During my recent travels to Israel, with a concentration on the old city of Jerusalem, I have tried in a small way to reconcile the overwhelming presence of religion, which the dictionary broadly describes as a set of beliefs that concern the cause and purpose of the universe, with my decidedly agnostic outlook and interest, above all, in a set of aesthetic guidelines designed around three words: “acuity,” “color,” and “grain.”

Certainly no one would argue with the fact that religion(s) can inspire the creation of superb beauty ‑ art, architecture, music, and fashion ‑ and at the same time cause conflict that over history has resulted in some of the most ugly behavior the world has experienced. These contrary forces all blend, push and pull to create a place that, to an outsider, is at one time confounding and endlessly fascinating.

As a photographer, I believe that the most powerful images are those that speak without words, that convert the simple and temporary ‑ the moment ‑ into a lasting effect that remains fresh forever. Thus I will leave it to a much more talented writer  to try to describe such a captivating place with words:
“Jerusalem is a festival and a lamentation. Its song is a sigh across the ages, a delicate, robust, mournful psalm at the great junction of spiritual cultures.” – David K. Shipler
– Aaron C. Greenman
Aaron C. Greenman has been a photographer for over 25 years. He was originally profiled on the Leica Blog for his photography in India in September 2010. After living in the United States, the United Kingdom, Kenya, and India, and traveling extensively, he currently lives and works in Belgium. More of his work, and in particular of his Holy Lands travels, can be viewed at www.acuitycolorgrain.com. His first monograph is available for the iPad here.