Beautiful Day Photography’s Weblog

I first met David Minkin at an ISES networking event in Pasadena. I went with my girlfriend, Tara Dowburd-Luftman, the fabulous make-up artist, and we had SUCH a blast. We played poker with HUGE cards and I won this great gift basket…but inside there were a few magicians roaming around. After being wowed by some coin tricks and having my driver’s License levitate before my very eyes!, I decided to go visit Mr. David Minkin in HIS hood, at the Magic Castle. I have been wanting to go to the Magic Castle in Hollywood for YEARS! I used to live right next to there, but you have to either be part of some Magician’s Alliance, or KNOW a magician to get inside. So David provided that “inside connection” for me and a group of girlfriends the following week in exchange for doing photos for him in the future. What a great trade!

Two weeks later, David called me up to fulfill my end of our trade by coming to photograph his Magic and Wine event in Malibu, California. They hold this wine tasting every few weeks at The Beau Rivage Restaurant in Malibu and showcase wines by the local Malibu winery, Rosenthal. The wine tasting is on the upstairs patio, and then the magic is in the dark, crypt-like wine cellar in a very intimate dark setting downstairs. It was perfect and I had SUCH a great time shooting this event. I brought my girlfriend Summer with me and she was the one called up to help with the tricks. SO cool! I have to admit that I tried to take a million photos, hoping that I could catch a slight of hand trick on film….but NOPE. David is THAT good! The magic was still magical, even on film! For those of you that love Magic and wine or just an unusual evening I HIGHLY suggest going to see David Minkin, Magician, at either the Magic Castle or at the next Wine and Magic event in Malibu!