Costume update

To follow up on my last post, I wanted to share with you what my someone and I ended up wearing to the Purim costume party. Turns out we have a few good friends who were kind enough to lend us a few props to create our costumes. My someone got a magicians black cap along with a long black & stars robe, so to complete his outfit he wore all black and he was done. I got a Turkish hat along with a velvety vest with a flowers print fabric. To complete my outfit I borrowed some black fishermen's pants from my someone's mom, an old white buttoned-up shirt that belongs to my someone, paired that with my black boots, and finished the look off with some painted mustache above my upper lip. I think we did pretty well...

Costume up

images found here

This weekend is a holiday in Israel. Well, it's a holiday around the world wherever there are Jewish people celebrating. It's called Purim (pronounced poo-rim) and most people LOVE this holiday. I am one of the few who don't. I don't think I ever really did like this holiday.Why is it you ask? Well, it's pretty simple. It's a holiday that revolves around dressing up in costumes, and that's exactly what I don't like. In fact, looking back at Purim photos from my younger years I hardly ever appear smiling in them (but I must say I've had some really cool costumes back then...)
In recent years I've come to either ignore the holiday and all the costume parties that come along with it, or start dreading it a week in advance, busting my brains trying to think of a cool, yet comfortable & not too crazy of a costume, only to get to the last hour before needing to head out, standing in front of my closet (or better yet, a friends closet) trying to make a mix & match of cloths that will end up as some sort of a costume. It was never really good...
I wish I could tell you this year it's different and that I have learned from the past, but I can not tell you that. I'm sitting here on a Friday night with no costume in sight, and the party I'm supposed to go to is tomorrow night. Now you're probably going to suggest I'd head out to the shops first thing in the morning to buy something, BUT before you do so, I'll inform you in-case you did not know, that here in Israel all the shops are closed between Friday at 4pm and until Saturday around 7 or 8pm.
Could you possibly help??? I would love your suggestions for building something out of every day cloths that I might have. Comment if you have something in mind :)

Here are a couple of somewhat successful "wing-it" costumes from my years in Los Angeles

A couple's engagement

A few days ago I had the privilege of photographing a Rinat & Saar, a newly engaged couple. Now to most of you reading this, it probably sounds like an ordinary thing, engagement shots that is, as most of the couples in the US and Canada (I think Europe & Australia & New Zealand too.....?) seek out a photographer to photoshoot them as they become engaged to one another. Well, that's not the case here in Israel. In fact, most of my friends raised their eye-brows as I was telling them about this photoshoot. It's just not something we do here... Which between you and me, is a real shame, as I personally think that the images that come out of these shoots are much more romantic & real, and they portray a moment that is more true to what the couple shares together than the photos taken on their (very stressful, un-ordinary) wedding day.
In any case, Rinat & Saar have decided they wanted to do this photoshoot, and they chose me for the job! And so last Thursday, we headed down to the West Beach near Yaffo, in Tel-Aviv and we had loads of fun!
See for yourselves...

Click thumbnails to go to the slideshow on Flickr