photographer, entrepreneur and environmental activist
Roie Galitz (Hebrew: רועי גליץ, born November 20, 1980) is an Israeli photographer, entrepreneur and environmental activist. He is known for his wildlife photographs, some of which have won international awards, especially those taken north of the Arctic Circle. Locally, Galitz founded Israel's largest school of photography, an adventure and photography travel company and the Israeli Photography Conference.
Galitz started out as a photographer taking pictures of static objects such as jewelry. He then worked as a pension insurance salesman, before returning to photography.[3] His main interests are travel and wildlife conservation. In 2015, one of his wildlife photos, dubbed Run for Your Life, received an honorable mention at the Siena International Photo Awards.[4] In May 2015, on his third trip to Svalbard, Galitz was able to capture close-ups of polar bears.[5] One such image, where a polar bear catches a seal, received an honorable mention at the Siena Awards, 2016.[6] In 2017 he received first place at Siena in the Fragile Ice category for a photo of a sleeping polar bear titled Dreaming on Sea Ice.[7][8] Another honorable mention, as well as a remarkable artwork award, came in 2019 at Siena for additional polar bear pictures.[9][10] Additional awards received by Galitz's polar bear pictures include third place in the nature and wildlife category at the 2016 International Photography Awards.[11]
In 2021, Roie's image has won an award in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, and he has served as a judge in The Environmental Photographer of the Year Awards, as well as The Big Picture Awards and SkyPixel Awards, the official contest of DJI
In 2017, Israeli daily Israel Hayom called Galitz one of the leading nature photographers in Israel and the world.[12]
Entrepreneurship
After taking a job teaching photography in 2007, Galitz opened his own school, which went on to become the biggest school of this kind in Israel. Until 2017, it had served about 23,000 students in 1,300 classes. Aside from the original Ramat Gan facility, the school opened additional branches in Jerusalem and Haifa.[12] In 2010, he founded PhotoTeva, a travel company specializing in photo travel. He also founded TalkMaster, a public speaking school. In 2018, Galitz was listed as one of 40 under-40 managers in Israel.[3]
Activism
Galitz has been campaigning to raise awareness to environmental issues, some of which he encountered in his travels and photo shoots.[3] He has signed on as Antarctic Ambassador for Greenpeace.[13] He gave multiple TEDx talks on the subject.[14]
2019: Wild and Crazy, The Finnish Nature Center Haltia, Helsinki, Finland[20]
2019: Memorial Maria Lucia, International Mountain, Nature and Adventure, Traveling Exhibition, Europe[citation needed]
Roie Galitz receives award in the 2017 Siena International Photography Awards for his photo titled: "Fragile Ice" (2017).Roie Galitz Speaking in Israeli Photography Convention (2018).
Awards
2016: Olympic Photo Circuit, Nature & Open Color - PSA Gold[21]
2016: International Photographer of the Year - Second Prize[22]
2016: PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris, Professional Nature Wildlife - Third Prize[23]
2019: Picture of the Year, Reportage, Science & Natural History - 2 Awards of Excellence [42]
References
^Berman, Ruti (October 21, 2018). "הדייט של רועי גליץ עם הטבע" [Roie Galitz's Date with Nature]. Blinker Local News (in Hebrew). Retrieved December 11, 2019.
^Ehrlichman, Erez (November 2, 2015). "פרס לברדלס: ציון לשבח לצלם מישראל באיטליה" [A Prize to the Cheetah: Honorable Mention for an Israeli Photographer in Italy]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved December 9, 2019.
^Mizrahi, Yossi (May 24, 2015). כמה מילים שווה תמונה של דב קוטב? [How Many Words is a Polar Bear Picture Worth?]. Mako (in Hebrew). Retrieved December 9, 2019.
^Ehrlichman, Erez (October 30, 2016). "פרס לצלם הטבע רועי גליץ בתחרות באיטליה" [A Prize Given to Nature Photographer Roie Galitz in a Competition in Italy]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved December 9, 2019.
^Ehrlichman, Erez (October 29, 2017). "הדוב המנמנם: פרס לצלם הטבע רועי גליץ" [The Sleeping Bear: A Prize to the Nature Photographer Roie Galitz]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved December 9, 2019.
^Ehrlichman, Erez (October 31, 2019). "טבע מופלא: דוב קוטב עם מצלמה וקרנף באפילה" [Wonderful Nature: Polar Bear with a Camera and a Rhinoceros in the Dark]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved December 9, 2019.
