5 Things you Probably Don’t know About Me

Who is this woman we’re inviting into our home to photograph our most personal moments? Here are a few little things about me that you probably don’t know and might be surprised to find out.

I’m an anthropologist by training

In my past life, all I wanted to do was to work in international development and help people, but I quickly realized that my skills and time were probably best channeled elsewhere. Disillusioned with the NGO industry and transformed by motherhood, I eventually found my way back to photography.

This is Mary and her son Edward. Over 6 years of coming and going to this particular village, I came to know them very well. Edward suffers from epilepsy and had a horrific accident when he fell into the fire during a seizure. The fire was keeping them warm inside their tiny, one-room house. I happened to be staying in this community during an unseasonably rainy time, and their roof was near-collapse. I got in touch with the prof I was working for and together we raised enough funds to build them a new house and give them some livestock to help keep them going. This was a major turning point in their lives. I still get updates, and I know they're doing well. Even if this was the ONE and ONLY family that I truly helped during my 6 years studying and working in this field, it was totally worth it.

I can play the piano, really well, but no one (besides my close family) has ever heard me play

I started piano lessons at a very early age. But even as a child, there was something about it that was very personal. I refused to sit for exams or do recitals. My dad even tried to bribe me to play for our family once, and I refused. I adore playing, but I feel incredibly vulnerable when I do. It’s as if anyone listening can hear what I’m feeling. So, my husband has literally never heard me play the piano, and he probably never will.

This is as close as you'll ever get, folks.

I can build things

Give me a hammer, a saw, a drill and I pile of lumber and I can pretty much build you anything. In university, I built myself a closet and my very own bed. This is one of the things I miss most about living in Tel Aviv - no Home Depot.

I had a giant chihuahua named Romeo

Romeo came into my life at a time when I needed him the most. He was the most incredible little guy and I miss him dearly. He lived to be 16-years-old. During the last few years of his life, Romeo appointed himself as the official therapy dog at my mom's senior center and touched many many lives.

When Romeo needed a very expensive dental surgery, all the people in my mom's senior center who all loved Romeo pitched in so we could afford the procedure.

I met my husband in Guatemala, knew him for 5 days, and moved to Israel a month later

We were both traveling in Guatemala, met at a hostel at the breakfast bar, connected instantly, spent the rest of that week traveling, said goodbye, kept in touch, and a month later I was on my way to Tel Aviv. Now we are married and we have a 2-year-old daughter.

This photo was taken just hours after Ophir and I met. It might have been our first photo together, but certainly not the last