Kapa's Blog

Today was an absolutely gorgeous winters day in Sydney. The sun was beaming outside of St Andrews Greek Orthodox at Gladesville where I was grabbing candid photo’s of young Marcus, his family and friends before the service had started.

This one of Marcus and his mum caught my eye as soon as I took it, once I completed my post-processing of the day, it turned out to be my favourite. Love the way the sun is highlighting parts of their hair, and their relaxed natural expressions.

Here is one of the soon to be godfather sharing a moment with Marcus.

During the Christening, Pure olive oil is hallowed and administered to the various members of the infant’s body.

Marcus is then immersed thrice in the blessed water in the Name if the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

After the service and the formal portraits, took several of Marcus and his two older brothers.

Then it was off to the reception at Curzon Hall where a delicious looking cake with very cute detail was greeting the guests.

and the kids were entertained by Paul’s Magic.

Looking for a magician renowned for “making parties and events unforgettable, with laughter, amazement, and Fun”? Today at Marcus’s Christening I was the kids were entertained by a magician called Paul.

Participation from the audience is encouraged, during his routine at least six or seven kids came up and assisted in the show.

Now what kind of magician doesn’t pull a rabbit out of a hat (or another place). After the final act the kids get to pat the rabbit then it was off to making balloon animals and shapes for them.

Paul’s Magic
http://www.paulsmagic.com.au
Ph: (02) 9402 6625
Mob: 0404 033 292

Today at the Greek Orthodox Parish & Community of ‘St. Andrew’ when I was taking photo’s of the christening box, the outfit, the shoes, the candle, etc, etc, my eye caught something I had never seen before, a keepsake for the first lock of hair cut. As you may (or may not) know, part of the Orthodox Christening service, the first offering is a lock of hair, more on this later.

Alexia was in front of the church being passed around between relatives (as you do) and this is one of the candid ones I took, the start of some great eye contact.

At the start of the service which is conducted at the front of the church, Alexia wanted to help turn the pages. I like the lighting in this mainly as the sun was setting and the last of the direct sunlight just streaming in.

During the service, as if Alexia knew I was waiting, she lies back and looks over the priests back right at the camera.

For Alexia, this was just another bath, didn’t cry at all.

Apart from the black & white treatment, I also gave this one a bit of grain. Now back to the lock of hair I started talking about earlier.

The child is then tonsured, cutting the hair in the form of a cross, in the name of the Holy trinity, for the hair is the symbol of strength. This also represents the very first offering of the new born Christian to God and his church. It is indicative of dedication, offering and sacrifice.

While Alexia was being dressed got some more eye contact and that “I’m tooo cute” look.

With three people trying to dress her, she looked at me as if to say “they’ve got no idea”. You can see mum & dad in the background.

By the time the guests had passed on their congratulations, Alexia had fallen fast asleep. We took the formals with her sleeping, and then I took some of just her and her mum. Although I took this one again because mum blinked, I actually liked it a lot more than the one with her eyes open.

Finally off to the reception at the Lakes Golf Club where a gorgeous & colourful cake greeted the guests.

Gorgeous little girl with a name to match, Angel-Rose. I met her family outside the Greek Orthodox Parish of ‘Saints Constantine & Helen’ and grabbed a couple of candid shots of her in her pram.

The service soon started and Angel-Rose was distracted by the flash on my camera, gave me some good eye contact.

The godfather has his hands cupped filled with oil, the priest dipping his finger into the oil anoints the face, chest, mouth, nose, ears, legs and feet in dedication to the service of Christ. Grand-mum holding Angel-Rose securely. Note the way the priest is holding her feet, definite sign of experience to stop her kicking around.

Angel-Rose getting well and truly baptised.

A candid with mum just after the service.

The reception was held at GEoRGES on King St Wharf, the afternoon sun was terrific and provided a great place for a few informal family portraits.

I’m going to start in the middle today. This photo was taken as they are walking towards the baptismal font after the service of the Catachumen which is conducted at the rear of the church. I know it’s an ordinary pic but what I want to show is the amount of natural light available at the Greek Orthodox Church of “All Saints” in Belmore.

The church is surrounded with yellow stained windows, and with the afternoon sun glowing bright the entire church had a warm natural colour to it. This changed my style of shooting for the service, more to what I like, using the available light to capture the image and the flash is just for a little boost.

When the very first shot of the day looks like this and I only guessed the exposure I know I’m going to have a good day.

A quick formal at the entrance while waiting for the Koumbarie & guests to arrive.

In almost a mirror image of a photo I took a few weeks ago at Ioanna’s Christening, the god child & godparent exchanging a look during the service.

The oil is poured into the Godfathers hands in preparation to anoint Dean.

Dean having a wonderful time in the baptismal font.

A very quick lesson on cropping & making a few basic changes.
A good image like this.

Turns into a gorgeous one like this.

Dean’s first offering, a lock of hair.

A Christening cake in the shape of a christening box made by Sweetart.

A couple of heroes from Superheroes Inc showed up to entertain the kids.

When I did the “first run” processing the images, this candid caught my eye.

However after going through all the images, I’ll leave you with my favourite for the day, the mood and emotion in this one is a standout.

It was a gorgeous day today and although I should have been sleeping in after yesterdays efforts I was at the Greek Orthodox Parish of ‘St. Catherine’ in Mascot for the Christening of Katerina.

During the service of the Catachumen I liked the way everyone including the baby appeared to be reading the prayer book.

Picked up some detail on the bottle of oil, those are Katerina’s initials which also appeared on the cake made from giant alphabet blocks.

The actual christening with the baby immersed in the baptismal font.

When publishing images on my web site, I always have the dilemma of keeping the size and quality of the images at an acceptable level and at the same time showing photographs the way I’d like them to be seen. The tragic consequence of this is the level of detail I cannot show. Here is the above photo at 100% crop, I love the water droplets falling off Katerina’s head and the ones caught in mid air around the Priests hand.

A bit of mayhem while Katerina was being dressed, hands everywhere.

I like the framing and shallow depth of field in this photo. I’ll also use this as an opportunity to explain what is happening. Towards the end of the service, the priest places his hand on the baptised child’s head. This tradition goes back to when Jesus was baptised, and the touch has been passed down since then to all those baptised through all the generations over 2000 years.

The reception was held at the Lakes Golf Club where the balcony and the fairway provided a great location for some family portraits.

I had not been at the Greek Orthodox Parish & Community of ‘St. Michael’ (the Archangel) for several years. I like it when I go to a new church or one I haven’t been to in a long time, it’s interesting how different priests add their own touches or style to the service. Here the service of the Catachumen was actually performed in front of the congregation instead of behind.

I also like how godparents come up with different ideas to deliver all the bits & pieces required for the service. Ioanna scored herself a great timber doll house in addition to her new outfits, talk about lucky.

If you follow my blog, you know I love capturing candid moments, and this one of Ioanna and her godfather exchanging a look during the service is one of my favourites for the day.

It should come to no surprise to find a black and white photo of the baby in the baptismal font. Check out the other dozen or so photos similar to this one from other Greek Orthodox Christenings I have covered.

I have done pre-wedding shoots in the past, however this is the first time I’ve done a pre-christening shoot. Ioanna’s mum Katerina wanted to give the guests a little thank-you / memento of the day. I took a few dozen photo’s in a couple of different outfits, one was the actual outfit Ioanna wore to the christening. Katerina picked two of her favourites & I created a template for her to create these little thank you cards that looked great next to the boubouniere.

Did you notice the candy in the jar? Talk about attention to detail, a little pink heart surrounded by the word IOANNA.

Today I arrived early at the Greek Orthodox Parish of ‘St. Catherine’ in Mascot for Williams christening. While I was outside talking to his parents John & Joanne, I was grabbing candid photo’s of them and their guests and this totally natural shot of the three of them is a great way to start this entry.

Soon the service of the Catachumen began where I managed to capture the page with the image of Mary & Jesus on the page next to where the priest was reading from.

The baptism itself, William immersed in the baptismal font.

William showing of his two tiny teeth.

With the first glance at this photo I was disappointed by the fact that the second priest got partly in the way of the photo, however, I was also pleasantly surprised by what I had captured, and yes, I admit, it was a fluke. William and his godmother were standing in the only direct sunlight that was coming into the church from the window, the way they glow and the shadow they cast on the floor gives them an angelic appearance.

Family social events is a great place for relatives and friends to catch up, and an even better opportunity to grab a photo with them. This one of Joanne and her two sisters with the afternoon sun providing a rim light over their shoulders is one that would proudly be displayed in their parents home, (at least I think so).

Today is the name day of Agios Haralambos (St Harry) and what better day to have the christening of young Harrison than on his name day.

For my first image, I couldn’t decide which of the three to choose. In all three, I liked the way Harrison was following the priests hand, so in the end, I decided to create an animated gif showing all three. A sequence of three images like this looks great in an album.

Harrison in the baptismal font, he was so relaxed and calm.

The reception was held at Aesop’s Greek Restaurant where guests were greeted by this amazing cake, made by Crumb Cake Art.

The kids were entertained by a magician that had an albino rabbit as part of the act.

Live entertainment provided by bouzouki player Tommy Tsonis.

Harrison’s parents Eleni & Kosta dishing out plates for breaking
(apologies for really bad pun).

The final image, a family portrait.