William Blake’s Photographer

by Phyllis Chelser

Peach rose blossom on Hizkiyahu ha-Melekh Street, Jerusalem, photographed by Jaskow

I have a friend who is a cantor, a composer, a singer, and a photographer of the most exquisite sights. She lives in Jerusalem and her name is Rahel Sharon Jaskow. She ought to have a dealer and a gallery because she is that good. She manages to evoke a sense of wonder and awe—as if we have never before noticed the miraculous nature of what surrounds us, what we either never notice or take for granted.

Damselfly, Gazelle Valley Park, Jerusalem, photographed by Jaskow

Jaskow gets right up close to flowers, bees, insects, cats, birds, animals and shows us the “world in a grain of sand.” Here is only some of her heavenly work. Her images are apt accompaniments to Blake’s words from his Auguries of Innocence:

“To see a world in a grain of sand

And to see heaven in a wildflower—

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand

And eternity in an hour.”

Rainbow Fire on her late beloved cat photographed by Jaskow