Photography by Kapa » Christenings / Baptisms http://johnkapaniris.com photography by Kapa - a Sydney photographer specialising in christenings, baptisms and events. Wed, 28 Dec 2011 09:56:37 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Greek Orthodox Baptism of Apostole – St Gerasimos Leichhardt http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/11/13/greek-orthodox-baptism-of-apostole-st-gerasimos-leichhardt/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/11/13/greek-orthodox-baptism-of-apostole-st-gerasimos-leichhardt/#comments Sun, 13 Nov 2011 08:07:03 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=328 Apostole is a great name, he was baptised Apostole, his parents would call him Apostole when they spoke in Greek, doesn’t sound right calling him Paul in English, so I’ll stick with Apostole here.

The service was conducted by Father Leslie at the Greek Orthodox Parish & Community of ‘St. Gerasimos’ in Leichhardt. Here is a shot of the first cross & garment Apostole would wear, in the background the oil Apostole would be covered in & Father’s “baptism kit” which includes the scissors for his first offering & Holy Oil.

singlet cross oil baptism greek orthodox

Apostole has great blue eyes, as captured here outside the church while waiting for guests to arrive.

baby blue eyes baptism greek orthodox

He looked cute every time he sucked his thumb, more to follow….

baptism greek orthodox godmother

but hated being undressed.

baptism greek orthodox undressed grandmother godmother

Father Leslie applying oil to Apostole, while he & his godmother exchange a serious look.

baptism greek orthodox godmother father priest oil
baptism greek orthodox godmother father priest oil

The godmother applies oil to the entire body, not sure if Apostole is enjoying it or about to break out in tears.

baptism greek orthodox godmother father priest oil

Apostole in the baptismal font, appears to be enjoying it.

baptism greek orthodox baby in the baptismal font

Looking cute sucking his thumb between Mum & Godmum.

baptism greek orthodox godmother mother sucking thumb

At the reception, I had an opportunity to pull out my paparazzi lens. I enjoy using this lens to capture candid photographs, here is Apostole with mum.

baptism greek orthodox mother candid

And a proud dad looking at a cute Apostole sucking his thumb, maybe a bit young to be sitting at the bar.

baptism greek orthodox father suck thumb

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/11/13/greek-orthodox-baptism-of-apostole-st-gerasimos-leichhardt/feed/ 0 Greek Orthodox Christening of Lucia http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/10/23/greek-orthodox-christening-of-lucia/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/10/23/greek-orthodox-christening-of-lucia/#comments Sun, 23 Oct 2011 00:34:26 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=319 Back in March 2008, I photographed the christening of Katerina. She has grown up to be a gorgous young lady, here she is holding the baptismal candle for her sister Lucia’s christening.

Sister Katerina Christening Candle

While taking random photographs before the service, I quite liked this closeup I captured of Lucia.

Lucia orthodox christening

The service was held at the Greek Orthodox Parish & Community of ‘St. Spyridon’ in Kingsford. It was interesting to note, that the bottle containing the oil which will be used to annoint Lucia had the initials LVM on it.

Lucia orthodox christening oil annoint

What makes it interesting is that for Katerina’s christening, her bottle had the initials KdM on it.

Lucia orthodox christening oil annoint

Toy boxes used as christening boxes have been popular recently, here are the shoe’s on top of Lucia’s.

Lucia orthodox christening box shoes

Each priest / church, do some things differently to others. The first part of the service which is usually held at entrance, here it was conducted at the front. Some great natural light coming in from the behind, it was a brilliant sunny day in Sydney.

Lucia orthodox christening sunny sydney church

Lucia in the baptismal font.

Lucia orthodox christening baptism baptismal font

Then being whisked away by her godmother to get dressed.

Lucia orthodox christening godmother dress

The first cross being worn by Lucia.

Lucia orthodox christening cross priest

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/10/23/greek-orthodox-christening-of-lucia/feed/ 0 Nazarios Greek Orthodox Baptism http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/09/09/nazarios-greek-orthodox-baptism/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/09/09/nazarios-greek-orthodox-baptism/#comments Fri, 09 Sep 2011 06:40:25 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=311 At the Greek Orthodox Parish & Community of ‘St. Euphemia’ in the inner western suburbs of Sydney, I had the pleasure of photographing Nazario’s baptism. Before the service begins, I like to capture some details. Here is the soap & olive oil supplied by the Godmother, next to the Priests baptism kit.

baptism greek orthodox oil soap priest

The Godparent also supplies a large candle that is used during the ceremony, here is Nazario’s.

baptism greek orthodox candle church

Nazario on his way to the fun part of the ceremony, excuse the :-)

baptism greek orthodox naked baby

Here his Godmother is applying the olive oil to his entire body.

baptism greek orthodox oil applied to body

Nazario in the baptismal font.

baptism greek orthodox naked baby

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 fist offering of the new born Christian to God and his church. It is indicative of dedication, offering and sacrifice.

baptism greek orthodox naked baby

The priest puts on the childs first cross, provided by the Godparent.

baptism greek orthodox naked baby

A gorgeous cake.

baptism greek orthodox naked baby

Closeup of Nazario at the reception. Given time, I love to position myself in a corner at a reception, pull out my ‘paparazzi’ lens & take candid photo’s. Lens is sharp as & provides a creamy background as seen here.

baptism greek orthodox naked baby

What better way to start of the reception, than by cracking open a bottle of blue, proudly provided by Nazario’s grandfather.

baptism greek orthodox johny walker blue

The reception had lots of KEFI, dancing, singing, and more dancing. Nazario’s great grandfather got down & danced a Zeibekiko the old fashioned way, around a glass of scotch.

baptism greek orthodox johny walker blue

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/09/09/nazarios-greek-orthodox-baptism/feed/ 0 Greek Orthodox Christening of Zoe http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/07/11/greek-orthodox-christening-of-zo/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/07/11/greek-orthodox-christening-of-zo/#comments Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:08:03 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=287 The best compliments I receive for my photography, is not in words, letters or e-mails but actions. With so many photographers in Sydney, when previous clients come back to me to photograph the christening or baptism of their second or third child, it’s reassuring to know that I’m doing things right. Back in September 2008, over 3 years ago, I photographed the Christening of Zoe’s older sister, unfortunately, I don’t blog every baptism or christening I photograph, so no linky to it.

I digress, today it was Zoe’s day, and at the Greek Orthodox Parish of St Nicholas in Marrickville, she went through the Greek Orthodox ritual of her Christening. The service starts at the front of the church with the service of the Catachumen in which the various prayers of exorcism are read by the priest.

greek orthodox christening Zoe

It was during this time that I captured an intimidate moment of Zoe and her Godmother.

greek orthodox christening godmother baby infant

I love it when the baby turns and looks directly at me during the service, here Mia is being anointed with Olive Oil by her Godmother.

greek orthodox christening anoint oil godmother olive

A close up of Zoe being anointed.

greek orthodox christening anoint anointed olive oil Zoe

As with every christening I photograph, a black and white photograph of the infant in the baptismal font.

greek orthodox christening baptismal font child

A formal of Zoe and her Godmother.

greek orthodox christening infant godmother

This isn’t a choke hold, it’s Zoe’s older sister giving her a hug.

greek orthodox christening sister

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/07/11/greek-orthodox-christening-of-zo/feed/ 0 Double Greek Orthodox Christening of John and Sophia http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/05/01/greek-orthodox-christening-of-john-and-sophia/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/05/01/greek-orthodox-christening-of-john-and-sophia/#comments Sun, 01 May 2011 01:11:22 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=265 Back in September 2008, I had the pleasure of photographing the double Christening of Zac & Maddie. Today, I had the double pleasure (pun intended) of photographing the double christening of their younger brother & sister – John & Sophia.

Here is what Zac & Maddie look like now, my how they’ve grown from the last time I saw them. Taken outside of the Greek Orthodox Parish of ‘St. Stephanos’ in Hurlstone Park.

Zac & Maddie

As Usual, the service begins at the entrance to the church, here are some candid shots take of John, Sophia, their godmothers & priest.

orthodox christening godmother priest
orthodox christening godmother
orthodox christening godmother priest bible

According to the priest – boys go first…… So here is John being anointed with the oil by his godmother.

orthodox christening anoint godmother oil

Followed by John in the baptismal font.

baptismal font orthodox christening godmother boy

Then Sophia was anointed by her godmother.

orthodox christening anoint godmother oil

And into the baptismal font.

baptismal font orthodox christening godmother girl

If you have time between the church and reception, it’s an ideal time to get some family portraits taken. We stopped off at a park on the way to the reception, here’s a couple of formal shots.

christening parents park girl
christening parents park boy

Brother & Sister.

baptism brother sister portrait

And without a doubt my favorite shot of the day – a candid of mum & daughter when the sun was at it’s lowest, minutes before it set.

baptism mum daughter portrait

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/05/01/greek-orthodox-christening-of-john-and-sophia/feed/ 0 Greek Orthodox Baptism of Mia http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/04/02/greek-orthodox-baptism-of-mia/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/04/02/greek-orthodox-baptism-of-mia/#comments Sat, 02 Apr 2011 05:57:25 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=261 Just in the doorway of the Greek Orthodox Parish & Community Of The Resurrection Of Our Lord; Our Lady Of Myrtles; Saint Elessa I managed to grab this photograph of the Mia with her future Godmother.

mia and her godmother greek orthodox baptism

During the part of the service where the priest is applying the oil onto Mia’s feet.

greek orthodox baptism oil priest

An old style black & white photograph of Mia in the baptismal font.

photograph baptismal font greek orthodox baptism

Mia’s older cousins entertained her while she was being dressed in her christening dress.

greek orthodox baptism baby dressed christening dress

Sadly this image lost a lot of the effect when re-sized to suit the web. I had purposely embedded a grain to give this photograph an antique feel to it…..lost in translation.

greek orthodox baptism priest smoke service

Nothing makes a kid feel safer or happier than dads shoulder.

father kid happy greek orthodox baptism

Portrait of mum & Mia.

mia and her mother greek orthodox baptism Mary Jesus icon

Now if you think the cake looks good, have a close look at the table behind.

christening cake greek orthodox baptism

That’s right, a candy bar, with more chocolate and sweets that you could ever want.

candy bar chocolate bar greek orthodox baptism

At the reception, we also found some time to take some portraits, Mia on her own.

greek orthodox baptism christening dress

Mia and her mother.

greek orthodox baptism mother child portrait

A fun shot, Mia & her grandmother playing in front of the mirror.

mia and her grandmother greek orthodox baptism

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/04/02/greek-orthodox-baptism-of-mia/feed/ 0 Greek Othodox Baptism of Marley Alexander http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/02/26/greek-othodox-baptism-of-marley-alexander/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/02/26/greek-othodox-baptism-of-marley-alexander/#comments Sat, 26 Feb 2011 06:29:17 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=251 A hot day in Sydney today, and what cooler place to be than inside the sandstone Cathedral of the ‘Anunciation of Our Lady Theotokos’, you can feel the temperature drop simply by walking past the huge timber doors.

I was here for the baptism of Marley, who was going to be given the orthodox name Alexander. Just inside the doors is where the candle tray resides, here is Marley in his mums hands getting a little close to the flames.

orthodox christening baptism candles church catherdral

As usual the service starts at the rear of the church where Satan is denounced.

orthodox christening baptism do you denounce satan

Marley is covered in oil from head to toe, before being immersed in the Baptismal Font.

orthodox christening baptismal font baby immersed

Inside the font, a black and white photograph of water being splashed over his head.

orthodox christening baptism black white water

He then is anointed.

orthodox christening baptism anointment

And his first offering to his faith, a lock of hair cut from four places on his head to resemble a cross.

orthodox christening baptism cutting hair

Mother & son, in front of Mother & Son.

orthodox christening baptism Mary Jesus

This brings a smile to my face what you looking at !!!!!

orthodox christening baptism baby looking into camera

Marley is a real cutie, and had a very affectionate snuggle to both mum & dad.

orthodox christening baptism snuggle mum
orthodox christening baptism snuggle dad

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/02/26/greek-othodox-baptism-of-marley-alexander/feed/ 0 Michaels Greek Orthodox Christening http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/01/17/michaels-greek-orthodox-christening/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/01/17/michaels-greek-orthodox-christening/#comments Mon, 17 Jan 2011 04:01:22 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=245 Today I was at the Greek Orthodox Parish & Community of ‘St. Spyridon’ in Sydney to photograph the christening of Michael.

There are a number of items required for an orthodox christening, one of them is the oil that is used to cover the child before being immersed in the baptismal font. I’ve noticed recently that effort is being put into decorating the bottle that contains the oil, as seen here.

photograph of oil used for the orthodox baptism

The priest will pour the oil into the godparents cupped hands, as the assistant brings the child to the baptismal font. I’ve photographed a lot of christenings, however it’s rare that there is a candle holder attached to the baptismal font as shown in this photograph.

priest pouring oil used for the orthodox baptism into godparents cupped hands

The godparent starts with the child’s head and covers the entire body from tip to toe with the oil.

godparent covering child in baptismal oil

I usually only include one photograph of the child inside the baptismal font on my Sydney. As I captured two photographs with a bit of water motion in them, couldn’t decide which I preferred, so I’ve included both with different black & white treatment.

black and white photograph of child in orthodox christening font

black and white photograph of child in orthodox baptismal font

The last thing the priest does before the child is dressed, is place the first Cross on the child’s neck.

priest putting the child's first cross

Mother & child, taken in front of Mother & Child.

mother child photograph in front of Mary & Jesus

Without a doubt, this would have to be the brightest christening cake I’ve had the pleasure to photograph.

Christening Cake, Baptism Cake, animals

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2011/01/17/michaels-greek-orthodox-christening/feed/ 0 Greek Orthodox Christening of Daniel http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/11/28/greek-orthodox-christening-of-daniel/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/11/28/greek-orthodox-christening-of-daniel/#comments Sun, 28 Nov 2010 06:54:03 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=239 I arrived early at the Greek Orthodox Parish & Community of ‘St. Gerasimos’ and managed to grab a photograph of the priests toolkit for christenings. It contains the oil used for the sacrament of Chrismation as well as the scissors for the tonsuring of the child.

greek orthodox christening priest oil sacrament Chrismation

The Christening box contained everything required for the ceremony.

greek orthodox christening christening box

The start of the ceremony held at the entrance of the church.

greek orthodox christening priest denounce satan

Father Leslie pouring the Olive Oil into the Water.

greek orthodox christening priest oil water

Daniel held by his grandmother while Father Leslie applies the oil to him.

greek orthodox christening priest oil baptism right

Daniel enjoying it when the godfather applied the oil all over his body.

greek orthodox christening priest oil godfather baptism

Daniel in the baptismal font looking a bit perplexed.

greek orthodox christening black and white baptism baptismal font

The baptism cake made with love, Daniel’s godmother made it herself.

greek orthodox christening cake

Everybody got a place-card for their seating position made from a decorated biscuit – even me !!! (thanks, the boys enjoyed it).

greek orthodox christening seating position from a biscuit

The kids were entertained by a magician.

greek orthodox christening magician

While the adults were entertained by classical acoustic guitar.

greek orthodox christening classical acoustic guitar

The reception was held at the Waterfront - with views from the Sydney Harbour Bridge to the Sydney Opera house. Sadly, the day was wet, cold & miserable so instead of taking family shots outside against the stunning background we had to resort to indoors. Daniels parents.

greek orthodox christening baptism

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/11/28/greek-orthodox-christening-of-daniel/feed/ 0 Greek Orthodox Baptism of Sophia http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/10/14/greek-orthodox-baptism-of-sophia/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/10/14/greek-orthodox-baptism-of-sophia/#comments Thu, 14 Oct 2010 06:13:38 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=236 It’s been a long time since I’ve been at the Greek Orthodox Parish & Community of ‘St. Spyridon’. From a photographer’s perspective it’s great place to shoot as it’s got a lot of windows and natural light. I still use the flash however it’s just to add a bit of brightness rather than light up the scene.

The Baptism box with a few of the items, the hat, the shoes, and an Icon of Jesus.

greek orthodox baptism box

At some Baptism’s, a little cross is given to everyone attending. A true candid, the godmother pinning the cross on Sophia’s dad.

greek orthodox baptism godmother father cross

Some things are done differently at different churches, I think (but may be wrong) that this is the only church in Sydney that starts the service at the front of the church to denounce Satan. Every other church starts the service at the entrance.

greek orthodox baptism denounce Satan and his works

This service had two priests, here the water is being blessed.

greek orthodox baptism blessing of the water

The godmother holding the bottle of oil which will be used in the ceremony.

greek orthodox baptism oil godmother

The baby in the baptismal font, classic black & white for this photograph.

greek orthodox baptism baby in baptismal font

Out of the baptismal font, and into the waiting arms of the godmother.

greek orthodox baptism godmother

The final prayer.

greek orthodox baptism final prayer

A pretty Baptism Cake

greek orthodox baptism cake pink pretty

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/10/14/greek-orthodox-baptism-of-sophia/feed/ 0 Labro’s Greek Orthodox Christening http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/09/12/labros-greek-orthodox-christening/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/09/12/labros-greek-orthodox-christening/#comments Sun, 12 Sep 2010 05:42:53 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=232 Today at the Greek Orthodox Parish of ‘Saints Constantine & Helen’ the orthodox Christening of Labro was held. I start with taking photographs of the gear the godparents bring for the service. Here we have a few of the items (shoes, oil, cross) on top of the christening box.

Orthodox Christening Gear Shoes Oil Cross

There was also an impressive candle for the service, with a bear tied to it. Take note of the boubouniere later.

Orthodox Christening Candle Church Cross Bear

The beginning of the service is held at the entrance of the church where Satan is denounced. The godfather holding Labro while the priest reads.

Orthodox Christening Priest denounce satan and his works.

The part of the service I love, where the child is immersed in the baptismal font. Regular followers of my blog know I always show these images in classic black and white, Labro’s Christening is no exception.

Orthodox Christening baby baptismal font black & white

Orthodox Christening black and white baby in the baptismal font

A great looking baptism cake, these sloping / off centred seem to be the style lately.

Baptism Cake Orthodox Christening

Cute boubouniere that matches the bear on the Christening Candle.

Orthodox Christening boubouniere bear

There were a couple of clowns at the reception, face painting was part of the entertainment.

Orthodox Christening entertainment clowns

Orthodox Christening clown entertainment

Here is some of their finished work.

Orthodox baptism face painting

Orthodox Christening painted faces

John

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/09/12/labros-greek-orthodox-christening/feed/ 0 Catholic Maronite baptism of Danielle http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/08/28/catholic-maronite-baptism-of-danielle/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/08/28/catholic-maronite-baptism-of-danielle/#comments Sat, 28 Aug 2010 05:18:26 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=226 Started of at the home to get some shots of Danielle & her family, and godparents. Here she is with her brother, I think they were getting a bit stunned by the flash by this stage.

Danielle and her brother on the Bed

During the service, love the expression on Danielle’s face.

Catholic Maronic Baptism

The actual service where the priest is pouring the water onto Danielle’s head.

Catholic Maronic Baptism\

A simple yet elegant baptism cake.

Simple yet Elegant Baptism Cake

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/08/28/catholic-maronite-baptism-of-danielle/feed/ 0 Greek Orthodox Baptism of Lucas http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/07/11/lucas/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/07/11/lucas/#comments Sun, 11 Jul 2010 07:08:17 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=221 At the Greek Orthodox Parish & Community Of The Resurrection Of Our Lord; Our Lady Of Myrtles; Saint Elessa, in Kogarah, young Lucas was baptised. The light in this church is a huge contrast to the photographs I took last week at Chrisovalantou’s christening. Here I was relying a lot less on natural light and much more on flash.

Here is a candid of Lucas with his godmother before the service began.

godmother, lucas, greek, orthodox, christening

A very proud grandmother holding Lucas before being immersed in the baptismal font.

grandmother, lucas, greek, orthodox, christening

The godmother anoints Lucas with oil all over the body. Do you the smiley :-)

godmother, anoints, oil, olive, greek, orthodox, christening

The priest pouring water of Lucas’ head & body.

priest, water, head, greek, orthodox, baptism

All done, about to go into the waiting arms of the godmother.

godmother, lucas, greek, orthodox, christening

How Good is This !!!!!! Not only a baptism cake, but a stack of cup cakes to match.

baptism cake, christening cake, baptism cup cake, christening cup cake

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/07/11/lucas/feed/ 0 Orthodox Christening of Chrysovalantou http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/07/07/chrysovalantou/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/07/07/chrysovalantou/#comments Wed, 07 Jul 2010 06:09:21 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=217 Today I was at the Greek Orthodox Parish of ‘St. Stylianos; Saints Peter & Paul & St. Gregory of Palama’ for the Christening of Chrysovalantou. The service started at the rear of the church, where the godmother stands and vouches for Chrysovalantou, since she is unable to make the necessary confession of faith herself.

godmother vouches infant greek orthodox christening

Chrysovalantou’s older brother holding the candle for the service.

brother holding christening candle greek orthodox

I was having a bit of a play with selective colouring on this photo. The Olive Oil was a lot more yellow however with the light it’s come through more of an orange.

godmother olive oil greek orthodox christening

Chrysovalantou has stunning blue eyes, this was taken less than a second before they started crying.

godmother vouches infant greek orthodox christening

Inside the baptismal font.

godmother vouches infant greek orthodox christening

The first offering – a lock of hair.

A tip for any budding photographers out there, learn how to use the manual settings on your camera. Look at the background of this photograph. There was a huge amount of glare that was coming through the opaque doors and windows at this time of the day. I almost always shoot with manual settings, and compensating for this much glare was a quick flick. No automatic / program modes would be able to handle this much contrast as well.

godmother vouches infant greek orthodox christening

Chrysovalandou is blessed with four older sisters, here is three of them dressing her after the baptism.

sisters dressing baby greek orthodox christening

The sun was setting towards the end of the service, I absolutely love the colour generated here – by natural light.

godmother sun setting greek orthodox christening

A delicious looking Christening Cake with a lot of attention to detail.

christening cake, baptism cake

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/07/07/chrysovalantou/feed/ 1 Mikaelas Greek Orthodox Christening http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/05/02/mikaelas-greek-orthodox-christening/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/05/02/mikaelas-greek-orthodox-christening/#comments Sat, 01 May 2010 23:48:13 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=206 One of the things I truly enjoy about being a baptism photographer is when I get a call from a family to photograph the christening of their next child. This is the case with Mikaela, I met her family back in September 2007 for her older brother Stevens Christening.

The baptism was held at the same church, the Greek Orthodox Parish & Community of Kogarah. Here the priest is conducting the first part of the service which is held near the the doorway.

orthodox christening baptism priest church

Part of the service the godfather (godparent) rubs oil all over the child.

orthodox christening baptism child baby oil church

Mikaela in the baptismal font, I love capturing this moment.

orthodox christening baptism baptismal font water

Back when I photographed Stevens Christening, his father had a Chrysler Charger, check it out below.

charger church black white

A true Chrysler man, here is the family shot taken with the new car.

charger church black white

The delicious christening cake with the gorgeous backdrop taken at the St George Motor Boat Club.

baptism cake christening cake St George motor boat club

Here’s a shot of Steven & his cousin taken just as the sun was starting to set. Sydney has some great locations on the water, this is one of them.

St George motor boat club

During speeches, a candid fun moment captured.

During speeches, a candid fun moment captured.

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/05/02/mikaelas-greek-orthodox-christening/feed/ 0 Greek Orthodox Christening of Chloe http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/02/14/greek-orthodox-christening-chloe/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/02/14/greek-orthodox-christening-chloe/#comments Sun, 14 Feb 2010 08:47:32 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=180 Today I was at the Greek Orthodox Parish & Community of ‘St. Andrew’ in Gladesville to photograph the orthodox christening of Chloe. The ‘psalti’ reads the Creed with Chloe’s parents captured in the background.

greek orthodox christening gladesville st andrew

Chloe being immersed in the baptismal font.

greek orthodox christening immersed baptismal font gladesville st andrew

After the service, Chloe grabbing a power nap on mums shoulder.

greek orthodox christening child sleeping mother

A tight portrait with Chloe, Mum & the Godmother.

greek orthodox christening mother godmother child

Soon after, Chloe was snuggled up into her dads shoulder, grabbed this (my favourite shot of the day) using natural light and the aperture wide open.

black white baby big brown eyes aperture wide open f2.8

The reception was at Banjo Patterson’s Cottage Restaurant, and while everyone was enjoying drinks during a beautiful (but humid) Sydney day, I was grabbing candid shots of the family & guests.

mother daughter candid smiling laughing

A very impressive cake put together by Sweet Art.

christening cake, sweet art

And a signature bear for all the guests to sign.

signature bear for christening

Kids entertainment was provided by “Fairy Star” from FairyCrystal.

fairy star kids entertainment

While Fairy Star was telling her story, the expression on Chloe’s face was priceless.

baby deep expression

Chloe giving me the Robert de Nero “Are you looking at me” look.

baby are you looking at me

Had some time to capture some cute portraits using an off-camera flash.

baby cute portrait
smiling happy baby
baby christening dress

Happy Valentines Day :-)

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/02/14/greek-orthodox-christening-chloe/feed/ 1 Catholic Baptism of Matthew http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/01/24/catholic-baptism-of-matthew/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/01/24/catholic-baptism-of-matthew/#comments Sun, 24 Jan 2010 00:58:14 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=163 I thought I was going to have a challenging day today…..as soon as I said hello to Matthew he broke out tears. Obviously a photographer with a big scary camera & flash frightened him, however he soon started to get comfortable with me around.

sydney photography baptism christening

Soon after he got dressed managed to capture some cute photographs.

sydney photography baptism christening

sydney photography borromeo baptism christening

Here is Mathew with his big sister Laura. I met Laura over 2 years ago when she was an infant, I photographed her baptism as well.

sydney photography baptism christening charles

The church was St Charles Borromeo in Ryde, I got there a bit early & captured this using natural light.

st charles borromeo sydney photography baptism christening

Father Paul had a good demeanour with the children. He invited them up to the baptismal font & explained the significance of the Water.

st charles borromeo father paul sydney photography baptism christening

He then got all the children to assist in the blessing of the water.

st charles borromeo father paul sydney photography baptism christening

Matthew getting baptised with his very proud parents looking on.

st charles borromeo baptismal font sydney photography baptism

A close-up of the water being poured on Mathew’s head from a shell.

st charles borromeo f photography baptism christening

Here is a couple of candid shots I liked, both capturing a special moment.

photographer sydney baptism christening

sydney photography baptism photographer christening

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2010/01/24/catholic-baptism-of-matthew/feed/ 0 Eleni http://johnkapaniris.com/2009/04/26/eleni/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2009/04/26/eleni/#comments Sun, 26 Apr 2009 11:21:58 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=132 It was a sense of Déjà vu at the Greek Orthodox Parish of ‘St. Paraskeve & St. Barbara’. I guess it’s best to explain the feeling I had with photos.

I took this photo of Eleni today.

greek photography photographer orthodox baptism christening

Yet two months ago at Kalista’s christening, I took this photo.

sydney wedding photographer

So when it came to selecting a photo of the baby in the baptismal font, I decided to stray from my regular black and white photos and try something different, what do you think of this treatment?

sydney christening photographer

Sometimes I stand back & take a wider shot, not just the baby, gives a bit of perspective to what’s happening.

sydney baptism photographer

I’m keeping today’s entry short, been a long day and there’s a cold beer waiting for me ;-)

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2009/04/26/eleni/feed/ 0 Mia http://johnkapaniris.com/2009/03/29/mia/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2009/03/29/mia/#comments Sun, 29 Mar 2009 10:14:32 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=126 The best compliment I receive for my photography is when I get repeat business from the same clients. This is the case today with the Greek Orthodox baptism of Mia. Almost 2 years ago in April 2007, I photographed the baptism of her elder sister Eleftheria. My how she’s grown into a lovely young lady.

eleftheria greek orthodox baptism christening

I always take still photography of what the godparents bring, the cross, candle, clothes, box, toys, I try to capture everything. Mia got herself a gorgeous pair of shoes.

shoes baptism christening greek orthodox wedding

If you’re a regular follower of my blog, you’ll know I love using natural light where possible, which is rarely an option in most churches. It was a bright Sydney day and the light was beaming into St Nicholas church Marrickville which helped me capture this moment.

photographer photgraphy natural light sydney

The proud grandmothers, after stripping Mia before her big moment.

greek photographer sydney orthox wedding baptism christening

My favourite shot, the baby in the baptismal font, which I always love to convert into black & white.

black white baby baptismal font christening baptism

And after a long day, a drink & a lye down is the way to end it.

sydney photographer

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2009/03/29/mia/feed/ 0 Kalista http://johnkapaniris.com/2009/02/28/kalista/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2009/02/28/kalista/#comments Sat, 28 Feb 2009 08:46:55 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=121 Young Kalista was baptised on the last day of the short month at the Greek Orthodox church, Annunciation of our Lady. My first pic is the godmother is anointing her with oil, sadly in the current climate I’m forced to pixelate parts of the image.

greek orthodox anointing oil baby baptism christening

There was a great moment during the service, Kalista turned around and looked at directly at the priest. Don’t know what she was thinking….

greek orthodox baby baptism christening up in air priest

Of course what would a christening in my blog be without the black & white image of the baby in the baptismal font.

greek orthodox black white baby baptismal font

After the service, guests were given a boubouniere that was gorgeously presented.

greek orthodox boubouniere bom bom give sugared almonds baptism christening

The cake was unreal, not only because it looked great, but Kalista’s mum made it herself.

greek orthodox amazing cake gorgeous cake baptism christening

Have a look at the detail in this photograph.

greek orthodox special cake detail icing baptism christening

Now I’m not one that would usually take photo’s of food at a reception, however the baked barramundi looked (and tasted) fantastic.

fantasic baked barramundi

Don’t forget to use the feedback option below, drop me a note, tell me what you want to see.

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2009/02/28/kalista/feed/ 2 Maddie and Zac http://johnkapaniris.com/2008/09/21/maddie-and-zac/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2008/09/21/maddie-and-zac/#comments Sun, 21 Sep 2008 03:33:51 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=88 When I first booked this christening, I thought it was going to be twins. When I showed up I discovered it was a double christening, the two getting baptised were first cousins. To confuse the issue even more, the godparents were the parents of the two children, who happen to be siblings, the parents, not the children, they’re cousins. Confused? So am I, lets get to the photo’s.

At the All Saints Greek Orthodox Church in Belmore, there was not only two children being baptised, there were two priests to perform the service. They alternated at different sections; One in Greek the other in English.

belmore all saints greek orthodox church

With all the extra people during this service things got a little tight around the baptismal font.

belmore all saints greek orthodox church

First was Zac, with his Auntie (now Godmother) is just about to start covering him in oil.

belmore all saints greek orthodox church

Zac enjoying the water.

belmore all saints greek orthodox church

First haircut.

belmore all saints greek orthodox church

Then it was Maddie’s turn. The oil being poured into her uncle’s (now godfather) hands.

belmore all saints greek orthodox church

Unlike Zac, she didn’t seem to enjoy the water.

belmore all saints greek orthodox church

Out she came into the white towel.

belmore all saints greek orthodox church

With the service over, everyone headed off to the reception at the Campsie Bowling & Recreational Club where a colourful & delicious cake was sitting at the front.

belmore all saints greek orthodox church

A candid during the reception, part of the day I love, capturing moments like this.

belmore all saints greek orthodox church

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2008/09/21/maddie-and-zac/feed/ 1 Marcus http://johnkapaniris.com/2008/08/17/marcus/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2008/08/17/marcus/#comments Sun, 17 Aug 2008 04:20:54 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=75 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.

st andrews greek orthodox christening gladesville

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

st andrews greek orthodox christening gladesville

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

st andrews greek orthodox christening gladesville

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

st andrews greek orthodox christening gladesville

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

st andrews greek orthodox christening gladesville

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

christening baptism curzon hall cake

and the kids were entertained by Paul’s Magic.

christening baptism curzon hall cake

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2008/08/17/marcus/feed/ 1 Pauls Magic http://johnkapaniris.com/2008/08/17/pauls-magic/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2008/08/17/pauls-magic/#comments Sun, 17 Aug 2008 04:08:21 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=68 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.
Pauls Magic Magician Party entertainment

Paul and one of his assistants 'Crackers'


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

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

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2008/08/17/pauls-magic/feed/ 1 Alexia http://johnkapaniris.com/2008/06/07/alexia/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2008/06/07/alexia/#comments Sat, 07 Jun 2008 09:37:30 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=67 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.

Baby's First Curl

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.

alexia greek orthodox christening

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.

greek orthodox st Andrew parish christening baby baptism

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

christening orthodox baptism greek

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

baptismal font baby christening orthodox baptism greek

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.

tonsured cutting hair cross holy trinity strength christening orthodox baptism greek

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

cute baby christening orthodox baptism greek

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.

baby getting dressed christening orthodox baptism greek

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.

mum baby sleeping gorgeous christening orthodox baptism greek

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

christening cake birthday cake amazing cake christening orthodox baptism greek

]]> http://johnkapaniris.com/2008/06/07/alexia/feed/ 0 Angel-Rose http://johnkapaniris.com/2008/03/30/angel-rose/ http://johnkapaniris.com/2008/03/30/angel-rose/#comments Sun, 30 Mar 2008 08:27:14 +0000 Kapa http://blog.johnkapaniris.com/?p=60 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.

Angel Rose baby greek orthodox christening

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

angel rose greek orthodox christening

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 greek orthodox christening

Angel-Rose getting well and truly baptised.

angel rose greek orthodox christening

A candid with mum just after the service.

angel rose greek orthodox christening

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.

angel rose greek orthodox christening georges king st wharf

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