Parties
A bris is an interesting event to shoot. Everything happens very quickly with everyone jam packed in one small area. And then it's easy.
Here's the story in all it's gory details (nah, no gory details here, don't worry):
Geekspeak: All shot on the Contax 645 with the 80mm at f/2 on Kodak Portra 400 pushed one stop and rated at 1000-2000, developed and scanned by Richard's photo Lab and converted to b/w in Lightroom. Besides one.
There. I said it. I have come out of the closet. I like nice people. Why? Because they're nice. They make me happy. They make my heart sing. They make everything groovy.
I also like roasted almonds, polaroids, apple, cottage cheese and schug, kombucha, old cameras, beer (I really like beer, I think I'll have my clients start paying me in beer), sunsets, sunrises, blue skies, cloudy skies, rain and snow (dear fellow SoCalites; snow is a sort of frozen rain in which one might slide downhill quickly, or roll up balls of the stuff and chuck it at random strangers or past romances). I like saturated fat.
In my photographic journey I have come from being über (it's so much easier to find the "ü" character on an ipad) scared of the sun, to majorly in like with it. I have learned (learnt for my backwards driving, queen loving, cross-Atlantic (and Pacific) readers. Canadians don't count) to tame the sun, to make okay photos into spectacular works of art.
And I have come to enjoy shooting events. I like meeting people (especially nice ones, see above) working off the cuff, and looking cool with all my photographic gear (which doesn't actually look cool).
When Sophia's mom got in touch with me about shooting her daughters Bat Mitzvah her email just oozed with friendly funfulness and I knew I'd have an awesome time.
I did.
Much changes in a year. Last year I documented the Silver Gan Israel Summer Festival. 'twas fun and all, but I remember leaving the event thinking "wow, I really have no clue how to meter". I am proud to say that while I still have a long way to go before I'm a certified meter man (it's the male version of a meter maid), I at least know generally what my camera is going to do in a given situation and use that to my advantage. I'm also more on the lookout for interesting compositions and waiting for the action to come.
I have gear issues (amongst others). More on that another time. And my sensor is filthy. My elbows creak and my beard is making strange noises.
A long time ago, In a place not too far away (from me at least), there lived a young dork. His name was Zalmy Berkowitz. He wore oversized sweaters and tucked his pants into his sneakers (so everyone could see the "pump"). He was also a lot cuter than the adult version (and he actually had a chin!). He had two very good friends. One of them, David Goldblatt, lived close by in good 'ole Huntington Beach, so they ended up spending quite a bit of time together.
Fast forward a decade or two and his younger brother is engaged!! Woopee!! So his dad ("Uncle Ken"), being a big "chassid" of my photography (his words, not mine) asked me to document the "vort" (engagement party).
It seems like I'm doing quite a bit of these nighttime events, I should probably learn how to do them properly (i.e. off camera flash). But then I'd have to charge more :) (just kidding).
And with a bit more ado, here are the photos:
And for some film (note: this was my first time using film at an event, and I was working quicker than I'm used to. Hence all the misunderexposures.)
Peace. Love. Harmony. & Coffee.
If I'm not mistaken this was not only my first time shooting a Bat Mitzvah, it was my first time actually at a Bat Mitzvah!
And what a party it was. The decoration and general awesomeness should be attributed to the great work of event coordinator Jenny Kdoshim.
Normally I write more, but I'll let the photos do the talking.
Enjoy!
Should I have posted this many photos? Probably not. Will I do it again? Yes. Why? Because I could. If you have any more questions (such as "where" or "how much") please let me know.
I know this is from a while ago, but I'm so excited about this new storyboard layout that I'm digging up some old shoots to experiment with.
This wasn't really a "shoot", it was a birthday party of a cute little mushball named Freida (namesake of the world famous freidafroo.wordpress.com , in which I scored a write up after sending over some photos). I had two of my kids wrapped around me most of the time so I didn't end up taking too many pics, and most were of my kids.
Big mistake.
If you know how to handle a camera and you happen to be at someone's party (unless you're a pro, in which case you're not reading this anyways:)) take pictures! The family will love you for it (and you could sell some prints). So I got pictures of the b-day girl and a few of her parents but not of all the other kids and families that were there (I was also shooting with a 50mm lens. Not very good for indoor parties, a 35 or even a 24 would have been much better). I'll know for next time.
Anyway here are the aforementioned photos. Enjoy.
Here's a link to my first write up,
Thanks!
