About Amir Weiss — The Story Behind Transformational Eye

People always ask me where I’m from. My answer is: everywhere and nowhere.

I’m a nomad — I don’t settle. I live in and between festivals, travelling the world with my camera as my compass. For over 13 years, I’ve been documenting transformational festivals, psytrance culture, and alternative communities across six continents — from the Americas through Europe and all the way to Australia.

After a meaningful turning point at 28, I committed to making photography my life’s work. I had years of visual training from studying animation in Israel, plus self-taught skills in graphic editing and an understanding of psychology, philosophy, and visual storytelling. I took a studio lighting course, studied on CreativeLive, and started shooting — first in studios, then quickly realising that closed spaces weren’t where I belonged.

In early 2013, I started travelling alone. My destination: New Zealand and Australia. During my first week, I found a flyer at an Auckland guesthouse for an eight-day festival called Luminate. When I finally arrived — three days late, after navigating to the wrong area — something shifted in me the moment I walked in. Green hills stretched out in every direction, dotted with caravans and tents. The energy from the people, the art, the music — it all felt right. I started photographing people dancing and the experience transformed me too.

That was the day I found my purpose: to be a nomad festival photographer. Not just capturing images, but creating connections — showing the vision, work, and spirit of festival people to the rest of the worldwide alternative network. Through my photography, I help bridge communities across continents, supporting the transformational process that brings us all closer to who we really are.

Follow the journey: @awtransform