,Contest
Winners!
D
Keri Guten Cohen
Story Development Editor
on't underestimate the power of a
photograph.
Jay Knoll's grand prize-winning
photograph from the IN's Federation Family
Miracle Mission photo contest says it all. The
longtime amateur photographer captured a
sacred moment when he snapped this shot of
his hand and that of his 8-year-old son, Joshua,
touching the Western Wall near a note-filled
crack. Their hands represent the generations
that have prayed at the Temple wall and the
hope those notes represent.
"We were standing in front of the Wall; there
was no preplanning," said Knoll of Bloomfield
Hills. "I just did it while we were there." He did
the same with another of his photos that took a
second place in the Mission category.
"I always wish I had more time to compose,
but we didn't have that much time and I was
there to be with my family and record what was
going on."
Knoll, a corporate lawyer, went on the mission
late last December with his wife, Mary, and their
children Emily, 15; Allison, 13; Sarah, 11; and
Joshua, 8.
"The mission was remarkable," he said. "We'd
never been to Israel before, and we experienced
it for the first time together. It was special to
go as a family; I see us going again on the next
family mission."
Knoll, who grew up in Oak Park and has been
interested in photography since junior high,
was shooting with a Nikon D200, a single-lens
reflex digital camera. He said the family brought
three cameras on the mission, but only came
back with his. One digital was lost on the trip's
last day; a video camera was lost at the Red Sea.
Luckily, Knoll had offloaded many of the digital
photographs onto a hard drive.
His photography hobby also helps raise funds
for the Detroit-based Karmanos Cancer Center
and for his children's school. When he shoots
events, such as sports or school plays, he posts
them on his Web site, then sells reprints through
his Web host. Profits go to the nonprofit orga-
Above:
FIRST PLACE — FAMILY
David Levine and Sherise Lee of Brooklyn,
center, join Leslie, Lauren, 6, and Jacob Ruby,
11, of Bloomfield Hills in a Dead Sea mud bath.
Photo by Alan Ruby, Bloomfield Hills
Opposite Page:
BEST OVERALL: Grand Prize
Father to son at the Western Wall, Jerusalem
Photo by Jay Knoll, Bloomfield Hills
nizations. He's also notorious for his digitally
manipulated Rosh Hashanah cards featuring his
children in various settings.
Knoll has never entered a photo contest before
and was thrilled to win.
His two entries were among 75 entered by par-
ticipants of the family mission. It had more than
700 participants. More than 35 people of all ages
entered the photo contest. The youngest win-
ner was Eden Adler, 13, of Farmington Hills for
her photograph that shows the miracle of Israel
— rows of palm trees blooming in the desert.
Knoll will win a $50 gift certificate from the
jewish.com store. First place winners in the four
categories (mission, miracle of Israel, family and
odds and ends) will be given $25 certificates
from the online store, while second- and third-
place winners will receive IN T-shirts or totes.
Judges were Don Cohen, IN special writer, and
Debbie Hill, IN freelance photographer in Israel.
Congratulations to all who entered and
shared with us their special time in Israel. All
entries can be viewed at JNonline.us . 0
Mission Photos on page 18
March 16 2005
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