Dodger Stadium Bar Mitzvah Party

Drew and his family rocked the Dodger Stadium clubhouse Saturday evening (3/15) with a wild party celebrating his Manhattan Beach bar mitzvah. Drew (and brother, mom and dad) spent much of the evening up in the air, courtesy of the Hora and his guests, who kept tossing Drew upwards. Before the Dodger Stadium Bar Mitzvah party got under way, we were able to explore the facility with Drew for shots in and around the ball field and press box. This was our first Dodger Stadium bar mitzvah, and it was great. The party took place in the Clubhouse, with huge picture windows overlooking the ball field. And food? Needless to say, everything from Dodger Dogs to fine pizza and salads.

Manhattan Beach Bar Mitzvah

It was old home week for us the other day when we did Drew's bar mitzvah portraits at Congregation Tikvah Jacob in Manhattan Beach. This is the temple where Sam had his bar mitzvah, way back in 1999.
Drew holds the torah in the santcuary, and later on, does a group hug with the family by the natural window light.

Malibu Bar Mitzvah | Jason 3/1/2008

It was back to Malibu last weekend for Jason's bar mitzvah at the fun Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue, where rabbi Judith and Cantor Marcelo sing up a storm. Jason read from the torah, and had his relatives hand out candy to the kids before hand. Candy? To throw up on the bima after he did his reading.
We love the wide open spaces of the facility, the abundance of window light and the huge outdoor patios adjoining the sanctuary.

Palos Verdes Wedding Photography by Graham & Graham

The shots in the following post were taken in the rain. These ones of Jenna on her wedding day (top and bottom) were at the (covered) Malaga Cove Plaza. We started off in Redondo Beach by the Pier after the wedding, but once it started really pouring, we went back up the hill to Palos Verdes for some relief from the rain. Malaga Cove is a quaint, magical place that reminds us of some really old Italian piazza. The middle shot is of Jenna prepping for the day, pre-wedding dress, when she arrived to her grandmother's house in a pink "Bride," top! No, we didn't supply it for pictorial purposes.

Palos Verdes Bride & Groom

Rain? What rain? If you look really closely at this wedding day shot of Jenna and John, you can see some raindrops on Jenna's eyelids. But love was in the air on 2/23/08, and Jenna and John were determined to pose for pictures by the historic Malaga Cove Library in Palos Verdes, California, no matter what. The wedding party came armed with umbrellas, and held them over their heads to survive the dropping pellets, until we yelled out, "Drop `em," for a quick shot. And guess what? We all survived! Malaga Cove is one of our all-time favorite picture spots, and we look forward to returning again and again.

Los Angeles Bat Mitzvah | Temple Israel of Hollywood

We love photographing bar and bat mitzvahs at Temple Israel of Hollywood. For one thing, it's a big, beautiful historic building right in the heart of town--on Hollywood Blvd. Secondly, such music!
Allison not only read from the torah, but she also sang several numbers with the cantor and rabbi as well. In harmony!
Afterwards, we moved to the social hall for a rocking party, with fine entertainment provided by You Should Be Dancing.

Hermosa Beach Engagement Pictures

Rhonda and Scott are troupers! One thing it's easy to forget about doing beach sunset engagement pictures in February....it can get darn cold out there. But our happy couple braved the chill, and gave it their best beach bikini Sports Illustrated smiles. And we got a nice sunset to boot!