We have moved: http://imagesofapromise.com/blog

Our blog now has a new home:

New blogsite: http://imagesofapromise.com/blog

Update your RSS feed:  feed://www.imagesofapromise.com/blog/feed/

See you there!

We're moving the blog! Actually, we're integrating into a new blogsite. And we’re super-excited about it. The blog is being integrated with our Image Archive, Commercial, and Client Access website into one seamless experience. There will be lots of our wedding work available, too, though our official wedding & family website will remain as is.

As of today we’re only half way through building the new site, therefore the experience isn’t yet seamless. It may look weird for a few days with missing imagery etc, while we continue its finishing touches. Our developers are working away on coding (their way of saying “poetry”) to make the integration complete. We’re estimating a week or two before it’s all done up.

The cool thing is that all the content from this blog will be imported to the new one, so all the images, articles etc, will be in one place. Yes, we think it's cool, too.

The new Blog is up and running, so come on over and hang out for a while. There's lots of new features. Bring a coffee with you, settle in, and start sharing some of the new experience.

Before you do though, make sure you update your web browser bookmarks and your RSS subscriptions. Here's the new links:

The New Blog: http://imagesofapromise.com/blog

RSS Subscription: feed://www.imagesofapromise.com/blog/feed/

See you there!

Ron and Nerissa had a lovely wedding ceremony at Toronto's Sutton Place Hotel, followed by a reception at the Panorama Restaurant, atop the Manulife Center. It has a fantastic view of the city!

The happy Newlyweds have requested that we respect their privacy and not post their wedding images to the general public. If Ron and Nerissa have provided you with login / password details to view their complete Wedding Photography Gallery Collection, click here. Enjoy.

Best wishes to the Happy Newlyweds.

Over the next few weeks we'll be making some upgrades to our web presence. We're going to try to make it as seamless as possible, but there might be some interuptions where our Blog may look a bit weird during the upgrade process. Not to worry, though. It'll be temporary. And we just might be able to make the upgrades completely seamless.

Typically we showcase images and galleries here on our Blog. However, to avoid any interuptions, we'll be hosting images on our Image Archive and Client Access Website.

Thanks.

Indian weddings are wonderful to photograph because of their rich, colourful traditions, much like Chinese weddings.

Rohini and Kunal's was a traditional Hindu Celebration. The rituals of the Hindu wedding ceremony are based upon the hymns contained in the Veda, which are sacred Hindu scriptures, and have remained unchanged for over 5,000 years. The proceedings are conducted in Sanskrit, believed to be the world's oldest language, and include rituals performed by the bride, groom and the bride's close family members.

It was an honour to photograph such a special day. Congratulations to the Newlyweds!

Typically we showcase Fine Art Highlights Galleries here on our Blog. However, we're going to soon be introducing some upgrades to our Blog (Oops - consider that a news leak!). To avoid any interuptions, we're hosting the Gallery on our Image Archive and Client Access Website. Click here to view Rohini and Kunal's Fine Art Highlights Gallery.

Over the Thanksgiving Weekend, I had the opportunity of photographing Angela and Robin's Wedding Day. They flew in to Toronto from Vancouver. Their special day was a lovely Greek Orthodox ceremony followed by a fantastic reception at the Deer Creek Golf Club in Ajax.

If you've never attended a Greek wedding, then you haven't experienced a day full of lively people, lots of humour and of course, Greek Dancing!

The autumn weather was perfect, allowing for beautiful light and photography.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Following is a slideshow showcasing some highlights of Angela and Robin's wedding day. Hold your mouse over the images to read about each picture. If you'd like to share any of these pictures, you may email any image by clicking on it. And, if you have your own blog or personal website, you may embed the slideshow, too. Simply click the little triangle on the bottom-right to copy the html code.

If Angela and Robin have provided you with details on how to view their complete Gallery Collection on our Image Archive & Client Access website, click here with your login details. Bye for now.

Things are humming along here at a busy pace. We've a number of wedding celebrations to photograph this month in great locales with lovely couples. We're also shooting corporate and executive / actor portraits. And, we're designing albums, greeting cards and more. Please check in with us for the status of your order.

An exciting announcement: Introducing a host of new and elegant features to our Highlight Galleries / Slideshows. Now, when we premiere your photography on the Blog and in your private Gallery, whether it's a wedding, lifestyle portrait session etc., you have a choice of options including thumbnail displays, image transitions, captions and - this is a great option: the ability to email the slideshow directly from the blog and website! And, you can still embed the slideshow in almost any html or flash site such as your personal blog or website.

Following is a sample slideshow showcasing a selection of options. And what better way to show it off than with some new work. Note that some of the following images are available as Fine Art Prints and rights managed stock images. Simply click on the image you're interested in. Enjoy!

To view our main websites, visit imagesofapromise.com (weddings and family) and deanaorosphoto.com (commercial and stock).

Until next time, keep well. Perhaps you really enjoy autumn? It's a perfect time to take advantage of the crisp air and fall colours for a personal photo shoot. Contact us for details how how we can make it extra-special for you.

And.... Stay tuned for a big announcement, coming soon.

Paper! Beautiful, sustainable, inspirational, protective, tactile.
These are words that may leave you scratching your head when thinking about paper. True, most of us don’t often think about paper. And when we do, it may be in a limited way:

“Hmm I’ve got to print that report.”

“Urrgh! The photocopier is out of paper again!”

“Don’t squeeze the Charmin.”

Digital, because of its immediate convenience, is becoming the medium of choice for the written word and to a lesser degree, the medium to display photography.

A hard drive / discs and computer screen is where many people choose to keep and display their letters & photos. Seriously, when was the last time you held a hard drive and said “Wow, what a beautiful hard drive. I love how it feels in my hands. The texture is just lovely. It smells wonderful and reminds me of my last hard drive.”

Paper: Why Not?
Paper has been around for so long that it’s easy for us to take it for granted, and it’s often not used to its full potential. It is what we make of it.

Photography is my primary method of communicating. But because all of us use words to communicate, let’s take a look at both words and imagery. Unless this blog post has been printed on paper, you’re now in front of a computer screen. Right off the bat, you’re experiencing LESS. Not more. NOT EVEN ANYTHING REMOTELY EQUAL.

“Huh?”, you may be asking. Allow me to walk you through the subtleties you’re missing right now:

    1.    If you want to continue reading this, you’re locked into being in front of a computer screen. Or worse, you’re reading this on a tiny screen like your iPhone, iPod, Blackberry or some other small device. Can you say: “Where are my eye glasses?” The image included with this blog post is now so small it might as well be on a matchbook cover.

    2.    You’ve lost the feeling of touch. You aren’t holding paper in your hands while you read. You can’t feel the paper’s texture. When was the last time you received a handwritten letter penned on beautiful stationary and ran your fingers over the words? Images that have been meticiously and professionally created and colour-corrected now look like two-day old soup on an uncalibrated computer screen - which most people are using. You can’t run your fingers over the images and words on a computer screen unless you want to leave it full of fingerprints and smears, and probably create a mess of static electricity in the process.

    3.    You can’t inhale the scent of a computer screen. Now imagine that hand-written letter on beautiful paper from a loved one. You instantly know who wrote the letter because you recognize the writer’s penmanship. Perhaps whomever wrote to you left a trail of fragrance on the paper and envelope. It smells wonderful. Maybe they’ve included a printed photo that immediately evokes a memory. That letter now has even more meaning to you.

    4.    Paper is protective. The letter and photograph you hold in your hand is permanent. The words and images are protected and archived. Digital images, emails, text messages, and online blog posts can only be saved to hard drives. And ALL hard drives eventually will crash and die. Say good bye to all those beautiful words and digital images. And remember, you need a computer to even access the information hard drives / CDs / DVDs contain. That handwritten letter and professionally-printed print can be stored and displayed anywhere. And the bonus is that they’re immediately accessible - you don’t need to install a hard drive or boot up a computer to see them.

Educate
As a photographer, I do my best to educate clients on the benefits of paper, especially newlyweds-to-be and families. Creating a heirloom in the form of a professionally designed fine-art wedding album and archival prints will increase in personal value the longer you keep them. When created by the photographer you’ve commissioned to photograph your special day or family portaits, the final product is created with lots of loving care (at least here). We want the images we created to look their absolute best and to tell your story.

I hope you found this article helpful. Please note that if you'd like to use any part of this article for your own website etc, you must ask us first. Please call or write for permission. Respect copyright.  Thank you.

With the sun arriving after a morning of rainfall, Tanya and Chris were able to enjoy an outdoor wedding yesterday at Toronto's Fantasy Farms. Nestled off Pottery Road off the Bayview Extension, this quaint venue was an ideal spot for their special day.

A sweet day for a sweet couple.

Chris and I had done a location scout together to suss out the venue in case we were treated to a full day of rain, to see what our options were. So while we had a weather plan in place, we didn't need it! The sun shone. A gentle breeze in the air.

The day was just lovely. After a beautiful ceremony and fun portrait session, what really struck me were the dinner-time speeches. Heartfelt. Funny. Genuine. I had a great time chatting with friends and family, too.

Thank you for having me as part of your big day! Congratulations to the Newlyweds. I hope you have an incredible honeymoon in Italy.

Following is a Fine-Art Enhanced Highlight Gallery of Tanya and Chris' wedding day. For further details on each photograph, hold your mouse over each image. You may also email any image to a friend by clicking on it. If you have your own blog or personal website, you may embed the slideshow, too. Simply click the little triangle on the bottom-right to copy the html code.

If Tanya and Chris have provided you with details on how to view their complete Gallery Collection on our Image Archive & Client Access website, the remaining images will be ready in about three weeks.

We'll be picking up a copy of Snow Leopard on Friday for sure.

Yesterday Liz married Kelvin & Kelvin married Liz. It was a beautiful day. Everyone was in the moment and laughter was filling the air on more than one occasion. And yes, there were some happy tears sneaking out of sparkling eyes.

I met the happy newlyweds a year ago. Earlier this year we had a great time photographying their Engagement Session. We created a story-telling coffee table book, which was so much fun to put together because there were a lot of fun imagery to go in it. You can see a slideshow of their Engagement Lifestyle session by clicking here.

Thank you very much to everyone for making me feel so welcome yesterday. It was such a pleasure! From Bishop Ann Tottenham's lovely ceremony to speeches during dinner, there were many heartfelt words being spoken. It was evident I was photographing two tightly-knit families coming together as one! Thank you for having me as part of such a special day. I hope you enjoy the photography as much as I enjoyed photographing you.

It was difficult selecting the images to include in Liz and Kelvin's Fine-Art Highlight Gallery. There were many to choose from. The following slideshow is just a small sample. Everyone looks smashing!

For further details on each photograph, hold your mouse over each image. You may also email any image to a friend simply by clicking on it. If you have your own blog or personal website, you may embed the slideshow, too. Simply click the little triangle on the bottom-right to copy the html code.

If Liz and Kelvin have provided you with details on how to view their complete Gallery Collection on our Image Archive & Client Access website, the remaining images will be ready in about three weeks.

Congrats to the Newlyweds!

We are very busy bees. What with it being peak wedding season, we're also bizzzeee with consultations, image editing, album design, corporate shoots, and - surprise - surprise! - a revamped website. That's right! Images of a Promise has a new website. Big, beautiful images. Wedding and Family Lifestyle never looked so good (if we may toot our horn just a little). Check it out by clicking here.

Our Image Archive and Client Access website is bustling with activity, too. DeanOrosPhoto.com is the place where our clients go to review their imagery. It's the place where those seeking stock, commercial and corporate photography visit to view our image portfolios outside of our fine-art wedding & family photojournalism.

Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Exactly 17 hours ago I finished photographing Thalia and Trevor's Wedding Day. It seems like 17 minutes ago. It was one of those days when it's hard to pack up the camera gear and leave because the people are just so lovely. I was touched by how many of Thalia and Trevor's family approached me as I was leaving to chat and thank me. It was touching. I'm the one to say thanks for having me be part of the day. Thank you, again.

I first met Thalia and Trevor just over a year ago. We met up during the Beaches Jazz Fesitval in a local cafe, and hit it off instantly. Then they went off to enjoy some of the festival.

Since then I photographed and made a coffee table book of their Engagement Lifestyle Session. I also photographed Thalia's first dress fitting where I captured her priceless expression the first time she saw herself in her wedding gown (click here to see that image). It was a family affair as quite a few family members showed up, including Thalia's Mom, Alsie, whom ever since I affectionately call Mom. She likes to joke around with me. While photographing all the girls getting ready yesterday, she asked if she should just wear what she was wearing for her daughter's wedding. She was wearing an every-day outfit, so I knew she was starting to joke with me. Without missing a beat, I said to her "Why not?" and kept shooting. Haha. "You're so bad", she replied. "Isn't he bad?', she asked anyone who was listening.

Though we were a bit tight for time, Thalia and I took a few minutes where we could just focus on her. We created some lovely portraits just before she put her veil on to walk down the aisle.

We were very lucky weather-wise. We didn't experience a drop of rain, which is exceptional considering the thunderstorms we had the week prior. Though, with the amount of humidity we all felt sweat run down our backs during the outdoor portion of the day.

The Wedding Ceremony was such a highlight of the day. The ambiance of the Old Mill Inn's Chapel combined with lots of happy tears from I'm not saying whom was real : ) and allowed me to capture some lovely moments.

I hope you enjoy the following fine-art image highlights. For more detail on each photograph, hold your mouse over each image. You may also email any image to a friend simply by clicking on it. If you have your own blog or personal website, you may embed the slideshow, too. Simply click the little triangle on the bottom-right to copy the html code.

If Thalia and Trevor have provided you with details on how to view their complete Gallery Collection on our Image Archive & Client Access website, the remaining images will be ready soon.

Congrats to Thalia and Trevor. I hope you'll have internet access while on your honeymoon. I'd love to know you were able to see some of your Wedding Images while overseas. Best wishes everyone.

Thalia Trevor Wedding Day BLOG - Images by Dean Oros

Yesterday I had the pleasure of photographing Daphina and Charles' Wedding ceremony and celebration. The day commenced with a traditional Chinese tea ceremony and ended with late night dancing.

There were many highlights, so many in fact, that I almost don't know where to begin. I'll start with the newlyweds. We first met in November last year, and they confirmed their date with us the following week. They're a charming couple, and if you had the chance to see their Engagement Lifestyle highlights a few weeks ago, you will have discovered they're a lot of fun. Click here if you'd like to see their Engagement Highlights.

We've had a few months to get to know each other, and by the time their Wedding Day arrived, we had a great level of trust between us. This is ideal because, as many people know, I love to wear my creative hat and have my couples participate in the often fun, playful & zany ideas I come up with. You'll see a couple of examples in the following Highlights Gallery.

A special highlight of the day was Charles' Grandma. She is 94 years old and flew in from Hong Kong for the wedding! I immediately was taken with her. She has such a lovely face and a gentle look in her eyes. Full of wisdom and stories, I'm sure. I wish she spoke English as I would've enjoyed the opportunity to speak with her, but we did communicate with lots of smiles, physical gestures and the odd translation (especially during the family formals).

I also captured the largest group shot I've done, with all 170 guests! Thanks to all who helped wrangle people. A special thanks to Amalia of Talen Events for ensuring the chair I was standing on while photographing didn't slip underneath my feet.

Wellington Music and Sky's Band provided wonderful music for the day.

I hope you enjoy these image highlights. For more detail on each photograph, hold your mouse over each image. You may also email any image to a friend simply by clicking on it. If Daphina and Charles have provided you with details to view their complete Gallery Collection on our Image Archive & Client Access website, there will be hundreds of additional story-telling images for you to enjoy.

I'd like to end this post by saying that I love all of the couples we're photographing this year. I can say without a doubt that we work with truly awesome people (and let's not forget stylish!). Until next time...

Daphina Charles Wedding BLOG - Images by Dean Oros