"Yidishe Marsh far der Inoyguratsie" All-Star Inaugural Klezmer Band

The Jewish Grassroots Action Network threw a pre-inaugural dinner and concert in Washington, DC, in honor of the inauguration of Barack Obama.
Adrianne Greenbaum, a noted klezmer musician, assembled and led an all-star group for the occasion, featuring world-renowned clarinetist Joel Rubin, and violinist Jake Shulman-Ment, among other superb players.
They premiered Adrianne's special composition for the occasion, the spirited Yiddish March for the Inauguration "Yidishe Marsh far der Inoyguratsie."

Like everyone else, the Jews are happy. Blessings and mazel tov to us all, and to President Obama.

www.klezband.com
www.jgan.org

Flory Jagoda and the Alteras Ensemble

Flory Jagoda, the legendary Ladino musician, with her ensemble, Alteras, at a recent Folklore Society of Greater Washington concert, held at Tifereth Israel Congregation in Washington, DC.

www.floryjagoda.com
www.fsgw.org

Alteras is: Flory Jagoda, Alan Oresky, Susan Gaeta, Larry Robinson, Joanna Stefanick, Marjie Jervis, and Lynn Falk.

Eric Jost

Portraits of up & coming queer theory and fiction writer, Eric Jost.

Art directed by Will Neville

http://www.eric-jost.com

Will Neville

Portraits from the same session, of my professional colleague and friend, trans-media artist, Will Neville.

Shoah Survivor

This is a posting from an older assignment that I felt was worth sharing:
Irene Weiss, a Hungarian Auschwitz survivor, sitting in front of a photo-mural in the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. It depicts a mass of Hungarian Jewish prisoners disembarking from a transport train in Birkenau, Poland in May, 1944. A German officer took the photo, which was found after the war. Ms. Weiss, who was 12 at the time, is pictured on the mural at center left- she is the young girl in the headscarf. Some unusual circumstances caused her and her sister to survive the cruel selections made by the Nazi camp adminstrators, but her parents and other family members were chosen for death, and were killed that very day in the gas chambers.

Ms. Weiss lives in Fairfax VA.

I had a chance meeting with her daughter recently, and it brought this portrait to mind. It was made on assignment in summer 1994 for Washington Jewish Week.

Hungry for Music - Chanukah Feast concert

These photographs are from the soundcheck at this year's sold out Hungry for Music Chanukah Feast concert at the Strathmore Center in Rockville, MD. Pictured are Seth Kibel, Scott Harlan and Helen Housemann of the Alexandria Kleztet, plus Klezcentricity with David Julian Gray, Wendy Morrison, Rich Seidel, with Marc Glickman.

Hungry for Music provides musical instruments for needy kids both in the USA and abroad. A truly worthy endeavor.

Please check their website at:
http://hungryformusic.org
and consider purchasing one of their terrific music CD's and/or making a donation.

DCJCC volunteer effort: December 25th 2008

For the umpteenth year in a row, I documented the DC Jewish Community Center's annual December 25th volunteer effort. Over 1,000 volunteers serve in food banks, senior homes, homeless shelters, youth programs, at-risk womens' organizations, homes for the disabled, and many more similar institutions.
For more info visit: www.washingtondcjcc.org/volunteer

I was ably assisted, again, by Ruth Stromberg. Pictured sites include Food & Friends, Mother Dear's, DC Central Kitchen, Central Union Mission, New Endeavors for Women, Change, Inc., Christian Community Group Homes, and the DCJCC blood drive.

"Justice, justice shall you pursue"

Sunrise, sunset...

Photographs of walls and other phenomena revealed by light

The first picture was made at dawn on December 25th, in the parking lot of Food & Friends, in the 200 block of Riggs Rd, NE, Washington DC (they supply meals to the sick and needy).

The second was taken the same day, just before sunset, in the 1500 block of Q St. NW, also in DC.

"We will really understand when we understand light"
Dr. Harvey Picker, physicist (1974)
Siegfried Halus, photographer (1971)

Neon Street Rose

DC. Like it oughta be.

Dr. Grady Dale

I recently had the opportunity to meet and photograph Dr. Grady Dale, an urban psychologist in Baltimore, MD.

He is doing exceptional work in his community as an activist and healer to uplift the lives of many who are powerless and cut off from positive services.

The photographs will appear in an upcoming profile for the American Psychological Association's magazine, the Monitor.

Homage to Masahisa Fukase

For the past two years, I have observed a crow migration route near my mother's assisted living home in Rockville MD. Just before dusk at this time of year, crows mass in trees to roost, and wheel about raucously overhead.

Interestingly, a mass of crows is termed a "murder."

I have been deeply moved over the years by Masahisa Fukase's beautiful photographic poem in book form "The Solitude of Ravens." I learned just today that he has been in a coma for years, after a terrible fall.

Here's to your great spirit sir.

Black Jew Dialogues

I photographed a particularly thought- and laugh-provoking presentation last night, the Black Jew dialogues, created and performed by Ron Jones and Larry Jay Tisch. They were performing for an event sponsored by an organization close to my heart, Operation UnderstandingDC, at 6th & I Historic Synagogue in Washington, DC.

http://www.theblackjewdialogues.com

www.oudc.org
About OUDC: Operation Understanding DC’s mission is to build a generation of African American and Jewish community leaders who promote respect, understanding and cooperation while working to eradicate racism, anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination. To reach our goals, African American and Jewish high school juniors from the Washington, D.C.-area participate in our year-long leadership development program of educational seminars, cultural activities, a summer journey, and facilitation and public speaking training.

Simcha

A few personal observations I made at the wedding of my friend Lisa Beltz (to Shlomo Zalman Jessel)... Mazel Tov!

Portrait at a wedding

This woman from Nigeria was a guest at the recent wedding of my friend Sue McCarley to Vance Sheperd.

Lovely person.

Serious hat.