Doljabi at the NoMad Hotel

I met the Adelaide when she was just 20 days old, and the following year I was excited to be invited to photograph her first birthday party (doljanchi) and doljabi! It was a beautiful celebration, on the rooftop of the NoMad Hotel. We started out with a few shots in the gorgeous hotel library.

Doljabi is a Korean ceremony where a child is placed in front of a table of foods and objects. She is then urged to pick up an object from the table, and it is believed the one selected will foretell her future. Among the items laid out for Adelaide were a judge’s gavel, a phone, a stethoscope, and some cash! Scroll down to see what she picked!