Maya & Shoham

I met Maya when we were studying film in Jerusalem, the same city where they were married.

Back then I had no idea that one day I would stand behind the camera at her wedding, photographing her in the moment she and Shoham promised to choose each other. There is something special about photographing someone you knew before this moment. You arrive with shared memories, with an old familiarity, and with a curiosity to meet the person she is today and the love she has built with someone else.

Then came Shoham’s speech. “Maya, my love, my storm,” he began, and went on to describe a woman who arrives like a great wind, shaking everything familiar to him, and in the same breath tying him to the world. He spoke about her laugh, her small, quick steps, her way of turning every day into a new one, and the way she teaches him to love anew, every morning. Listening to him, I thought about how rare it is to see someone look at the person they love with so much attention. Not only at the beautiful things, but also at the complexity, the changes, everything that isn’t always easy to put into words. Maybe that is also one of the reasons I love photographing people: to try to keep something of that moment, of the way two people look at each other, of the life they are building together, and of the things words can never quite hold.

I knew Maya long before Shoham. But on their wedding day, I got to see her through his eyes as well. And that was a gift in itself.