I met up with Adam and his father, at the Chabad of Lyndhurst, to take photos of his rehearsal in preparation for his Barmitzvah this coming weekend. You may recognise him from his portrait shoot that I did a few weeks ago.

I just love all the traditions associated with mitzvahs, and every time I do these Shul shoots I’m impressed with the kids involved. As soon as Adam started looking at the Torah he started reading, he wasn’t just posing for me, he genuinely started reading the scripts!

Can’t wait for the last part of his barmitzvah… the celebration… stay watching for those photos in a few days time!

Adam’s bar mitzvah is in February, and in anticipation of the event, I met the family today to take his portrait photos and the family photos.  After chatting to his mom a few days ago, we decided to use the graffiti wall in Waverley as a backdrop for the photos.

Joining us for his portrait photos, were his brother and sister… and their cousins from Australia.  I hope they all enjoyed it… as they ended up having some photos too

Stay tuned for his ceremony photos and celebration photos that will follow in a few weeks time

Yaron had his long awaited Bar Mitzvah celebration last night at the Capri Hotel in Savoy,Johannesburg… and I was there to take the photos.  I LOVE mitzvahs… I love the dancing, I love the traditions and I love the fun… and last night was no exception.

First though, I joined the family at the Shul on Friday evening for a few photos (because I can’t attend the actual barmitzvah itself)

… and now for the party photos…

Remember the portrait shoot I did with Yaron a while ago… well I had a book made with some of the photos for the guests to sign.

Mazel tov to Yaron and his family!  I had a fabulous time, thanks for asking me to being a part of your special celebration.

PS. I’ve put a few more photos in an album on my Facebook Page

It’s Yaron’s barmitzvah next Saturday evening, and in anticipation of the event, I did his portrait photos today.  I met the family at a stunning wall in Waverley that’s covered in graffiti.  Graffiti is just the perfect setting for a teenager’s photos.

And because his sisters joined him for the shoot, I couldn’t resist taking photos of them too.

If you’ve been reading my blog for ages, you may actually recognise the family.  I took photos of them in 2009 at Emmerentia. I haven’t seen the kids since then, and OMW they’ve all changed so much.

Cousins, Lance and Lori, had a joint barmitzvah and batmitzmah celebration last night in Savoy, Johannesburg.  Lori, was one of the girls whose bat mitzvah ceremony I took photos at last month; and she finally got to celebrate it with her cousin, Lance, whose barmitzvah ceremony was yesterday morning.

And what a fun event it was, with  much dancing and laughter… and stacks of excellent food!  I really struggled to choose photos for their sneak peak as I’ve got so many good ones, and I’ve spent the last while giggling to myself while looking through them all.

Instead of showing you all the standard family portraits and speech photos, I’m going to stick to the fun ones, to give you a taste of the evening.

During the evening, people left messages on these puzzles of Lance and Lori made from portraits that I’d taken of them at the batmitzvahceremony

The party started with a pair of bagpipers who played a few songs with the band, and kicked the dancing off.

… and then the party really started with the traditional dances and chair lifting etc etc

The singer got out a piece of cloth used as a skipping rope…

Ok, here’s one photo that doesn’t involve dancing… Lori was listening to one of the speeches

… and back to the fun…

Lori joined the band up on stage too

Everyone got given fun hats and wigs  just before the dance floor started rotating… yes, you read that correctly… it was seriously moving around like a roundabout. And then to top it off… they stopped it and then it started rotating in the opposite direction!

And that is all for now… I really had a ball, and loved the experience.  Thanks for asking me to take the photos

Venue:  The Capri Hotel, Savoy Estates

Music:  Jonathan Birin Band

Videographer: Arnaldo Mandel