Natanel’s Bar Mitzvah

I made this video this morning (3rd day of chol hamoed Pesach, April 1, 2010) at Natanel’s bar mitzvah. The video was made  with my old Canon Powershot S5.

I took about 60 photos but only uploaded four to Flickr. Because the women’s balcony doesn’t extend much further than the bima in the middle, it was difficult to get any clear shots of Natanel’s face. These shots were taken without flash, handheld, from a balcony above. In the video you get an idea of my location because I pan upwards to show the women throwing candy. I used the 55-250mm telephoto.

Marc K, a family friend, is on Natanel’s right. My husband, who taught Natanel the parsha, is on the left. He’s almost always in the way when I try to photograph a bar mitzvah because as the teacher, he has to be at the boy’s elbow the whole time and correct him if necessary. I liked the curve of the three heads, with Marc and Natanel looking at the scroll and Baruch following along in a tikkun (printed version of the Torah scroll with the vowels and cantillation marks added).

This part of the reading is followed by women throwing candy down on the boys.

Yossi, Natanel’s 17-year-old brother, lifts the second scroll (two scrolls are read during the festival of Passover). A scroll is surprisingly heavy. When Yossi started to lift the scroll, lots of hands appeared around him, ready to catch it because (a) he’s not a big kid and (b) if he drops the scroll, everyone present has to fast for 24 hours.

At this point it was clear that he could lift it without dropping or tearing it. That’s why he has a big grin on his face.

The party is tonight. I’ll be putting my new Speedlite through a test run and take a few family shots when the paid photographer is finished because I’ll be photographing a bat mitzvah in three weeks in the same hall.