Yakov is a talented photographer with a knack for capturing everything from meaningful historic moments to personal milestones and community events, all with an eye for storytelling and personal connection. Urban Dor sits down with Yakov to talk about his story and new business.
Urban Dor: Tell us about how you first got involved with the Greater Hartford Jewish community and when did you first hear about Urban Dor?
Yakov: I first became acquainted with the Greater Hartford Jewish community a little over a year ago. Shortly before October 7th, 2023, I began a documentary photo series on Legion Self Defense. The project, which I haven't released yet, explores the ways in which American Jews are responding to a dramatic rise in antisemitism. From there, I quickly got to know locals from the community, including my friend Simon and his work with Urban Dor.
Urban Dor: We were impressed when you spoke at Urban Dor's Israel Benefit Concert to support Magen David Adom after 10/7 - you spoke so clearly about the aftermath of the Hamas attack and took a thoughtful and informative approach over an emotionally charged one. When did you first get interested in photo-journalism and how did you learn so much about the Middle East history and current events?
Yakov: Thank you for the kind words. We are living through a historic moment, and I believe it's important to have a balance of different responses. We need expressive outlets for our emotions right now in all of their complexity. At the same time, it's crucial to understand current events with a degree of stoicism. What do these changes truly represent, on a local and global level? What are the new challenges, threats, or perhaps opportunities, that we may be facing? And, what are we doing to respond? The answers require engagement from every aspect of the community: students, parents, artists, rabbis, community activists, business owners, journalists, and so many others. I hope to make my own contribution to this conversation through photojournalism.
I first got into photography around middle school, just as a hobby. During some challenging years as a teenager, I found solace in my camera and also my public library. I started reading books on world history and languages, and I was fascinated with understanding current events and international affairs. As I got older, I left Connecticut, but these interests followed me. Photography became a tool to explore the different places that I lived in or traveled to. I was also exposed to photojournalists, whose jobs I learned were to document cultures, lifestyles, and daily life around the world. The very thought of such a career enthralled me. By 2018, I moved to Jerusalem. It's a city that I deeply love, yet whose unique beauty is so often misunderstood, or unseen, to the outside world. The same can be said for Israel as a whole. For the first time, I began to see a calling in my photography and my writing to share the country's many stories. And now, over the past year, I've expanded my focus to Jewish communities here in the U.S.
Urban Dor: You love to capture moments in history through photography, how did that evolve into event photography and starting your own business?
Yakov: Along with my photojournalism, I've spent years crafting other styles of photos: portraits, events, landscapes, and art photography. I started out shooting artistic portraits of friends and I received a lot of positive feedback. Those friends started recommending me to more friends, and soon I was getting offers to shoot engagements, bar mitzvahs, weddings, and parties. I enjoyed it so much I decided to pursue it full-time. Starting a business is very hard work, but no other job in my life has provided me with as much gratification and meaning.
Urban Dor: What is one of your favorite historic moments you have captured so far?
Yakov: I took this photo in May 2023 (the featured photo in article) on Yom HaZikaron, Israel's national day of remembrance for fallen soldiers and civilian victims of terrorism. I was walking through Jerusalem's Mount Herzl cemetery, as thousands of families and friends paid respects to their loved ones, when I spotted a middle-aged woman sitting next to a grave. She sat there quietly by herself, until a young soldier approached her. They began talking, in what appeared to be one stranger consoling another. I was moved by this exchange for the layered symbols and ideas one can find in the subjects.
For instance, the roles most often associated with a soldier are combat, fighting power, and physical strength -- yet in this moment, the soldier plays a far different role, one of emotional support, healing, and companionship. Another layer one could extract is generational dialogue, between an older generation of Israelis passing on the torch of civic responsibility to their children's generation.
And yet, this scene also illustrates a strong sense of collectivism that outsiders fail to understand in Israel. Having already lived there for several years, finding such a familial exchange between strangers didn't strike me as surprising at the time. Israel is an incredibly small yet diverse society; a coalition of tribes with both amicable differences and sharp disagreements. And throughout its 76 years, every decade in this small nation has been shaped by war. Whether from invasions by neighboring enemies or from brutal waves of terrorism, the murder of soldiers and civilians isn't a distant memory but, still today, a daily reality. As such, few corners of Israeli society are left untouched by Yom HaZikaron. Even to an outsider bearing witness, the public mood on this holiday is hard not to feel. And for that exact reason, I see in this photo a powerful testament to Israeli solidarity. When confronted with immense loss, Israeli resilience can be found in the love of one mourner of Zion comforting another.
Urban Dor: You lived in Israel at different points in your life, what keeps you going back there and how have those experiences shifted your view or interests to become more involved with the Greater Hartford young Jewish professional community?
Yakov: Israel is family. The country and its people enrich my life with an irreplaceable sense of purpose and belonging. Many of my greatest moments of personal growth have come to me in Israel, and could only have happened there. Every time I go back I find some new level of clarity or inspiration.
I want to get more involved with the Greater Hartford Jewish community so that I can build upon the kind of community I find in Israel and expand it here in the diaspora. We are all family and we need each other now more than ever. Even when family is spread out, we can always come home and reconnect.
Urban Dor: Tell us more about your photography business and the services you offer.
Yakov: I photograph a very wide range of things! Over the past year, I've shot numerous events for local and international news publications, Jewish Federations and synagogues, weddings, nonprofit clients, and more. I also offer professional headshots, family and business events, fashion portraits, engagement photos, artistic collaborations, and fine quality prints of my photography. If anything I've shared in this interview sparked your interest or prompted a question, I would love to hear from you.
Urban Dor: We see you often with your camera at events around the community - how can people contact you to learn more about your services?
Yakov: Thank you so much to Simon for reaching out to me, and for the work Urban Dor is doing for the community!
If anyone would like to reach out to me directly, my email is: YakovBinyamin.Photography@Gmail.com
For samples of my work, please visit my website: www.YakovBinyamin.com
You can also find more on instagram @Yakov.Binyamin
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