Aron + Dani = ?

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.

It's Scanning Day (not the more common scamming day)

Hope y'all are having an easy fast. Figured there ain't no better way to spend a fast day than firin' up the ole scanner and digitizin' all them film and stuff.

Hope to be postin' a bunch of ma film stuff to this blogeeo one of dem days. For now we is gonna have to suffice with this doozie.

That was ma first exposure from ma new picture takin' device. I'll be keepin' y'all updated in the comin days.

Fast days oodle my mind and play with ma thiknkin (an spellin').

Friendship Circle Dinner

There is this wonderful organization run by Chabad of Newport Beach called "the Friendship Circle". It teams up teenagers with kids with disabilities. They play together, go out together, go to functions together, and just do what friends do. It does wonders for the kids and for the teens.

I had the oppurtunity to shoot one of their get-togethers (soon to be blogged) as well as this Dinner celebrating the all those involved in this amazing organization (especially the teenagers).

It was held at the Marconi Auto Museum (hence all the fancy cars), with the (delicious) food and layout done by the magnifique Pedouth Isti.

Thanks for looking.

And one more for good luck. This one doesn't have any pictorial merit, but I do find it funny.

"1995 Ferrari F50...the F50 was created to show off the latest Tecnologies; its V-12 engine was based on the 1987 Ferrari F-1 car."

Sarina's Bat Mitzvah {Los Angeles Bat Mitzva Photographer}

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.

St. Louis Wedding {Jewish Wedding Photographer}

Many years ago in a place far far away, there lived this wonderful family. A father a mother and a few little kiddos. One snowy morning a Rabbi and his family popped into town. It was love at first sight. And while eventually both moved to opposite sides of the continent they kept in touch. First via snail mail and telephones. Then by cellphones, email and eventually jetpack.

One fine day, son of said family met and fell in love with a wonderful girl from St. Louis. She said yes, he called dad, dad called rabbi and there was much rejoicing all around. Then dad calls rabbi's wife's brother, who's blog his wife's been following and asked him to photograph the upcoming celebration.

Rabbi' wife's brother was quite nervous, as this was only his second wedding and dad of bride was a photographer himself. After consultation with his wife and a beer or two, said brother if rabbi's wife agreed.

And what a beautiful wedding it was. Rejoicing, dancing, eating and only a bit of crying.

My shoulders were sore for weeks.

Thank G-d the family was very happy with the photographs. What was funny is that during the event I got many comments about what a good photographer I was (I was all over the place, running around like a nut) and not one of them actually saw any of my pictures beforehand.

The part I was most worried about was the formals. I do not yet have that mush experience with that sort of thing yet. The dad was kind enough to bring some of his studio lighting and helped me out there. I am used to California where I could always go outside and find somewhere nice, but in St. Louis it was cold and miserable out there so that wasn't really an option. I'll get there.

f/8 and be there (up north and black again)

When I first got a dslr (Canon Rebel) and picked up my first decent lens (50mm 1.8) I was blown away. The sharpness combined with the narrow depth of field offered me opportunities I never knew existed. It also started an obsession with fast lens that is still biting me in me left back pocket. An unfortunate side effect was that I was relying on my lens to give my photos interest and to separate them from the pack. Almost any face shot with an 85mm 1.4 will look awesome.

To cure (to an extent) my reliance on my equipment to creat interest I picked up an el cheapo 25-50mm manual focus f/4 lens that isn't really tack sharp until f/8. And I started working on my compostion. And I'm glad to say it's helping quite a bit.

Here are (as usual too many) some photographs I made on my last trip up North (here's part 1, 2 and http://zalmyb.com/?p=414). Most were shot at f/8 or higher unless it was too dark. All were shot with old (and therefore cheap) manual focus lens.

On the way up I stopped off in San Francisco and picked up a few more lens. One of the seller was kind enough to drive me around Marin County for a few hours. We chatted a bit (he has quite the assortment of manual focus lens) and shot a bit more.

Thanks for looking.