July 4 • 2019 23
jn
Shutterbugs
Teens document other teens’
Jewish
involvement with their cameras.
F
rom high above the Detroit
skyline or down low at street
level, the teen photographers
behind the scenes of the website
jewsofmetrodetroit.com have been
hard at work creating new content
each week that documents the lives
of area teens involved with their
Jewish youth groups to share them
with the world.
Teens like Aaron Rudman, Ryan
Goodman and Josh Rifkin, all of West
Bloomfield, interview, photograph,
and then edit and create content
about their Jewish peers. Through
their work, they get to better know
their Jewish peers around town, thus
strengthening the future of Detroit’
s
Jewish community, say their youth
advisers at three Reform synagogues:
Temple Israel and Shir Shalom in
West Bloomfield, and Temple Beth El
in Bloomfield Township.
Jews of Metro Detroit was launched
in the fall of 2018 and funded by a
grant from the Schulman Millennium
Fund.
Rudman will head to the University
of Michigan this fall. Though not
religious, he said his involvement
with Jews of Metro
Detroit has deepened
his appreciation and
insight into the local
Jewish community
while improving his
craft in photography.
An aspiring film
director, his favorite
project for the website, his last as a
high school senior, was interview-
ing and photographing his friend, a
musician, in a photo shoot among all
his instruments.
Goodman, a student at Groves
High School, was always interested
in photography, a skill he learned by
watching his father. For the website,
Goodman has photographed teens
involved with everything from vol-
unteering at Cass Community Social
Services to starting school envi-
ronmental clubs to combat climate
change.
When he isn’
t taking photos for
the website, Goodman heads into
the city with his Canon camera to
the Dequindre Cut or the Eastern
Market to take photos
of objects most of us
walk by without giving
a second thought.
“I am interested in
taking photos of an old
toy someone left on the
ground or sewer grates
from a unique angle right after it
rains,” Goodman said. “
As one of the
three photographers of the Jews of
Metro Detroit website, I try to photo-
graph teens in a location that fits into
the story of what they are passionate
about and what they are trying to
accomplish.”’
He keeps an Instagram for his
shoots: r.goodman_photography.
When using Instagram, Goodman
advises his peers to slow down, put
thought into a photo and ease off the
selfies.
“Most kids will angle their phone
in a certain way for looks when tak-
ing a selfie but other than that, they
are not looking for a quality shot,”
said Goodman, who says he has
more artistic goals in his photogra-
phy. “I do believe that platforms like
Instagram are useful and positive
when it comes to sharing photog-
raphy to develop and expand their
following.”
Rifkin, a member of Shir Shalom’
s
Youth group, uses his Mavic PRO
drone to fly high over his favorite
stomping grounds like Birmingham
or around Detroit. Rifkin has always
wanted to fly and using
his drone helps him get
a bird’
s eye view of his
favorite places without
ever leaving the ground.
“Ever since I was
young, I’
ve always had
constant interest in avi-
ation,” Rifkin said in a
statement for the website.” In fact,
my dream is to one day be a pilot.
I’
m excited to tell the stories of fellow
Jewish high school kids in my com-
munity.” ■
STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Josh Rifkin
Ryan Goodman
Aaron Rudman
Lawmakers Discuss Issues with Hadassah
At a June town hall-style meeting of Hadassah, Greater Michigan Region, state
lawmakers spoke of issues such as gun control, reproductive choice and com-
batting anti-Semitism — all high priorities for Hadassah members. Lawmakers
on the panel (see photo) were State Reps. Ryan Berman and Kyra Bolden, State
Sens. Jeremy Moss and Mallory McMorrow, and State Reps. Christine Greig and
Robert Wittenberg.
Jewish Women’
s
Foundation Hands
Out Grants
The Jewish Women’
s Foundation of
Metropolitan Detroit (JWF) marked
its 20th grantmaking year with
$229,988 in support of organizations
that advance social change by expand-
ing opportunities for Jewish women,
their families and community.
The Jewish Women’
s Foundation
Trustees each have a vote in sup-
porting causes that impact the lives
of Jewish women, their families and
community. This is achieved by pool-
ing their charitable donations and
then, together, deciding how to allo-
cate funds. “I am very proud of the
JWF and the grants it has approved,”
said Debra Singer, JWF Chairperson.
To see grant allocations or find out
about joining the Jewish Women’
s
Foundation, visit JWFdetroit.org or
contact JWF Director Susan Cassels
Kamin at (248) 203.1524 or kamin@
jfmd.org.
Tamarack Camps
Announces Its
Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting of the Fresh Air
Society of Detroit (Tamarack Camps)
will be held on Sunday, Aug. 4 at 10
a.m. at Camp Maas in Ortonville.
Every Jewish contributor to the most
recent annual campaign of both the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit and Tamarack Camps is enti-
tled to vote.
At the annual meeting, there will be
the election of the new directors to the
Board of Directors of Tamarack Camps
and a presentation of the President’
s
Award to Jonathan Lowe.
Following the Annual Meeting, there
will be a brief Board of Directors meet-
ing to elect the slate of officers for a
one-year term. In accordance with the
current bylaws of Tamarack Camps, a
designated a list of nominees for elec-
tion can be viewed at thejewishnews.
com/event/notice-of-annual-meeting-
of-the-fresh-air-society.
FedEd Becomes JLearn
The Jewish Community Center’
s Adult
Jewish Learning Department, former-
ly FedEd, has been renamed JLearn.
This better represents the transition
of the department from the Jewish
Federation to the Jewish Community
Center, almost two years ago. The
majority of classes continue to be
held at the Max M. Fisher Federation
Building as well as other locations
throughout the Detroit metro area.
“Everything is the same, except for our
name.”
JLearn continues to offer the same
large selection of classes and talented
instructors. The new fall catalog of
offerings will soon be available both
by mail and at jccdet.org/JLearn. Call
(248) 205-2557 for more information
.