Jeremy's Bar Mitzvah

I have an event free Saturday, and so am playing catch up on blogging. Here are some pics from Jeremy's Bar Mitzvah. I've known Jeremy since he was a toddler. He's always been a great kid and I was honored to shoot his Bar Mitzvah.
I'll often shoot from a ladder, but I'm trying to figure out how I got this high up? It's a different composition for me. I kind of like it.I look at this image and think- "what would the world be like if every boy had a mother who loved him THIS much?"

I asked Jeremy's father if he would hold the Torah and give him a rest. It's pretty heavy. I told Jeremy "Look, your Dad holds that Torah as if it were a feather" David gave me a he-man pose and I shot it. If I ever do a "Best of Tell Draper Photography" slide show, this image will for sure be in it.

Emcee, Keith “ K.C.” KoKoruz of Spinnin Discs did a great job of getting everyone dancing, and I mean everyone. He made an announcement "A lot of you may not know this, but our photographer, Tell, was a back up dancer for Milli Vanilli! Let's get him out here!" I went for it and videographer Mike Feldman of Video Experience caught my "cool" moves on tape. Then Mike was called out to dance and I caught it on my camera. You can see KC and me on Mikes simulcast screen. Very fun!
The Gil-man in flight! Gymnasts are always a big hit on the dance floor.Dancing joy!
Mazel Tov Jeremy!

Haley's Bat Mitzvah

Had the pleasure of shooting Haley's Bat Mitzvah. Kyra, her sister, wrote and performed a song that had half the crowd (including me) in tears. It was really a special moment.




Whirly Ball is a fun place for a kids party. It's crazy to photograph though, because of all the different activities. I was having thoughts like "What if I'm in the laser tag room when they start the Hora?!" Me- "When are you going to do the Hora?" MC-
"What are you talking about? We did it already..." It all worked out though and I had a blast.


Love this "dude" shot. I've know a lot of these kids since they were running around in diapers. Cracks me up to see them change from kids to dudes.

A-Z Entertainment did a great job with DJ/MC'ing

HORA!
This shot is always hit and miss, because it's a blind shot (the camera is on the ground). My hit average is going up though. I love this one.

Haley's 16x20 turned out beautifully. The image we used is one of the last shots we took at her portrait session.

Mazel Tov Haley!

Jake's Bar Mitzvah

Holy Moly! It's been a quarter of a year since I updated my blog... Yikes. Well anyway, what a great way to get back into blogging, with Jake's Bar Mitzvah.

Jake's a really great athlete, and so I went out and shot one of his games. Those images were then used to make centerpieces, tickets for seating assignments, and a sign in board. Very cool!Love to get the jump!Even Mars and his crew got in on the jump Julia delivered a beautiful speech.Hora!I love the Hora. It is so great to witness everyone from toddlers to grandparents laughing, dancing, twirling... Pure joy!Mazel tov Jake!

Steve and Cara's Wedding

I shot my first "Uncle Bob" wedding last week. "Uncle Bob" is the term used by professional photographers for all the "Uncle Bob's" with their camera gear getting in the way. It was a beautiful wedding with a beautiful bride and handsome groom, and an awesome reception.
I shot the heck out of it, but I think I pretty much stayed out of the hired photographers way. Out of professional courtesy, I'm not posting any typical wedding images until after Bauman Photography posts his. Jeff does some awesome dramatic work. Check out his galleries by clicking above.

slide show of the goofy stuff.