food for thought

my most beautiful bride

I shoot a lot of weddings, but this will always be my most beautiful bride.

artification without ramification (I hope)

egrets, I've had a few....

Found this fellow at the Riparian Preserve in Gilbert, AZ.

barrel racin'

Shot some barrel racin' in Queen Creek on Saturday (but you won't see any barrels here!) Big fun!

40

budgetary concerns?

Just saw this posted on a forum:

"Faster lenses!

Older whiskey!

Younger women!

No money - spent it all on the first three!"

Ha!

nearby mountain

Wouldn't that be a great name for a mountain? Nearby Mountain? I'll have to Google it and see if there is one called that anywhere.

warhol

"Photographers feel guilty

that all they do for a living is press a button."

~ Andy Warhol

maisel

"If you are out there shooting,

things will happen for you.

If you're not out there,

you'll only hear about it."

- Jay Maisel

newton

The first 10,000 shots are the worst.

~ Helmut Newton

day at the museum

Dawn and I visited the Arizona Museum of Natural History in Mesa, yesterday. Dinosaurs, old west stuff, photo exhibit, stuff for kids..... an all-around swell experience that I recommend!

Canon T2i

Canon justed announced a new camera in the Rebel line, the T2i (or 550D overseas). 18 mp, full HD vid (at 24,25, or 30 fps), 3.7 fps stills, ISO up to 12,800, and Digic 4 processing. $800 body only or $900 with kit lens (18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS).

read the press release here: http://www.usa.canon.com/templatedata/pressrelease/20100208_t2i.html

rowell

"You only get one sunrise and one sunset a day,

and you only get so many days on the planet.

A good photographer does the math

and doesn't waste either."

~ Galen Rowell

penn

"I myself have always stood

in the awe of the camera.

I recognize it for the instrument

that it is, part Stradivarius, part scalpel. "

~ Irving Penn

rope tricks

doisneau

The photographer must be absorbent

-- like a blotter, allow himself

to be permeated by the poetic moment....

His technique should be like an animal function

...he should act automatically.

~ Robert Doisneau

twain

"You can't depend on your eyes

if your imagination is out of focus."

~ Mark Twain

arbus

"Taking pictures is like

tiptoeing into the kitchen

late at night and

stealing Oreo cookies."

- Diane Arbus

evans

Stare.

It is the way to educate your eye, and more.

Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop.

Die knowing something.

You are not here long.

- Walker Evans

lange

While there is perhaps a province in which

the photograph can tell us nothing more

than what we see with our own eyes,

there is another in which it proves

to us how little our eyes permit us to see.

~Dorothea Lange

Man Ray

Of course, there will always be

those who look only at technique,

who ask "how," while others of a

more curious nature will ask "why."

Personally, I have always preferred

inspiration to information.

~ Man Ray

mark

"Life is really very sad or it's very funny.

My images are like that - sad, funny and satirical."

~ Mary Ellen Mark

roger wilco

desert shack

One messed-up shack I found in the desert. Yup, messed up and oughta be torn down. The ups and downs of the ol' real estate market...

Cameron & Camera

"From the first moment I handled my lens with a tender ardour."

~ Julia Margaret Cameron

dry reflections

dry reflections...

Weegee

"To me, pictures are like blintzes – ya gotta get ‘em while they’re hot."

~ Weegee

iPad

Apple announced the much-rumored iPad today. Is it a gloried e-reader, the answer to the netbook craze, an extra-large iPhone, or a bundle of wonder in a pretty little package? If it can run Abobe Lightroom (or more likely an iPad specific version of it) and Photoshop I may be very (very, very, very...) intrigued by the possibilities.

Although I understand you need to go for extras to dump from your CF card, use a keyboard, etc. etc. Still..... I haven't been this geek-intrigued since they announced the Airbook. I wonder how that one is selling these days...???

farm shoot or Ralph Lauren?!?!

Farm shoot, but the muted colors feel kind of fashion ad-ish to me! Any thoughts on color schemes that seem to go in and out of fashion??

fall in love

"A thing that you see in my pictures is that

I was not afraid to fall in love with these people."

~ Annie Leibovitz

reality

"In photography there is a reality so subtle

that it becomes more real than reality."

~ Alfred Stieglitz

Jeff and Erin "Save the Date" Spielberg Style!

Very creative "Save the Date" video -- lots of work went into this one. Check it out!

retouching scandals

Scandal might be a bit strong. But check out this interesting bit of fluff from Newsweek about the retouching that made the news in recent years.

buzzing geyser lake

photobombing (?!?!?)

As a photographer, I've certainly been the victim of unwanted people inserting themselves into my shots. I did not, however, know there was a special term for the practice: photobombing. Check out the very amusing photobombing website.

Thanks to Digital Wedding Forum for turning us on to this!

Eisenstaedt

"I don't like to work with assistants.

I'm already one too many;

the camera alone would be enough."

- Alfred Eisenstaedt

Parks and Recreation

Last night we wrapped up the Basics of Digital Photography class we've been running for the Gilbert Dept. of Parks and Recreation. It was a lot of fun and received a largely positive response. I want to thank everyone who came out. We're doing another one starting Feb. 23 (3 consecutive Tuesdays). Go to the link below and pull up the Spring Catalog (in purple -- it's a pdf download) for more info!

Gilbert Parks and Rec

"It's A Major Award!"

Mr. Parker: It's a Major Award!
Swede: Shucks, I wouldn't know that. It looks like a lamp.
Mr. Parker: What is a lamp, you nincompoop? It's a Major Award. I won it!
Swede: Damn, hell, you say won it?
Mr. Parker: Yeah, mind power, Swede; mind power.

So, yes, it's a major award just like Mr. Parker got in "A Christmas Story"! Now, while it is no leg lamp, we are very pleased, honored, and humbled. WeddingWire has awarded Ron Warren Photography the Bride’s Choice Awards^™ 2010. This award recognizes the top 5 percent of local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service and professionalism.

The Bride’s Choice Awards™ are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds (brides and grooms) through extensive surveys and reviews, which means our past clients have spoken on our behalf and selected us to receive this honor. It's our third year and we are very honored to be so appreciated by our clients. Thank you to our brides and grooms and thank you WeddingWire!

Know Your Clients......

Fellow Phoenix area photographer Jared Platt recently wrote a terrific article entitled "Know Who Your Clients Are and Let the Other Ones Go". In it he discusses how a wedding photographer needs to fit with his clients.

It's like I always tell my potential clients: Personality is one of the four P's of wedding photography (the others being pictures, pricing, and products). Your wedding photographer is going to be hovering about all day on one of the most important days of your life. Make sure you get along with him or her! If there is no chemistry, find a different match. As goes love, so goes wedding photography....

metering

Our friends over at Digital Photography School recently posted a nice article about metering modes that I think you might find worthwhile if the different modes confuse you. Check it out!

Do Ye Take This Pirate To Be Your Husband?

Vadim Photo shot this truly stunning pirate wedding. Vadim Omeltcheno of Tampa, FLA shot the wedding of Mollie and Scott aboard the Pirate's Ranson.

Check out more images at http://www.vadimphoto.com/blog/?page_id=713. Keep Vadim in mind if you need photography in and around Tampa. He's clearly up for any challenge!

Beautiful, creative, and undoubtedly super-fun! (I'm kind of jealous about this one!)

Gay and Lesbian Unions

Just hear about So You're Engayged . This is, as the logo says, a wedding resource for same-sex and allied couples. Not a lot of wedding vendors actively market to the gay and lesbian community and it can be difficult to find vendors experienced with gay/lesbian ceremonies and who welcome the opportunity.

Ron Warren Photography has shot ceremonies celebrating the unions of senior citizens, the mature and the youthful, folks of different races and different cultures and different religions, but we have yet to record and honor a same-sex union. We absolutely believe that love supersedes all and that any two consenting adults who find love together should consider themselves lucky and should be afforded all the joy and all the rights and all the privileges that come with a wedding and with marriage.

If you are planning a wedding, civil union, or any variety of ceremony to declare your love and your union, we want to help you record all the special moments and all the romance! Give us a call at 480-252-2787!

Is it April Fool's Day at Polaroid?

Polaroid has a new Creative Director and Inventor of Specialty Products. And she goes by the name of.......

Lady Gaga????

It's true. It's weird. And, again, it's true. Looky here.

Oh that Joe McNally

Joe McNally visits "Father" Bob Krist to confess his photographic sins (originally at www.joemcnally.com )

Favorites 2009

Some favorites from 2009

check out our facebook page for more at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Queen-Creek-AZ/Ron-Warren-Photography/75486938211

HNY2aoughtten

white balancing act

Our friends over at PhotoWalkPro have put together a very nice blogpost about White Balance that you can find here . If you use Adobe Camera Raw or Lightroom (basically the same processing engine) you can easily adjust your white balance after the fact, whether you shoot in jpg or raw. RAW will always give you a greater margin of error, however.

However, it will save you some time and guesswork if you set it correctly to begin with. A truly white object will be helpful, or an 18% grey card, or the slightly warming grey that is mentioned in the linked post. You can also use devices like the expodisc.

The most important thing to remember is to try to avoid a situation where your subject is under lights of different temperatures. An incandescent light coming from one angle, some flourescent off this other way, maybe some natural daylight sneaking in a window. Try to limit your lighting to just one kind or match the temperatures if you can in order to achieve true colors in post.

Of course, completely whacked out color can be fun, too. That's why they invented cross-processing. But I advise you generally go for accurate color early and allow yourself more options later.

more sweet 16

sweet 16

This past Friday I got a last-minute job to cover a sweet 16 party. Mom and Dad (middle shot) threw a very nice party for the birthday girl and about 75 of her closest friends! Most of the night I was shooting in near total darkness (only a bit of light leaking in from two doors and a blue glow from a projector that was left on -- I think these pix really speak to the power of the ol' 580EX flash and the joy of a white ceiling [and acceptably light walls]).

And special thanks to John Horn for the loan of some extra gear. Didn't end up needing it, but it was a godsend to have available. Check out his site, he's becoming a photographic force to reckon with!

hawk

So I was out and about yesterday trying to find an image that would fulfill an assignment with a very broad scope and (perhaps too much) freedom. Didn't find what I was looking for (yet) but I stumbled upon a couple of hawks in the desert. One would perch, runaway, perch, runaway, and so on and so on. I did not have a long enough lens with me to give him the space he so clearly wanted.

The other one was happy to soar and soar and soar, sometimes close enough for these shots. Wished I had had some different equipment with me, but we make do. Enjoy!

visitin' santa (in SAN TAn valley)

Yesterday, we took pictures of children visiting with Santa over at Harmon Elementary (Dawn's old school). Here's a favorite. Aren't they just precious?

Intro DSLRs under $500

Our friends over at Photography Bay put together a just terrific blogpost highlighting several DSLRs that are currently available for under $500. If you are thinking about making the jump to a DSLR (from point and shoot or film or from nothing at all!) but you don't want all the expense and know that you don't necessarily need every single bell and whistle at this point in your photographic education, these are just great choices. And, although I know far too well that $500 is by no means cheap, it is a substantial discount from the prices of the majority of worthwhile DSLRs.

Check out the post and keep these in mind for yourself or for holiday gift-giving. Also, any of these would be a swell choice for anyone taking my Basics of Digital Photography class in Gilbert next month (Wednesday evenings, January 6, 13, and 20!).

p & s and video guide

MSNBC put together a nice little shopping guide to consumer cameras, specifically point-and-shoot and pocket HD video (with a Polaroid wannabe thrown in to round out the field). Take a peek if you're shopping for yourself or someone special for the holidays. Of this batch, I'm partial to the Canon G11 and the Flip Video MinoHD. Let me know what catches your eye and why.

shutter speed/aperture simulator

In a most basic sense, cameras handle exposure through shutter speed (how long the shutter stays open) and aperture (how wide or narrow the hole that admits light is).

In today's digital environment you can also affect exposure with ISO (the adjustable sensitivity of your camera's sensor) and and variety of light modifying options (from on- or off-camera speedlites, off-camera strobes, hotlights, reflectors, etc., etc.) and of course, some manipulation of your ambient light situation.

It is important to understand the basics of shutter speed and aperture before anything else. They not only affect the brightness or darkness of your image, but also your ability to quell motion blur, and, perhaps most importantly, depth of field, especially of backgrounds.

I just stumbled across this terrific little shutter speed and aperture simulator to give you a nice introduction to how they can affect each other dramatically. Play with it for a few minutes, trying different combinations and then get that camera in hand and go shooting!

free image editing software apps

Terrific list (and reviews) of free image editing software. If you just don't need the expense or all the bells and whistles of Photoshop, you might want to check some of these out. What have you got to lose? They're FREE!

leopard seal experience

National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen has quite an amazing "fish" tale, as it were, here. Enjoy!