A look at some of the Staff's favourites from November!
Rememberance Day
LUCAS OLENIUK - Dutchman Ronald Stok makes the trip from Amsterdam to Toronto every Remembrance Day to pay tribute to the heroic actions of those that came before us. He was photographed at a bus stop on King Street west in Toronto.
Richard Lautens -Staff Photographer
It is quite a priviledge being a photojournalist. We are invited into the homes of strangers on a regular basis and welcomed with open arms into their private moments.
Last week I was invited into the home of new Parents, Noor Javed and hubby Sami Ahmed who shaved the head of their 28 day old baby, Maryam in a ceremony called Aqiqah. Family gathered to watch the event at their home.
For Muslim parents, parenting begins within moments of the baby’s birth. The first task is the call to prayer in the baby’s ear – to introduce them to the faith and follow the example of the prophet. After that, it’s circumcision, shaving the baby’s hair, and a naming ritual that involves naming the child on the first or seventh day.
It was a wonderful experience being a part of this intimate moment.
Dad, Sami shaves Maryam's head in the arms of mom, Noor as the family watches
Dad, Sami shaves a sleeping Maryam
Members of the family watch the procedings
Maryam is almost finished as the relatives pause to debate the hairline
Maryam's grandmother collects the hair. The hair is weighed and the same weight in gold is donated to charity.
Noor (right top) and her mom, Fauzia bathe the baby's head to remove the hair trimmings
Mom and Dad cuddle Maryam after it is over
Richard Lautens/Toronto Star
DAVID COOPER - Apartment fire at 200 Wellesley still burning. Woman stands on her balcony several stories above the flames trapped by the smoke in her apartment. The fire was has left everyone in the building homeless.
DAVID COOPER - Apartment fire on the 24th floor at St. James Town 200 Wellesley Street east Friday evening has put close to 1200 people out of their homes. Demetre Papadopoulos and his 14 year old dog Pluto, live on the 11th floor.
STEVE RUSSELL - Energy minister Brad Duguid tours Hydro One control centre in Barrie. The control centre divides the province into four sectors where controlers keep an eye out for problems and run through senarios in case of power shortages or other problems.
LUCAS OLENIUK - Top NHL draft pick, Taylor Hall, took to the ice in Etobicoke as part of the 2010 NHLPA Rookie Showcase. The event provided Upper Deck and Panini trading cards with an opportunity to photograph the top prospects for the upcoming season. Unfortunately, useasonably warm conditions outside and a ventilation problem inside the arena, a fog took over the ice and the shoot had to move to an adjacent rink.
STEVE RUSSELL - Giuseppe Piterna and his son Mauro have finished packing almost everything in their home. The elderly and quite ill couple (his wife Francesca is in the hospital) fell behind on their mortgage and are were evicted.
RENE JOHNSTON - The Toronto City skyline takes the late summer light from the west as the CityPlace condos rise.
LUCAS OLENIUK - Crews work to dry off the rain soaked rides at the CNE.
CARLOS OSORIO - Kids paint in Jaylene Kostiuk's all day kindergarten class at James S. Bell Elementary School on the first day of school.
CARLOS OSORIO - Mayor Hazel McCallion announces that she plans to run again in Mississauga.
STEVE RUSSELL - Anthony Russo, flanked by Kassie Brown in yellow and Robyn Baltzer in grey leap as they rehearse a number for Cirque du Soleil on Queen Street West for the show "Banana Shpeel" which will run until October 10 at the Canon Theatre.
COLIN McCONNELL - Violinist Adrian Anantawan is reheasing with Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
ANDREW WALLACE - A smoker flings his butt.
COLIN McCONNELL - Thousands of Muslims gathered at Exhibition Place in Toronto to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which commemorates the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
RICK MADONIK - Rafi Karim, 3, drinks a juice box as he waits with his family on chairs in the recepiton area of the centre, Access Point on Danforth, a centre which brings together a number of services from health care to youth programs, and greatly serves newcomers to Canada.
DAVID COOPER - Terence Houle, a Blackfoot artist who plays - with pleasant comic effect - with his ethnic identity and how it fits into the modern world in his new show Givn'R, at the Art Gallery of York University (AGYU). The piece he is standing beside is titled "Trail's End / End Trail's" playing on the noble savage on horseback.
DAVID COOPER - Katie Riley, tosses cake into the air after winning a $35,000 wedding at the Boiler House. Two Brides-to-be, Riley and Hayley-Shea Charuk dove into a 500lb wedding cake to find a key to win a $35,000 wedding at the Boiler House in the Distillery District.
RENE JOHNSTON - Mayoral frontrunner Rob Ford loses his umbrella in the storm. Rob Ford coached his Don Bosco football team to a win in the rain.
TANNIS TOOHEY - Mayoral Candidate George Smitherman laps up a drink from the water fountain at the newly opened Sugar Beach before he talks to the media.
LUCAS OLENIUK - Aboard the Number 7 Snowbird plane piloted by Marco Rusconi during the Snowbird media flight. The team toured Ontario's cottage country through sun and rain before returning to Pearson Airport for debriefing.
DAVID COOPER - The Canadian International Air Show went ahead on the last day of the CNE down at the waterfront. Gray skies and some light rain didn't affect the show. A Westjet 737 aircraft passes in the background as The Canadian Forces Snowbirds finished of the show is spectacular fashion.
LUCAS OLENIUK - Actor Edward Norton photographed at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. Norton was promoting his film "Stone".
RICHARD LAUTENS - Well known comedic actor Will Farrell was in town promoting his new movie, "Everything Must Go", on at the Toronto International Film Festival.
RICHARD LAUTENS - Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman is the director and star of the Movie 'Jack Goes Boating' at the Toronto International Film Festival.
LUCAS OLENIUK - Actress Kalki Koeclin photographed in Toronto at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.
STEVE RUSSELL - National Film Board, NFB, chair Tom Perlmutter for Atkinson Fellow Kate Taylor's look into the identity and the gatekeepers of Canadian Culture through media
STEVE RUSSELL - Toronto International Film Festival Piers Handling for Atkinson Fellow Kate Taylor's look into the identity and the gatekeepers of Canadian Culture through media.
SPORTS
DAVID COOPER - Toronto Argonauts Quarterback Cleo Lemon stretches at practice at University of Toronto, Mississauga campus as they prepare for Labour Day game in Hamilton.
RENE JOHNSTON - Rob Friend of Canadian National soccer team gets pulled down by Santiago Acasiete of the Peru National Team in first half action in a friendly in Toronto.
RENE JOHNSTON - Canadian National soccer team goalie Lars Hirschfeld tries to keep the ball out of the net with help from Kevin McKenna as Jefferson Farfan (17) of the the Peru National Team in second half action in a friendly. Canada lost 2-0.
RENE JOHNSTON - The Toronto Argos Chad Lucas gets hammered and loses the ball from the hit by Hamilton Ti-Cat Dylan Barker at Ivor Wynne in Hamilton on Labour Day in the first half.
RICK MADONIK - Rangers Nelson Cruz breaks his bat as he flies out during MLB action between Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
RICK MADONIK - Vernon Wells fouls off a ball during an at bat during MLB Action between Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays.
RICK MADONIK - Fred Lewis can't come up with the ball as a runner turns on the Kyle Crawford triple during MLB Action between Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays.
CARLOS OSORIO - Toronto Blue Jays Jose Bautista waits in the dugout with his jersey off after defeating the Baltimore Orioles 5-2. Some of the Jays players gave the jersey's they wore in the game to some fans.
TANNIS TOOHEY - Toronto FC's Dwayne de Rosario and Chad Barrett react in their 3-2 loss versus San Jose Earthquakes.
TARA WALTON - Toronto Maple Leafs' Captain Dion Phaneuf rocks Buffalo Sabres' Chris Butler during the first period of action Monday September 27, 2010.
RICHARD LAUTENS - The crowd jeers as Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez throws after catching a foul ball from Adam Lind. In their last home stand of the season, the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees 7-5 at the Rogers Centre.
The END(s)
RICK MADONIK - People gave the clothes off their backs at a fundraiser at the Carlu in support of the Canadian Art Foundation. The models were actually part of a performance piece.
Some of the best of Toronto Star photo department's best pictures of the Hot month of July!
ANDREW WALLACE - Water spills on people at Ontario Place water park.
Published, unpublished, some of our April favorites in what will become a monthly feature!
DAVID COOPER - Trevor Rogers balances rocks by the boardwalk to the delight and amazement of kids and adults alike. With summer like weather in the 20's today the Beaches looked like a summer weekend with wall to wall people on the beach and on Queen st. East.
RENE JOHNSTON - Football players line up arm in arm as the casket of teammate and friend Mike McDonald, or Biggie passes into the hearse at his funeral at Westminster United Church in Whitby. The 16-year-old student was stabbed to death at a bus stop near his school.
BERNARD WEIL - Overshadowed by the CN Tower, John Andrews and Mike Rochford untie netting high up poles that were wrapped up for the winter, at the Docks Golf Driving Range.
RICHARD LAUTENS - Harmeed Kaurhundal, 10, spins a Chakra-a representation of a traditional Sikh weapon. The Khalsa day parade brought thousands of colourfully dressed Sihks to parade from Canadian National Exhibition to Queen's Park.
RICK MADONIK - Richard Bansu, of Chaminade College School, runs the first leg of the Junior Boys 4 x 100 during the competition as St. Michael's College School played host to the SnowBall Relays track and field event.
STEVE RUSSELL - Vale INCO continues to dump slag, the molten byproduct of the smelting process. As the Strike between the Brazilian company and Members of USW 6500 entered its ninth month.
TARA WALTON - Mohamed Kajouji (right), the father of Nadia, an 18-year-old Carleton University student who became depressed after leaving her Brampton home and later drowned herself in the Rideau River in March 2008.
LUCAS OLENIUK - The cast and crew of "Unnamed Superheroes", a parody of the film "Kick-Ass", shot in Toronto's port area Tuesday afternoon. The film is a school project for director and York University student Vas Saranga. Saranga's films can be watched at www.3shadeproductions.com.
RICK EGLINTON - Graeme Cameron demonstrates the quality of his custom made "Best Made Co." axes from the U.S.
STEVE RUSSELL - Chris Bosh lays on the ground after missing a shot to win the game as the Toronto Raptors lose to the Golden State Warriors 113-112 at the buzzer at the Air Canada Centre.
TONY BOCK - Kevin Youkilis out at home in the first inning on the throw from right fielder Travis Snider to catcher John Buck, after J. D. Drew singles on a ground ball to right.
MICHELLE SHEPHARD - GUANTANAMO BAY - A detainee runs the track inside Camp 4, where "highly compliant" detainees, including Canadian Omar Khadr, are imprisoned. Khadr was 15 when detained in Afghanistan and is charged with five war crimes including murder for the death of Delta Force soldier Christopher Speer. Now 23, his case is the first to go to trial under under the Obama administration this week.
COLIN McCONNELL - The 60th aniversary jubilee mass at St. Casimir's parish on Roncessvales honoured the death of the Polish president, the First Lady and nearly 100 others in the plane crash in Poland.
RICK MADONIK - Lyba Spring, sexual health promoter with Toronto Public Health, in her downtown office, with two puberty felt aids which have interchangeable parts to demonstrate to kids the changes that will occur in their bodies.
