Leah Campbell Barbash

This last Sunday, my sister had her wedding shower (click here to see a slideshow my Dad put together) at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club (thank you Mrs. Spencer!). I wasn't actually invited to the shower, but I was asked to show my Great-Uncle Roy Campbell around town for the afternoon while my Great-Aunt Lily enjoyed the shower. Aunt Lily and Uncle Roy are from my Canadian side of the family, so we don't get to see them as often as we'd like. It's always a great time when we're able to see them, they're full of stories.

So we headed out to Royal Oak to visit Jim at Lily's Seafood. I try to take advantage of my brother's cooking as much as I possibly can (whether it's at his house or the restaurant). It always amazes me when I read the specials on his menu's, he's really, really talented. And not only do the recipes sound good, they taste amazing! I highly recomend stopping by and saying "Hi" if you're ever in the Royal Oak area. Try the Crab Cakes and Eggs if you're around for brunch on the weekends... Now I know you may be thinking, "Well isn't he more than a little biased?!". Maybe... But trust me, I know good food...

I had a great time with Uncle Roy (my Dad's uncle). He's a pretty interesting guy. He's got quite a history behind him. When I heard about all the things he'd done in his life, and what a hard worker he is it made me feel like a lazy bum! I can only hope to accomplish half of what he's done. I hope he had as much fun as I did, and I also hope that we get many more chances to spend time with him and Aunt Lily.

We were also able to stop by my cousin Heather's house to see her new baby (click here to see my Dad's slideshow of Leah). Her husband, Kevin, was home while she was at the shower. So Uncle Roy and I were introduced to Leah Campbell Barbash. Here's a couple of pictures from our visit. I'd say she's a keeper... Congratulations again Kevin and Heather!

Harbor Beach, MI

Last weekend the zabor family made our 2nd annual trek up to Harbor Beach, MI with family friend, Arleen. It's a great chance to relax, and regroup on the shores of Lake Huron.

Here's a few shots from a car show in town, and an International Jet Ski Race that was in town the same weekend. I didn't have a long range lens with me, so I didn't get many race shots. But managed to get a few as the racers came back in to shore.
A beautiful MG

A self Portrait, with one of the classics.

Hart's House

Tonight was a rare occasion in the Shields Family. All 8 of us (Mom+Dad, Jim+Jen, Me+Lauri, Jess+Tony) were able to get together for dinner. And what made it even more special was that it was at the Hart's House! It was an evening filled to the brim with fun, food, and fellowship. Thank you so much Mr. and Mrs. Hart for a fantastic evening.

Not only was the entire Shields' family present, but so were John and Michelle Bopp (Hart's Daughter) with both Emily and J.P. as well as Michael (Hart's Son). So this was quite a reunion!

Here's a few shots from the evening. Some of which were taken by my Dad (as noted).

The Bopp Family dog, Hanna
One of Mrs. Hart's other "children's" baby Melina... (sorry if I got the spelling wrong, but what a cute little girl, Congrats Amy)




Flower's from the Hart Garden



Dad's shot of Jess Dad's shot of Jim
Dad's shot of Jen
One of the many Hart Bird Hotel's

Some people just don't appreciate a good photo of them.... Michele

Emily sure has gotten big since some of us have seen her last.


Dad's shot of their backyard set up, for our evening.

More of Ari's Wedding

So here are the rest of the images from my friend Ari's wedding. It's taken me a few days between now and my last post for a number of reasons. We were out of town for the holiday, and we had some other things going on that's going to keep us busy for a long time to come. More on that later though. For now, enjoy the pictures.

One of my old classmates new baby.

Lauri during cocktail hour. She hates when I just sit there and keep taking her picture and ask her to "just act natural". Ha ha, I guess my brother, sister, and I are the only ones that think having a camera right infront of you is "natural"So we're in a sea of very formaly/conservatively dressed people, and in walks another one of my old classmates. Everybody was saying to us all night, "oh you must be Ari's friends from U of M..." I wonder what gave it away...I like this image, it starts to show you how much excitement and activity surrounded this event.Jodi looked pretty nervous up there.Jodi and Ari where so happy all day long, it was cool to see them interact after not seeing each other for a while.Then the crowd began to entertain them.Not sure why, but many props were involved. This is Ari's younger brother

I kept wondering what the Hotel staff was thinking about this when all these guys grabbed this tablecloth. Not sure what happened to this collage I made, obviously I used a wrong file format. I'll try to fix it later.There was a nice couple that we asked to take our picture. Not sure who you were, but thanks!My complimentary Yamikah.It was a long trip and we had a great time, but it's always nice to come home.

Ari's Wedding

Well it's taken me longer than I thought, but here are finally some pictures from my friend Ari and his new wife Jodi's wedding in Scottsdale, AZ. Hopefully they begin to portray the excitement that surrounded this event. I'm going to have to post this in a few installements, as I started working up a list of images to post, the number grew and grew.

Now I'm not going to say that these are my most technically sound or creative images, but they are the most culturally informative pictures that I've ever taken. It was like a wild ride, I was just trying to hold on and snap a few pictures along the way. I was trying my best to listen to what was happening, as the english translations came along, as well as take some pictures. Talk about a balancing act! I wish I could go back! The other problem (as a photographer) I had was that I wasn't sure just how involved I was allowed to get because this was such a formal Jewish wedding. We met other people at the wedding that told us that they were Jewish themselves, and had never been to an event this formal, or religeiously strict. So it sounds like it was a learning experience for more than just the handful of Christians in the room. Again, a HUGE thank you to Ari and Jodi for inviting us and letting us share in their day!

Here's a link to a guide to a Jewish wedding for a better understanding

Here the men are prior to the wedding ceremony, eating and drinking. There was a lot of singing going on during this part of the ceremony. I couldn't tell you what was going on in the woman's room, no men allowed.

Here is the ceremonious breaking of the plate by the mother's of the bride and groom.Now this is where things really picked up, all the guys that were in the room processed Ari to the woman's ballroom where Ari saw Jodi for the first time in a week, and placed the veil over her face. There was a LOT of singing and dancing from here on out.

The women were also dancing and singing for Jodi when we got there, and that continued once the men left

This is the only picture I was able to grab from the wedding ceremony itself, lighting wasn't very conducive to nice pictures (huge spotlight pointing up from underneath everybody), and I wasn't going to find out the hard way how everybody felt about me using my big flash.

The next pictures I post will be of the celebration after the wedding ceremony, a LOT of dancing pictures. Until then, take care.