Micha Bar-Am (born 1930 Berlin, Germany) is a renowned Israeli journalistic photographer. His most prominent pictures are from when he covered the Six Day War. His pictures are not so much of direct combat, but more of wartime life. Born in Berlin, he moved to the then British Mandate of Palestine in 1936. He worked several jobs including a locksmith and mounted guard before becoming a photographer. In 1949 he co-founded the kibbutz Malkia in Galilee, and later he became a member of Kibbutz Gesher HaZiv. He started taking pictures in the early fifties using borrowed cameras to photograph life on a kibbutz until he bought a Leica. In 1948 he was drafted, and after his military service he began photographing more seriously. After publishing his book Across Sinai in 1957 he worked as a photographic reporter and in the editorial staff of the Israeli Army magazine, Ba-Mahaneh from 1957 to 1967. In 1961 he was assigned to cover the Eichmann trial. In 1967 he covered the Six-Day war, during which time he met Cornell Capa. He became the photographic correspondent from Israel for the New York Times in 1968, a position he held until 1992. In 1974 he helped Cornell Capa found the International Center of Photography in New York. From 1977-92, he was also head of the department of photography at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. He now does his own photography. He has also been a correspondent for Magnum Photos since 1968.
Of his photojournalism he writes, "I keep my internal eye open for that other, metaphorical image that transcends illustration to achieve a wholeness of its own. I strive for the elusive entity that is both evidence and evocation, public record and personal vision." He says that he has adopted Robert Capa's saying, "If your photographs aren't good enough, you weren't close enough," but has added his own caveat: "If you're too close you lose perspective. It is not easy to be fair with the facts and keep your own convictions out of the picture. It is almost impossible to be both a participant in the events and their observer, witness, interpreter. The effort bring great frustration, and equally great reward."
Leica M3 Black Paint #1134075 & Summicron 35/2,0 #1971823.
Original camera used by photographer Micha Bar-Am.
Leica M2 Black Paint #1053175 & Summilux 50/1.4 #2039928.
Original camera used by photographer Micha Bar-Am.
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