My name is Nir Alon. I am 44 years young, have a fantastic partner and wife and three amazing kids. I live and do most of my work in Jerusalem, Israel. My professional background is in electronics and this is what pays most of the bills. To compensate for professional relationships with machines and components I feed my heart with photography.

I don't have any formal training in photography other than a photography and darkroom course I did when I was about 10. Ever since, the magic of photography has captivated me.

In recent years I've done some workshops and courses, the most significant of which was instructed by numerous award winning Israeli photojournalist Ziv Koren (his 1995 photo of an exploded bus, published on the cover of Time International, was selected in 2000 as one of the 200 most important images in the last 45 years by the world press photo association).

In the course I mentioned doing as a child I remember the instructor saying something about each frame capturing 1/125, 1/500 or 1/2000 of a second. If you add all those together, over a whole lifetime of photography, you may be recording no more than a few minutes of life. Digital photography may have stretched those limits a bit but that thought had great impact on me and still does. It was then that I discovered the magic you can do with a camera. I was fascinated by the idea of freezing a moment in time for eternity. I still am!

I hate carrying a camera bag so I don't carry one. I therefore minimize the equipment I need for a shoot to what fits on my shoulders and in my pockets. My current haul is a Canon 5D, a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM, about 14GBytes of memory and sometimes a Canon 580EX II flash or a Manfrotto 685B monopod with a 322RC2 grip ball head. I also don't add to the collection – any new camera or lens is a replacement rather then an addition.

Without a doubt – photojournalism. Over the years I experimented with many types of photography but for me, getting into photojournalism is a type of professional climax, like I've graduated into it. I feel as though everything I did before was training for the 'real thing'. This is obviously a very personal viewpoint and in no way do I mean to put down other photographers. I envy many of them for their achievements in fields I come no where near their success. Everyone should do their own thing. Photojournalism is mine.

Everything in my photography has to do with feelings. I want to convey my feelings. I want viewers of my images to feel. These two objectives don't always meet. Viewers don't always feel exactly what I felt. That's fine, as long as my photos are feeling and thought provoking.

Another aspect is telling a story. I'm not sure I've reached the point where every image is worth more than a thousand words. I find I often require the words alongside the image. Words are an integral part of photojournalism. It took me some time and a lot of frustration to achieve this insight and learn to live with it. Until I did I felt I was failing in photography but today a full project for me includes writing that goes side by side with the images.

I've already mentioned Israeli photojournalist Ziv Koren. Ziv was an instructor and a mentor that either discouraged you to the point of despair or pushed you to the limits of your creativity. Brutal in his critique Ziv made sure my feet were on the ground and that subjective owner’s euphoria didn’t cloud my sense of reality and direction. I am greatly inspired by his dedication to photography and to his assignments. Nothing will stop him from getting what he has decided to get. Ziv is brutal in his critique but sincere to his conscience and I have learned a great deal from him in regard to the correct state of mind for a photojournalist and about professional integrity. Something well worth watching by Ziv Koren: "Line of Fire."

I'm also going to mention Brent Stirton. His series on Xhosa circumcision ritual In South Africa got me hooked on his work. In his photography I find a delicate harmony between photojournalism and art and that really appeals to me. Brent not only captures the moment but directs it in the sense that he controls lighting and composition without compromising the truth and his photojournalistic integrity.

Hmm. I never really gave it much thought but now that you ask I think Israel does have some unique photographic perspectives to offer. The contradictions and conflicts in our society and our region certainly do reflect in photojournalism in a way that may not be found elsewhere.

On one hand much of the Israeli society is modern and oriented towards western civilization, for better and for worst (see photo "Sex By The Kilo"). On the other hand religion plays a big part in day to day life (see photo of Ultra orthodox Jews rallying in prayer and mourning against a planned pride - gay parade in Jerusalem).

I did a 6-month project in 2006 in a hostel for young women in distress (see photo "In Spite Of...") that could have been done anywhere else in the world. On the other hand I have recently started a new project, "Malki's Legacy", dealing with disabled children and the support their families receive from The Malki Foundation, founded in memory of 15 year old Malki Roth, killed in a terrorist attack in Jerusalem in 2001.

So yes, although much of the Israeli society is a clone of N.Y. or London, there still are many unique angles to be studied through a lens. I think these special perspectives make photojournalism especially interesting and exciting.

I subscribed to a Pro account with SmugMug in April 2004. I think the three features I love most about SmugMug are simplicity, flexibility and their wonderful support team. It's so easy to setup a gallery and upload your images. SmugMug takes care of all the rest. The flexibility allows configuration of display options and commercial pricing and sales. And the support team are simply fantastic with an email reply usually within an hour in the rare event when you get in trouble with the simplicity of the flexibility.

The most important aspect of SmugMug for me is using it as a showcase of my work. Easily and efficiently creating galleries for specific clients has brought me sales of photos and articles and several magazine publications.

I'm going to regard your question as though asked specifically in the field of photojournalism – to someone thinking of getting into photojournalism I would say "think again!" It takes a lot of work, a lot of dedication, the events you want to shoot always take place at the most inconvenient time, the lighting is terrible and you usually have no control, long term projects require emotional involvement you may not be willing to invest, everything works against you. If you decide to get into photojournalism in spite of all this – don't quite your day job before you're sure you can do without it. Then be ready for some of the most rewarding photographical experiences you will ever have!