Ortal Shaya is an architect at heart, and her photography is fuelled by it.
When she was small, she was always drawing plans for what she thought would be the perfect home for her family to live in. It was then in her late teens and early 20s that she started capturing architecture on film.
ortal shaya – tower perspective
Ortal graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in architecture and a minor in art/photography, and although she is not working as an architect, being able to structure her photography business around it has been a wonderful experience. “I’ve been fortunate enough to travel and explore extraordinary cities with beautiful architecture and scenery throughout my life. I’m originally from Israel and travel there often to visit family. My passion for travel further enhances my love for architecture and photography; I love getting to know new cities and places shaped by wonderful buildings through the lens of a camera.
Bad experiences with photography have not slowed her down, but have only made her more conscious of the pitfalls. “I ruined some film while in school that I still think, to this day, had some of the most beautiful photos I have ever taken! I was in the dark room and in a bit of a rush, so I wasn’t very careful pulling the film out of its can. Now I make sure I am much more careful!”
ortal shaya – brooklyn bridge
She describes herself as a real ‘do-it-yourself’ kind of person and loves the creative process of coming up with design solutions. “A few months ago, I was starting to decorate my apartment. I wanted to hang some photography from all my adventures on the wall but wanted to come up with a unique way to do it. I ended up designing and building a small wood frame to place a photo on. Once I saw the result, I thought it would be a great way to present my photography – an object that holds a special mix of architecture, nature, photography and design.”
The concepts and techniques learnt in University have been extremely useful. “The idea for building the wood frames actually came to me from my experiences with building architectural models of things I designed while in school! I find inspiration everywhere. If I’m not home when an idea comes to me, I quickly draw or write it onto a napkin, receipt or any piece of paper I can get my hand on – sometimes I feel like I have so many ideas and not enough time to implement them all.”
ortal shaya – lamps & lines
Although she says she would love to undertake more formal training in photography, it is something she is working towards with her business through Etsy. “I had always been a fan of Etsy but had not previously thought of it as a business for myself. By creating those wood frames, I had opened myself up to a world of possibilities. I now sell my photography on wood frames and photo cards. I am definitely excited to continue exploring other ways to display my work.”
ortal shaya – eiffel tower
And her best piece of advice? “JUST DO IT. I know its Nike’s slogan, but before I actually got around to working on my Etsy shop, I read those 3 words on one of the forums. I had been so wishy-washy about starting my shop – nerves, mostly! Suddenly, I read someone say, “Just do it” and it changed everything for me. I decided I would just do it, then and there. I don’t know if I would be where I am today with my shop if I hadn’t read those words!”
You can find more of Ortal’s photography in her shop ShayaDesignStudio.
*
With thanks to Ortal for sharing her images and stories here.