Kapa's Blog

There are many great things about living in Australia, one of them is the multiculturalism. It’s a real eye opener when different cultures come together in celebration of a wedding, and today I had the absolute pleasure of photographing Joanne & Connors wedding day. Joanne comes from a Lebanese background, Connor from an Irish. The ceremony was at St Bridget’s Catholic Church at Coogee.

Joanne and Connor share a moment during the service.

Although both sides of the family were from different cultural backgrounds, the day went like any other typical day.
Here I captured a candid of a couple of Conner’s aunts putting the final touches on his mum.

Just a short walk from the church, is where the reception was held, the Coogee Crown Plaza. Joanne and Connor were also spending their first night together at this hotel, between the service & reception we went up to their room to capture some images of the breathtaking view from their balcony, and a few of them as well
Just past the breaks from Coogee Beach, is “Wedding Cake Island”, I kid you not.

If you have never been to an Arabic wedding, there is one thing they do which is a fantastic way to start the reception & get everyone into the party mood. When the bride & groom enter the reception, they do so accompanied by a drummer & loud very loud music. They enter dancing with the drum beating & everybody gets up and dances with them.

Now the Irish are known for their partying, and not to be outdone when the Irish band started playing, everybody got up & was dancing again.

Joanne & Conner leading by example that everyone was here to P A R T Y.

During some random internet searching I came across this site, quoted from the front page:

Go ahead, you know you want to. Trash it. Get it dirty. Get it wet. Roll around in the mud. Drench it in the ocean. Totally trash it. Why? … Why not? You’ve made a commitment to your husband. He’s your one and only true love, right? Then you’ll never need the dress again. And no, your daughter won’t wear it in 20-30 years. So you have two choices: 1) Suffocate it in plastic and throw it in a closet 2) Show your husband how committed you are by trashing the dress, and get some great fun pictures while you do it!

Now click on this link and see how a number of Brides have “trashed their wedding dress”, there’s some fantastic shots & some ideas you may want to try if you’re willing

Sunday had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of Katherine and Brendan. Instead of posting some regular photos, thought I would share some of the detailed pictures I take. These images are generally used in the final album, background, corners, special effects, faded, and various different ways.

The rings, one of the first things I ensure gets captured at every wedding.

At an orthodox wedding, there is always a lit candle at the front.

Some wedding cakes have amazing detail, as the roses on this one.

At the reception there was a nice touch on the bar, chocolates & candles.

7th January, in the Greek Orthodox religion, this day is the celebration of “John the Baptist” (happy name day to me). Today was also the day that the “Blessing of the Water” was performed.

For those not familiar, it is where a service is held on the edge of the water, and at the time the water is blessed, a Cross is tossed into the water. This is the signal for males to jump into the water and be the first to attempt to retrieve the Cross.

In Sydney, the service is held at Yarra Bay, La-Perouse. It’s a great day which is celebrated as a festival with music, food & a great day out.

Those wishing to participate in retrieving the cross, swim out to a pontoon after registering for the event.

A fleet of boats were anchored nearby to witness the event from the water, some sporting the traditional Greek colours.

Waiting on the pontoon for the signal to begin.

They’re off

The victorious winner, by at least 4 lengths.

As always, 2007 starts of with a bang, fireworks that is.

This is the first time I have even tried to photograph fireworks, so the above is the best of a bad bunch. The “squiggles” are supposed to be straight, it’s the result of hand-holding the camera instead of using a tripod for long exposures. I knew it wasn’t really going to work however I had my camera with me & wanted to give it a go anyway.

A big thanks to Nick & Irene, a couple friends with an beautiful apartment that overlooks Sydney Harbour right at The Rocks. They opened their doors to many people, were great hosts, & it was much appreciated. We so close we could smell the gunpowder, & the fireworks were literary right in front of us. The kids absolutely loved it.
New Years Resolutions, I actually made one many years ago I haven’t broken, and that was not to make any more New Years Resolutions so I’m not going to begin now.

I wish everyone all the best in 2007, & may it be filled with health, love & happyness.

Kapa