Steve Maller Photography

Young Marc is having his bar mitzvah soon, and his family wanted me to do some “lifestyle” portraits. The basketball shots were pretty simple, but there was a steady rain falling, which jeopardized our skate shots. However, I relied on my camera gear’s water sealing, and just went for it. Fun stuff!

All the pictures were shot with my Canon 1Ds Mark III using my Canon 580EX handheld with an extension cable. The basketball photos were done with my Canon EF 24 T/S L lens, and the skate photos were shot with the 16-35/2.8 L. Photos processed in Aperture with a little vignette, some exposure adjustments and that’s pretty much it.

Savannah celebrated her bat mitzvah yesterday along with her parents Alan and Kirsten, her sister Izzy and her brother Alan, Jr. They are a photogenic bunch, made even more so by the glorious Northern California day we were blessed with.

Please enjoy this slideshow of some of my favorite photographs from Savannah’s big day.

Sophie celebrated her bat mitzvah yesterday along with her parents Neal and Amy and her sister Ella. It was an amazing day filled with the love and appreciation of two families brought together to celebrate this simcha. Many of Neal’s family traveled to Burlingame from Thailand, and that made the day even more special.

I edited together a piece of fusion photography combining still images and some videos shot with the Canon 5D Mark II. Notable about these videos is that they were mostly shot in extremely low light, and did not use any lighting or post-production adjustments. The equivalent ISO in some of these video pieces was as high as 5,000.

Please widen your window as large as it will go so you can see this video in its whole 720P high definition glory!

Sydney, her parents Jennifer and Scott, and her brother Justin, all celebrated her bat mitzvah this weekend. There was great “ruach” at all the various events that made up her bat mitzvah, including a rehearsal with Rabbi Nat and Bill at Beth Jacob, the actual shabbat service, and her massively fun party at the Elks’ Lodge. See for yourself in these photos!

Megan and her family celebrated her bat mitzvah yesterday in Los Altos, California. The morning festivities included some family time, as well as the beautiful, melodic ceremony at Congregation Beth Am in the Los Altos Hills. Megan is an accomplished vocalist, in addition to being a student at a Jewish Day School, both of which combined to make this a very beautiful ceremony. Mazel tov to Megan and her family!

We celebrated Lindsay’s bat mitzvah last night, and had a terrific time. I am rarely without my Canon 5D Mark II these days, because I find the ability to fuse my photography with little video moments to be invaluable. And here was such a moment.

Lindsay’s dad was at the microphone delivering a touching and fun tribute to his daughter when, out of nowhere, one of Lindsay’s little cousins provided a moment of comic (and sagely!) relief. Watch and listen here…

Young Miss Rachel celebrated her bat mitzvah today at Peninsula Temple Sholom along with her family and many friends. Rachel is the second child in her family whose b’nai mitzvah I’ve been asked to photograph. The first was her brother Nathan a while ago. It is a special thrill to be a part of a family’s Jewish history in this way. Here are some previews of coming attractions. Mazel tov!

I participated in celebrating Hannah’s bat mitzvah yesterday at Peninsula Temple Sholom. As I have been doing recently, I’ve captured a few video highlights along with my customary still photographs. Here is a lovely song that Cantor Barry traditionally sings to young ladies celebrating their bat mitzvah, along with some photographic highlights of Hannah’s exciting day. Mazel tov to Hannah and her family!

I had the privilege and the joy of attending Leah’s bat mitzvah yesterday. Here is a short video snippet shot with my new Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

Update (Jan 14): I have edited the video to use the sound from the temple’s sound system, so here you have it in all its glory!

Update (Jan 16): I have added a second video. This is too much fun!

I’ve known Shelley since she was in elementary school, and it was a thrill and an honor to photograph her big “simcha” yesterday. Her brother Kyle and her parents Randi and Jim were all glowing with pride for Shelley, as were so many relatives and friends.

Additionally, I produced a live webcast of her bat mitzvah ceremony from Peninsula Temple Sholom for several relatives who were unable to travel to California because of health reasons. Aside from being a technological tour de force, I am so proud that I was able to do this mitzvah for Shelley’s family.