He compares their lives to the lives of Holocaust survivors, as their trauma was similar in more ways than previously imagined.
Oded Balilty is an Israeli photographer who was born in 1979 in Jerusalem. He has lived and worked there his entire life. He learned photojournalism and photography by reading magazines such as the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). He worked for multiple photographing companies as a photojournalist including ZOOM77 and Yedioth Ahronot, a daily paper in Israel. The Associated Press (aka AP News) also hired him at the height of the Palestine Intifada in 2002. Balilty is currently the only Israeli photographer to have won a Pulitzer Prize.
As all Israelis are required by law, Balilty completed his time in the military starting at eighteen. This gives his photographic work in this particular picture extra meaning, as he was once in the position of the soldier- and is now in the position of the civilian.
Balilty’s history in photography varies geographically. He won his award in his home state of Israel and, once hired by AP News, was repositioned to Beijing from 2007 to 2008 before moving back to Israel where he photographed current events for AP.
In an interview with Steve Bisson of Urbanautica, Balilty speaks about his experience as a photographer and his truths. When Bisson asked Balilty about his opinion on manipulating images and the recent controversy, Balilty said, “the first thing that I learned is not to manipulate, stage, or change the natural scene.” He compares the world to the bible and says that sometimes you simply need to see the story as is and tell it. Although not in words, I believe that he uses the Torah as a personal guide when photographing as a way to keep himself true to his work and to the world without modifying the scene and world around him for the popularity of his photograph.
As Balilty progresses in his career, he moves to more portraits from his typical action photography. He was asked about his view on staged portraits like he moved over to, and he claims, “I don’t see it as staged photography or that I changed the reality,” because his goal is to capture the person and tell the story through the person, not to position the person in a flattering way to impress the subject or viewer. Everything he does is in an effort to tell a story relating to war-, and in the case of his series The Forgotten Jewish Veteran, he aims to capture the lives of soldiers who are, as the title says, forgotten. He compares their lives to the lives of Holocaust survivors, as their trauma was similar in more ways than previously imagined.
Works Cited
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Balilty, Oded. “ODED BALILTY PHOTOGRAPHY: PHOTOJOURNALISM - PEOPLE AND PLACES.” odedbalilty.com, http://www.odedbalilty.com/photojournalism/photojournalism/singles/. Accessed 10 October 2023
Pulitzer. “Oded Balilty of Associated Press.” pulitzer.org, https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/oded-balilty. Accessed 10 October 2023
Bisson, Steve. “ODED BALILTY. MANY DECISIONS.” urbanautica.com, https://urbanautica.com/interview/oded-balilty-many-decisions/305. Accessed 10 October 2023
Pulitzer. “Oded Balilty of Associated Press.” pulitzer.org, https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/oded-balilty. Accessed 10 October 2023
Bisson, Steve. “ODED BALILTY. MANY DECISIONS.” urbanautica.com, https://urbanautica.com/interview/oded-balilty-many-decisions/305. Accessed 10 October 2023