Erin & Ron

Fantastic wedding yesterday! Erin and Ron got hitched at Van Hoosen Museum in Rochester, MI. Beautiful, historic site. Lovely grounds with a gazebo, gardens, bridges, ponds, etc. etc. Great place for an outdoor wedding. And lots of friendly faces (I shot the wedding of one of the bridesmaids just two weeks ago -- you may remember Becky and Kevin? -- hmmm??).

Today we are off to Lake Orion. Stay tuned!

"4 the Best" Contest!

The local NBC affiliate, Channel 4, has a website, clickondetroit.com. Through this website and something called CityVoter, they have an annual contest/rating system for various local businesses, services, restaurants, etc. that they call "4 the Best".

Ron Warren Photography has been nominated as one of Detroit's best photographers. And, yes, it's an honor just to be nominated, of course. But I also happen to believe, deep down in my heart of hearts.... that it would just rock to win, too! There is no prize involved, but to be voted top in your field in your area by your clients and community is a true prize and honor.

It's basically a popularity contest. Whoever gets the most votes wins. So if you can find a spare minute and are so inclined, I hope you will go to http://wdiv.cityvoter.com/ron-warren-photography/biz/45629 and cast your vote for us.

Thanks,
Ron

Sumit & Melissa II

Three more from last weekend. Enjoy!

Sumit & Melissa

Great anticipation surrounded Saturday's wedding.

Sumit and Melissa had a traditional Indian wedding. I knew it would be colorful and beautiful, but I had no idea! The intricate henna, the dress, the jewelry as well as the ceremonial rites were all amazing and awe-inspiring. You can probably expect to see more pictures from this wedding as the week advances.

Three More (and I swear I'll stop!)

Okay, three more from Becky and Kevin's wedding and I really will stop. At least for the weekend! I have to shoot a 4th of July family party and a traditional Indian wedding this weekend, so I hope to have some terrific shots rolling out next week from something other than the very photogenic Becky and Kevin!

Here goes nothing...

Samurai Dawn

I'm not sure what to say about this one. Basically, it is my wife, Dawn, wielding a sword. Time to call Homeland Security? Mr. Miyagi? Or the local deli for a job application?

It's alright, now. We talked her down and hid the weapon under the mattress. Don't tell her, OK?

Awesome Aussies

I freely admit it. It's true. I'm a fan of the poochies. First and foremost, of my own best guy, Cosmo, the awesome Australian Shepherd (don't worry, I won't start inundating you with pictures of Cosmo). But pretty much any pooch that doesn't want to chew my face off can be a friend of mine.

Now, Aussies come in a wide variety of colors, red-tri (like Cosmo), black-tri, blue-merle, red-merle, etc. But I never saw an almost all black Aussie until last week. My neighbor stopped by with this adorable little stinker and I had to play puppy papparazzi.

Faulkner In Training

If it's not one creative outlet for me, it's another. I used to be involved in a writing group with friends Heath, Christian, and Janine. I have shifted my efforts to the photography, but the group goes on. As do the friendships.

I still have my hand in to a small degree by helping out with our online speculative fiction magazine, The Nautilus Engine. Check it out if you like weird stories. New issue every three months. The latest issue just went live a few days ago.

On Sunday, Christian hosted a soiree on behalf of Dawn and myself as we will soon be relocating to sunny AZ. We spent most of the evening around the pool table and in the vicinity of the wet bar.

Here's Heath doing his best to maintain the image of the moody writer looking for his muse at the bottom of a bottle. This is extra entertaining as this guy barely drinks. But I love the look of this picture.

Beauty and the Classic Car

I shot Becky and Kevin's wedding at the Great Oak Country Club. A friend of the family brought this great classic car for the bride's big arrival and stuck around for some formals.

Natural beauty vs. artificial flames. I think Becky is the clear winner, but they go well together, too!

Table Shot Without a Table

So....... shooting a wedding and we're between major events. Time to get those all important guest shots. Table shots, you might say. I'm about halfway through, when one table tells me they want to do something more creative. Am I game?

Of course I'm game! And probably a little gamey by that point. So their fearless leader leads the guests and me into the men's room. Ladies and all. And here is one of the shots.

I'm not entirely sure I get it, but they were having fun. It's definitely different. It's unique. It's creative. And now I want to wash my hands!

Can You Say "Ortonville" ???

OK, what can I say? I love the pix from this wedding. I keep playing and things just keep catching my eye. And I hope yours, too.

The couple (and family) did a great job of posing themselves. I offered suggestions, but they had some swell ideas of their own. This one was pretty cute. And everybody just kept right on smooching even after I took the shot!

Arty in Ortonville

The more you process, the more you love! One more image from Saturday for your enjoyment.

Hitched In Ortonville

Colleen and Ben are a fun-lovin' couple. Here's a few faves from the weekend.

Competition

This young man is trying to put me out of business! And he doesn't even have to pose the formals! Lucky guy.

Phillip & Katrenia

I had the pleasure of shooting the lovely wedding of Katrenia and Phillip on Saturday at the Athenium Hotel in downtown Detroit.

Lightning II

That's right, another storm passed through town. And there I was on my porch to give it another go. And I managed a whopper. Next, time I think I'll try to find an open expanse or perhaps a nice city skyline for my backdrop. But I'll give you a break from storms for awhile and tackle some new subject matter for the next post.

Lightning Strikes

The lightning was most definitely not on strike 'round these parts recently. SE Michiganders know we had some crazy storm action on Sunday. Last night (Monday) brought another batch of storms, although they didn't seem near as crazy, at least here in Clawson. So Dawn and I sat out on the covered porch (Cosmo wanted nothing to do with it and cowered away from the thunder in the bathroom right next to the tub).

And I tried to shoot the lightning. The lightning was not particularly cooperative. I was running 30 second exposures on a tripod. My D40 then needed 20-30 seconds to process the crazy long exposure and that was inevitably when a good bolt of lightning would hit. But after a half-hour of attempts, I got this.

Not terrific, but it is lightning. Looks like dusk, doesn't it? It was full dark. F/22, 30 seconds, ISO 100 and I went with Tungsten WB in order to get the blue in the sky. F/22 to maximize depth of field as I couldn't pre-focus on the lightning. 30 seconds because that's the best the 40D will do without being in bulb. I tried bulb but my hand got tired and kept me away from my beverage. So, there's some lightning. I'll be trying again at the next storm.

Little Guy, Big Thirst

Stumbled upon this little guy yesterday, dawdling well behind his Mom, fully intent on his drink. I like the expanse in front of him beckoning him forth and the slightly Kim Anderson quality of the image. One shot, off the cuff, and I made a nice image. So what am I getting at?

Keep your camera handy! All the time!

One More from the Weekend

Another Beautiful Wedding

Yup, that's right. Shot another wedding and everything just couldn't have been lovelier. A brief panic regarding missing flowers (that turned up and all was well) and that was about it for problems (at least as far as I noticed -- and I see all!).

Not like the horror stories I just read about in this CNN article. Take a look, it's a hoot!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/06/02/weddings.from.hell/index.html

But, as the saying goes, "The worse the wedding, the better the marriage!"