Anything for the shot!

The Soundtrack of our lives. . .

2011-02-20T00:53:00.001-08:00

How many memories can be defined by the music that you heard at the time? We all have so many memories and I would venture to say that a great deal of them involve some music you heard. You've heard it before: "Aww. This is our song" or "This song totally reminds me of you!" Sprinkle in a few, "Hey remember this jam from Spring Break in Cabo?!" and "I frickin' hate this song! My ex played it ALL the time!" and you have the soundtrack which makes up all of our lives. This little video is just a fraction of my soundtrack.

I threw this quick video together on my way to the WPPI convention in Las Vegas kind of as a fun, "what can I do to stay awake" project. It worked. Enjoy

The Dangers of being a photographer.

2010-02-03T19:26:00.000-08:00

Film Review: The Fall by Tarsem Singh

2009-12-18T16:39:00.000-08:00

According to Wikipedia, "Cinematography (from Greek: kinema - κίνημα "movement" and graphein - γράφειν "to record"), is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for the cinema", and "it is closely related to the art of still photography." Thats is why I have decided that I will from time to time explore and review a few of my favorite movies which I feel have exemplary cinematography. I may from time to time use the word 'photography' in place of 'cinematography', but for all intents and purposes they are the same, at least when it comes to this blog.

My first guilty "movie" pleasure come from avant garde director Tarsem Singh entitled The Fall. Tarsem's most notable claim to fame was the visually stunning yet still crappy movie, The Cell, which starred Jennifer Lopez (there's your main reason), Vince Vaughn (in a not funny role at all) and the incredible Vincent D'Onofrio who went above and beyond for this role. The Cell was an ambitious film for the director that was aimed at the mass market without much success. Its far out storyline and lack of chemistry between actors weren't enough to pull the movie from a quiet death with the masses.

The Fall is a visually stunning and yet sublime work of art, weaving photographic composition, color, special effects, good acting and an intricate storyline into a potent and evocative film that is worth watching more than once!

All of the films surreal locations and sets are actually real locations that weren't built for the movie, the majority of which were in India. Filmed in over 20 countries over four years, the director really must've racked up the miles on his credit cards! Tarsem is brilliant in his use of negative space and color to impact the viewer. The use of wideangle lenses helps to increase the size of the canvas of the film and the locations never fail to do anything less than take your breath away. In this day and age of using CGI locations, custom built sets and special effect 'other worlds', the fact that the director could use actual locations all over the world and present them in a way that made them seem almost too fantastic to exist, is uncommon and incredible. Never before outside of special effects have I ever seen such amazing locations.

To see all of the films actual locations CLICK HERE!

The other poignant touches to the movie are its original costume design and its impeccable use of a lesser known work by Beethoven as the films' principal score. The storyline takes place partially in a Southern California sanatorium during the 1920's and partially in the imagination of the child star of the film. The storyline itself is told by an injured movie stuntman (played by Lee Pace) in the sanatorium for a severe back injury. The originality of the story telling comes from the divergence in the storytelling from what is actually being seen in the film (consider the term: Indian vs. indian, as in the older term referencing a Native American).

The main plot of the film revolves around the relationship created by the heartbroken and suicidal stuntman with a 5 year old Romanian girl who has broken her arm while picking oranges with her family in a Southern California Orange grove. Seeing the young girls mobility around the hospital, the stuntman concocts an elaborate and fantastic tale by which to manipulate the little girl into getting him a lethal dose of drugs by which to dispatch himself.

Unlike other reviewers, I will not spoil the ending or the surprises in the film except to say that this movie is a feast for the eyes and the story is light and warm like a mother embracing a child. For me, personally, I enjoyed the movies lack of cynicism that most films seem to have nowadays. I highly recommend this movie and recommend watching it more than once so as to pick up all of the subtleties you may have missed in prior viewings. As with many fantastical movies, suspension of disbelief is a must, so make sure to check your cynicisms before throwing this DVD into the player.

2009-05-20T01:00:00.000-07:00

Sitting in the 102° University of California Merced sun, thousands of family members, friends, faculty and staff gathered from what has to be up to this point in UC Merced’s history, it’s most prestigious and proudest moment. Thanks to an incredible letter writing campaign started by students at the university and continued by its community, they achieved what other larger and more prestigious universities and schools haven’t been able to do. They got the First Lady, Michelle Obama to be the Keynote speaker at their graduation.

Up to that point, it had already been a long day for most family members and graduates. People had started arriving as early as 7:30 in the morning for a 1:30pm graduation. Some even attending smaller ceremonies on the small and remote campus.

The nervousness of people could be seen in the fast flitting eyes of the many who were working to bring this event to fruition. University staff and faculty darted about trying to get people and things in the right places. Police officials screened visitors through large metal detectors. Secret Service agents walked stoically among the crowd with dark sunglasses and occasionally speaking into the cuff of their coats. In the distance of the campus’ rooftops, small silhouettes could be seen raising binoculars to their eyes and shifting from one end of a rooftop to the other.

The nervous energy present earlier in the staff could now be felt spreading among the attendees even in the 100 plus degree weather. Eventually the time passed and the time grew closer for the graduation. Some of the elderly or those who did not drink enough water had to be attended to by Emergency Services only to ultimately be carted away to a shadier respite, no doubt where there was water and shade available.

It was then, after a few minutes of standing, saluting and crowd cheering did the graduation platform come onto the stage. During the few speeches and introductions before the First Lady’s commencement address, the vibe in the crowd was electric and soon enough erupted in tremendous applause when Michelle Obama stepped to the dais.

Mrs. Obama spoke about inspiration and giving back. Speaking confidently and directly to the crowd she talked about why she decided to make UC Merced the first university to give her very first commencement address as First Lady. She told the crowd that it was because the students and the people of Merced inspired her and touched her so much that she felt that she had to go. When referring to the vast diversity of Merced’s community and the struggles of their families to get their sons and daughters to this graduation, she asked them to give back to the community that gave them the very university that they were graduating from.

Reminding the crowd of graduates that “you are blessed”, and that everyone once in a while they should “bend down and let someone else stand on [their] shoulders”, and asking them to be the “realization of our dreams and the hope for the next generation”.

- Ronnie Revoredo

The Adventures of Flat Stanley

2009-05-15T10:22:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago I received a special package in the mail from a young student named Rose. Rose is at the Learning Center and has been reading the story of Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown. Well can you believe to my great surprise, that special package that I received had Flat Stanley himself! Along with Flat Stanley came a note from Rose asking if I could take Flat Stanley with me on some adventures. Well, being the adventurous type, that's exactly what I did!

Our first stop was at the airport in San Diego, where we checked in, passed security and then went to our gate to wait for our flight.

<------ Dont forget to become a follower of this blog!

As we boarded the plane, several friendly crew members from Southwest airlines recognized Flat Stanley! WOW, I had no idea he was such a big celebrity. Well these friendly crew members invited Flat Stanley to meet the Pilot of a departing plane right up in the cockpit! Can you believe it? I sure couldn't. It was quite a treat for both Flat Stanley and I.

Later on we boarded our flight and were greeted by the wonderful flight crew from Southwest Airlines to Sacramento, and then they introduced us to our Pilot and Co-Pilot who were super cool as well. They even modeled for the camera!

After we took our seats, we took a look on the map to see where in California, Sacramento was.

When we finally got to Sacramento, we went straight to the car rental counter at Enterprise.

Upon arriving at our hotel room, we unloaded our camera equipment and set up the laptop so that we could blog about all of the days big events!

When we woke up the next day, we got ready to go to UC Merced for a big graduation, and this was a special graduation. The President's wife, First Lady Michelle Obama was scheduled to show up! Boy were we excited! It was like a circus when we got there! There were graduating students, teachers, police, Military, and Secret Service agents everywhere. We had to go through metal detectors and everything. Fortunately Stanley had no metal in him.

Stanley made a lot of friends while he was there! He met video camera operators, UC Merced Bobcat football players, Secret Service agents and the entire crew that helped put on this event!

And he was given access to practically everywhere!

Later, on the plane home we ran into the UCSD Women's Crew team! They had just come back from a competition and had won bronze and silver medals. Go Tritons! The ladies immediately recognized Flat Stanley and wanted to take a picture with him, and everybody was all smiles! They even put one of their medals on his neck! It was great!

Flat Stanley and I are both so excited because this is just the beginning of many more adventures. I can't wait to see what the rest of our adventures have in store for us!

I will post more later....

Just a tease of Linsay and Nick...

2009-04-22T02:12:00.000-07:00

More to come soon! Keep an eye out here and become a fan by scrolling down the left side and click FOLLOW!

Tristan & Marie

2009-04-14T12:22:00.000-07:00

Too Close To Home

2009-02-05T22:40:00.001-08:00

A couple of months ago I was honored to have my good friend Sandy ask me to shoot a portrait of him to feature in News Photographer magazine for the NPPA (National Press Photographers Association).

The story in the magazine was an account of the day and how the events unfolded and how Sandy responded to it.

In the rush of trying to get his camera equipment to the crash site Sandy dropped one of his (more expensive) Canon lenses; a casualty of the days events. Canon, if you are listening, he could use a new lens.

A little bit of 2008.

2009-01-08T13:37:00.001-08:00

Randy & Syndey

Patrick & Linda

San Diego & Coronado

Brtinee & Jonathon

Andre & Jen

Angela & Gene

Sandy Huffaker Jr.

The Sky is Falling

2008-12-14T18:22:00.000-08:00

Veteran independent photojournalist Sandy Huffaker Jr. was at home working with his wife in a residential neighborhood of San Diego, California on December 8th when he heard the familiar sound of a jet inbound towards nearby MCAS Miramar. This time however, the sound was much louder and more powerful than any other time before. As he looked out of his front door he saw the F/A-18 lurching in the sky and soon after the pilot ejecting. Thinking quickly he nervously grabbed for his camera equipment and in the process dropped some of it while racing to the nearby scene, breaking a valuable lens in the commotion.

Photograph Copyright Sandy Huffaker Jr.

Living so improbably close to this accident made it possible for Sandy to be one of the first people on the scene to document the unfolding tragedy, all the while realizing that he could have been the news if the jet had crashed just a few blocks west of its final destination.

His photos of the accicent have run on the front covers of many newspapers running around the nation as well as internationally.

Remembering Kai Haug

2008-12-09T01:42:00.000-08:00

A few days after Kai Haug's second birthday his parents noticed he wasn't hanging on to the swing with his left hand. A couple of days later after getting off the swing he came over to get a drink out of a water bottle. The bottle had a flip top lid and when he tried to open it, his hand was limp.

-->>CLICK ANYWHERE TO VIEW KAI'S Story<<__

Kai Haug was 3 years old when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor in April 2006. He underwent surgery, followed by chemotherapy and radiation. A routine scan in April of 2007 showed progression of the disease. He underwent a 2^nd surgery and battled this disease with childlike faith and courage.

-->>CLICK ANYWHERE TO VIEW KAI'S Story<<__

Kai was diagnosed on April 8, 2006 with a Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor. He underwent surgery on April 10,2006. In May he became a patient at St. Jude Children's Research hospital in Memphis, TN. He began 10 weeks of chemotherapy, followed by 6 weeks of radiation, followed by another 40 weeks of chemotherapy. A routine scan on April 9,2007 (8 weeks before he completed treatment) showed progression of the disease. On May 3, 2007 Kai underwent a second surgery to remove the tumor.

-->>CLICK ANYWHERE TO VIEW KAI'S Story<<__

It was in July that I had the opportunity to actually meet Kai and his whole family, including his Father Eric and his wonderful mother Jenica. Friends had arranged for them to come out to the beach in San Diego all the way from Las Vegas and have a portrait of the family taken. I cannot even begin to tell you how much this little boy and his family has touched my life. It was an experience that I will forever remember.

Unfortunately Kai passed last year on December 7th, 2007, but you can still see Kai and his mommy Jenica in this video for St. Jude's Research at around :39 seconds. This holiday season I ask all of you, please contribute if you can so that we can prevent this from happening to anymore families. Please go to St. Judes website by clicking here.

Ronnie Revoredo

RMR Photography

Angela & Gene

2008-11-30T16:02:00.000-08:00

Right before Thanksgiving I had the opportunity to photograph a great group for a wedding at Coronado Island! Angela and Gene had flown themselves and a posse of great friends down from San Jose to be with them while they tied the knot on the beach around sunset! It was a little blustery and the clouds weren't very cooperative but we made do and came away with some good shots! I love it when you get a couple thats just attractive as can be! It makes it all come together.

When I first came across them I thought I might be in for some trouble as they were all hyper-amped like after a few red bulls and vodka with furious texting and phone-calling but they soon all came together and the portraits were SUPER fun! All the women were just HOT! I mean there was not a Slump Buster in sight! Couldn't have taken a bad photo if I wanted to! I even developed a tiny crush on on of them while I was there (Of course I'll never say which one).

The Bride, Angela was just as exquisite as could be and radiated beauty with the love of the ceremony and her friends! She and her Groom to be, Gene were frickin' awesome! They were so down that they even got some sexy sexy shots on the shore line! I love it when a couple just goes all out! It's once in a lifetime, right? So why not!

Angela and Gene, thanks for making the experience fun all the way around! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW PHOTOS FROM YOUR EVENT

Sydney

2008-10-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

It had been a pretty hectic last few weeks with work when I got a call form a friend in San Francisco. She told me of her friend Randy and his dog Sydney. Sydney the yellow lab and her brother/littermate Apollo came to be with Randy 9 years ago. Unfortunately Randy is being advised that for the comfort of Sydney that she be quietly put to sleep. So until then Randy will be spending as many precious moments with her and Apollo as he can. As an animal lover and dog owner I sympathize whole-heartedly with Randy and hope that he has many cherished memories of Sydney to hold on to. Take heart in hoping that when our time is near the end, as we slowly ascend, a wet nose and a wagging tail waits for you at Heaven's gate.

DON'T CRY FOR ME WHEN I'M GONE

Three score and ten are given to man,
But ours is a much briefer span.
So, though I give you all my heart,
The time will come when we must part.
But all around you, you will see,
Creatures that speak to you of me;
A tired horse, a hunted thing,
A sparrow with a broken wing ...
Pity - and help (I know you will)
And somehow, I will be with you still;
And I shall know, although I'm gone,
The love I gave you lingers on.

Please make sure to turn your volume up and on.

Greg & Catherine's Photo Booth!

2008-09-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

Greg and Catherine couldn't have asked for a better day to have a wedding! It was a beautiful affair at the Bernardo Winery and everybody had a great time! It seems that the photobooth was a big hit! Enjoy these photos until we can post ALL of the photos from the wedding on our website, www.rmrphoto.com or by clicking HERE.

Leave a comment for Catherine and Greg by clicking HERE and we will add it to their scrapbook!

Leave a comment for Catherine and Greg by clicking HERE and we will add it to their scrapbook!

Leave a comment for Catherine and Greg by clicking HERE and we will add it to their scrapbook!

Leave a comment for Catherine and Greg by clicking HERE and we will add it to their scrapbook!

2008-09-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

My good friend Patrick finally did it! He asked his girlfriend Linda to be his wife. And it only took a little over a decade! Right on Pat. You made a wise choice my friend, you hooked her before she realized that you were dating waay out of your league! Just kidding. You guys are an awesome couple and I wish you the verybest!

I hope you enjoy your photos, and they will be posted online soon!

We were going to go to the Japanese friendship garden in Balboa Park, but who frickin' knew that it was going to be Free Admission Tuesday! Every tourist and their mother was in the garden and we didn't really feel like an audience so we moved the party over to the Prado.

New Seasons Greeting Greeting Cards!

2008-09-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

Just in time for the holiday season we have the new line of Season's Greeting All Occasion Photo Greeting Cards! Your favorite photograph can be transformed into a beautiful and professional greeting card everyone will just love. Whether it's the holidays or any other special occasion throughout the year, we have a photo greeting card designed to fit your needs. Our selection of Christmas, Thanksgiving and all-occasion verses helps you convey the perfect sentiment on your photo greeting.

Katy Perry: FOLLOW UP!

2008-09-01T12:55:00.000-07:00

The Katy Perry interview and story is now available to read at the London Times Online, or by clicking this post. The article pretty accurately sums up the day and Ms. Harris' ability to capture the basic essence of Katy as well as detail her backstory is impeccable. Bravo, and for the rest of you, I hope you enjoy the artice.

...reporting live from the FOX 5 Launch Party!

2008-08-22T02:10:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the official Launch Party of the new FOX 5 Channel in San Diego (formerly the CW) at the wonderful San Diego Hall of Champions in amazing Balboa Park and man was it a blast. In years prior when there was a Fall preview or other such event, it was either at the station or at the Wave House in OB. Great times were had to be sure, but this venue was definitely a departure in the right direction. Right off the bat the ambience was great and the music provided by Massey Productions was makin' people shake their thing a little.Saw some familiar faces and some new faces from the station. The people who work behind the scenes who make the machine run smooth. I don't get to see you guys enough because when I do I have a great time. After catching up with Will Givens and Sandi Banister, the guests began to make their way in to the venue, and what better way to make an entrance than with the San Diego Charger Girls! Lets just say that this was not one of the more difficult parts of my job. The Charger Girls were all very personable and we had a laugh or two! They even stuck around and performed a short dance routine to kick off the night right!

After a brief video and a few short words from Scott Heath, Ray Schonbock, and Ed Wilson some of the on air talent began to trickle in. First to make it in was Arthel Neville looking fabulous. Girl, I don't know what kinda voodoo you are doin' but you look great as always. Glad to have you in San Diego, alongside Chrissy Russo who does the weather in the mornings.

By the way Chrissy, I thought I recognized you from my business trips on Continental. Things were running pretty smooth and I was getting some great shots when I peered over to the front door and spied trouble making its way in. Kyle Hunter, Kendis Gibson and principal party girl Kathleen Bade were ready to get down!

Kyle Hunter, gotta tell you bro, your hair looks great in HD. For those of you who don't know Kyle, click this link to get a look of him early in his career when his hair wasn't as awesome as it is now. P.S. Kyle, how hard is the weather in San Diego? "Right now its 77 degrees, and lets check out forecast for the next YEAR. Oh look, mostly sunny with a high of 77 degrees." Hope you like it in San Diego and keep up the great weather!

Kendis, Kendis, Kendis.

I KNOW you like the weather better here than in Atlanta. Although it looked like you were pretty thirsty tonight at the party, if you know what I mean... Ahem. Your secret is safe with me bro....FOR A PRICE! Just kidding, you can have the photos for your Myspace and Facebook.

Ah, Kathleen Bade.

You could tell the kids were at home because she was ready for Dancing with the Stars with those dance moves! By the way, I am curious, does it suck to be so attractive that you are the envy of all the other news channels in San Diego or do you just love it? It was great to see you and I am glad to see you back on the air.
Thank you FOX 5 for inviting me to photograph your event. Everyone at the station is so cool that I could never come up with enough adjectives to compliment you guys!

To view all of the photos from tonights event go CLICK HERE or go to www.rmrphoto.com !

Kobe Beef Burgers & The Katy Perry Shoot

2008-08-15T14:45:00.001-07:00

Had a fun-tastic time helping out my buddy Sandy Huffaker at the Katy Perry Shoot. This is where I really feel at home. The modelling shoots, the makeup, hairdressers, diva 'tudes and non-stop texting. I love it! Actually Katy Perry was very sweet and a very real person. Gorgeous too- what a body! The sun was a little troublesome, but nothing that my good old scrim couldn't fix!
The clouds were out early and that was great for decreasing the shadows but apparently you can never apply enough makeup. C'mon lady, the poor girl is already pretty, how much frickin more eyeliner does she need? ANSWER: Not that frickin' much. And definitely not between every 5 shots.
Highlight of the day? When her people picked up lunch! First I was gonna just pick up a BLT, but hell, why not a KOBE BEEF burger?!
Had the opportunity to meet a delightfully interesting "alien of extraordinary ability" (inside joke). Sophie Harris was a journalist from London who was writing a piece on Katy's success in the UK for the London Times. Loved her vibrant energy and her travel experiences. Hope I have the opportunity to work and see her again. Sophie, you have an open invitation here in SD. We'll save a fish taco for you!

Andre & Jen in La Jolla

2008-08-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

Had a great time Shooting with Andre and Jen at the shores of La Jolla Cove. They had some fantastic shots and weren't afraid to get dirty, wet and cold for the right photographs. They were young and edgy and we had a blast doing it!

Afterwards we went down to Little Italy for lunch at Trattoria Fantastica. Thanks for the lunch guys!

I hope you enjoy this little slideshow. BTW I kept all of my "This is Sparta" jokes to myself after seeing Andre's abs!

San Diego Shots

2008-07-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

So what do you do when a client calls up and they need specific pictures shot in a specific way in a very short time and for way less than your usual rate?

Well if you are a poor photographer who is trying to buy a house, you frickin' take the gig, that's what you do!

I have a long history with this particular client and I would like to continue to do business with them for much more time so sometimes you just gotta bend the rules. Even if it hurts ... alot.

One of the hardest parts about the whole thing was scouting the locations for each of the shots. Talk about the pain at the pump! Driving back and forth trying to find the best view really took a toll on the old odometer. On a positive note, I now have a mental file cabinet of some great places to shoot from! Mine ... ALL MINE!

The other hard part was that some of the shots required were to be of the same thing both daytime and nightime, and that required me not to move the camera, sometimes for hours at a time. That if course meant that I had to stay with the equipment.

This had to be the hardest landmark to shoot. I just could not find the right angle. Pretty much everywhere you shot this from either looked to small or too far away or too wide. Believe me when I tell you that planning this shot kept me up at night.

I would like to thank the undisclosed location from which I took this photograph from for not having me arrested for shooting from this spot at 4:30 in the morning until sunrise. And if anybody gives me any flak for taking this shot, please refer to the title of this frickin' blog!

Shooting the Del was fun, lugging my heavy equipment including tripod and spotlight across the sand and up to a lifeguard tower. This was made even more fun by the fact that it was windy and a little chilly and I had left a nice warm jacket in my car which was close enough to see and yet far enough away to be inaccessible.

Big shout out to Todd the lifeguard in Coronado for letting me shoot from his tower. Keep an eye out for the Green Flash bro!

By the way, the nerve of these people actually getting married on the beach! Can't they see I got a picture to take!

Frick!

Qualcomm was a shot that was added into the shoot list kinda last minute. Visually its vanilla, or I guess a better term would be pizza: Its plain, but its still good.

I remembered the jacked on this one. What I forgot was that when a tourist sees a guy with a camera and a tripod they have to take the picture from the same exact spot you are. Never mind that they have the rest of the entire beack in La Jolla to take the same picture.

I played with this one a little bit and used my spotlight to paint the rocks with light a little bit to give them texture.

If you ever want to be worried about scummy looking teenagers who curse entirely too much and dread haired skaters and meth heads missing a few teeth but strangely with enough money to get massive tattoos skulking about you while you take a picture, then i'll see you here at the OB Pier!

Alas, one of the few shots that was actually sans tourists. The Old Point Loma Lighthouse at any other time of day would be covered in that lovely marine layer. This is one of those places I think that looks way better in the fall.

Well after quite a few sleepless nights huddled next to my gear like a homeless photographer off of Imperial Ave downtown, I think I am going to get a good nights sleep tonight. Hope you enjoyed the shots and I look forward to your feedback!

Mixing business with pleasure...

2008-07-19T01:41:00.000-07:00

AKA- Karaoke with Friends, Photogs and Clients.

It has been a stressful last few weeks at the old RMR Photo homestead, so to burn off a little steam I called up a few friends and some client/friends and my old photographer buddy Sandy Huffaker and we all headed to a local Mexican restaurant that had karaoke!

Let me start off by saying that I have no shame and that I will sing pretty much whatever you put in front of me.

A good time was had by all! We sang a little "Hit me with your best shot" and had some "Afternoon Delight" as well as visited Neil Diamond's "America" and had some fun with James Brown's "Sex Machine".

You might recognize this couple from my last post-

Greg and Catherine sang a great rendition of Afternoon Delight!

Then Sandy had his way with Neil Diamond. Poor Neil must be turning in his grave! Oh... he's not dead? Damn. He is old as dirt! But big PROPS to Sandy on a courageous effort! Next time we'll rock out some Black Sabbath or ABBA, I don't know...

FYI Sandy, you owe me big time for NOT posting the OTHER photos of you on stage. But fear not, I will be selling the shots on Corbis for stock.

Then the girls all got together for some Girls Just Wanna Have Fun! And boy did they! Boy, a couple of Shirley Temples and they were DONE!

After a couple of virgin Dacquiris I headed up on stage and performed my version of Sex Machine. I tried to do Old James some justice but was hampered by a busted knee and just being plain old and out of shape. I even tried to do the splits, afterwhich the paramedics told me I looked great doing until I actually started splitting... No really.

So here's a photo of yours truly under the house lights. Is it me or does everybody look better under these lights? TRUST ME. This is better for me. You should see how bad I look WITHOUT the lights!

As I had imagined, we closed that mother DOWN! So until next time...

2008-07-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a short slide show of a great engagement shoot. Greg and Catherine were awesome and very playful during their shoot and we got many great pictures during the shoot. Enjoy!

Econs Gone Wild! Financial gurus in high school

2008-06-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I went back up to LA but this time to the Federal Reserve Bank to photograph the Orange County Capital Markets Contest. As before I was overly impressed by the kids in the contest and their incredible grasp of the current economy and of overall finance, but I must digress.

Let me start off my story with the fact that I had to leave San Diego around 6:00am to beat the traffic. Something that if you have never been stuck in, I can only equate to as purgatory, or limbo. A place neither in heaven nor the "other" place, and yet not in this world. Nay, this is a far more frustrating world of speeders, slow-pokes, tail-gaters and (my personal favorite) the five foot-two on the cell phone for no reason surgically enhanced soccer mom in a Hummer H3 driver. Fortunately there were minimal amounts of any of those and I was only forced to think about brandishing any of my fingers.

After finally arriving at the Federal Reserve and parking, I made my way to the inconspicuous front door of the bank where I was greeted by an armed officer, metal detector and x-ray machine. After passing safely through the machine I was made to wait until I could be escorted by another officer. For understandable security reasons the Fed doesn't want anyone taking photos of the buildings exterior, interior or any of it's employees. Finally I met with my contacts, got all of my equipment ready and was off and shooting.
Although this room was considerably smaller than the one at Univision, it did allow me to bounce my flash much easier and also I didn't have any glaring window backlighting. The one technical problem that I did encounter was a mixture of fluorescent light, halogen light and incandescent lighting.

As I said earlier, these high school students were amazingly well versed in all aspects of finance and economics. The essays and visual presentations were all of top caliber and would have been impressive in any board room meeting.

During the lunch break I was able to speak at length with some of the team members who asked as many questions as I did. Mine were about the economy and maybe where I should invest some money and theirs were along the lines of "Are those cameras heavy?" and "How far can you see with that lens?", as well as "How many megapixels are your cameras?" We had very spirited conversation and quite a few laughs.

In the end, the team from the Pilgrim's school ended up with top honors- a cash prize plus a trip to the New York city stock exchange floor.

TO VIEW THE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT GO TO WWW.RMRPHOTO.COM AND CLICK ON YOUR EVENT.

Economic Whiz Kids!

2008-05-29T15:44:00.000-07:00

This past wednesday I had the opportunity to go to the L.A. Univision Studios and cover the 2008 Los Angeles Capital Market Gains 2008 Contest presented by the CFA Society of L.A. and the C.C.E.E. Teams of high school students from all over participated in a Stock Market simulation and moved onto the next phase of the competition which consisted of an essay and oral presentation based on the current status of the U.S. Stock Market.

My contact Bernard Mauricia showed me around the amazing building and I then had the opportunity to photograph the teams as they trickled in. The teams were greatly diverse and came from all over the southland.

I was impressed by all of their presentations and their extremely articulate deliveries. Some were a little nervous, which of course is totally understandable and others would give Mr. Bernanke a run for his money (if he has any left after filling his gas tank).

All of the teams had great delivery as well as a monster screen and nice "little" plasma to show their visual presentations.

Ultimately the winners of the competition were the team members from the California Academy of Math & Science! Good luck cashing that check! Your going to need a really big pen!

Don't forget to keep checking my website, www.rmrphoto.com and click on your event (Capital Market LA) to view the rest of the images. Leave me your comments, I look forward to them!

Gonna be on Photo Talk Radio this Saturday!

2008-05-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

Going to be on a great Photography radio show this saturday, Photo Talk Radio with my good buddy Howard Lipin!"From behind the Sales Counter to Behind the Camera, and the Fundamentals of Photo Marketing
Join us this Saturday, May 10th, 8-9am Pacific Time for this week's edition of Photo Talk Radio featuring Southern California based photographer Ronnie Revoredo whom for the past 11 years has been pleasing clients locally, nationally and internationally under his studio name, RMR Photography as well as for other studios. He specializes in portraiture, and is always looking for ways to do it better and expand his horizons and will share the secrets of how he makes great portraits. He's also been behind the camera counter for just about as long as behind the camera, and will have tips you'll want to know about when it comes to new photo gear."

So I hope all of you go check it out! And if you can't catch it in the morning then click here and check out the Podcast!

Erik & Paula's Big day

2008-05-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

I spent the night before Erik & Paula's wedding day going over my notes and formulating a plan of attack. Taking the notes and snapshots I took at the rehearsal together with the weather forecast and the wedding script, I came up with an enhanced plan for the following day. Fortunately I knew that I would have the help of my good friend Patrick O'Dell acting as my second shooter.

Our day started early, with Pat coming around 10AM and grabbing a quick breakfast so that we could discuss the plans for the day. I gave him some paperwork as a guide to the day and we were on our way shortly thereafter. Patrick has a great eye and is self motivated by his eagerness to constantly learn more and to hone his craft.
We made our way to Split En ds salon in PB and got some great pickup shots of the bride, bridesmaid (Melanie) and mother of the Bride (Sharon). Paula was a beautiful bride. Her energy that day was infectious and she was taking everything in stride. All wedding photographers should be so lucky as to have a bride as mellow and way cool as her.

The WTF moment of the afternoon came when Paula decided that instead of going to the YMCA she opted instead to go to Play it again Sports , a used and new sporting goods store next to the salon, and fit in a quick workout! She is officially a workout freak! What a moment!

After the sweat session, Pat and I made our leave and shot over to the house to get ready for the "gettin' ready" shots and the ceremony. Knowing that the early afternoon was going to be sunny and cloudless we made a collaborative decision to split up the portraits into parts so as to take advantage of the early evening colors and marine layer. Pat made a competent partner this day and needed little to no direction.

Erik and Paula were great models who provided amazing photos as well as a fantastic rhumba dance at the reception! All in all when 10PM rolled around we figured our day was done and we headed out the door after thanking the family members for letting us be part of their day, and made our way to a chinese food place!
All of the Photographs from the wedding will be up soon so check the website frequently!

50th Wedding Anniversary

2008-04-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

Had a shoot for the Banaga's 50th Wedding Anniversary this weekend. What a great family! Every from the happy couple, Oscar and Sally, to all 6 kids and their children were awesome. We started the day out at the Good Shepard church in Mira Mesa with a nice and looong mass. Great for the soul I'm sure but bad for an old photographer's knees. Some of the shots were actually pretty cool although the lighting was a logistical nightmare as a photographer, with the pews lit by warm tungsten lighting (orange-ish) and the alter lit by soft natural light. And of course to make things even more exciting the front few pews had a mixture of both kinds of light. Yay me! I guess I will be spending some time in post production playing with the lighting.

After the mass we took some family shots on the altar and then went to the officers club on Marine Corps Air Station Mira Mar, where there was a fantastic little buffet waiting for all the friends and family.The rest of the event progresses really nicely with a slide show of the couple throughout the years as well as testimonials from the family. The highlight of the day had to be the entertainment which was provided by all of the grandchildren.
All of the kids from ages 11 into their 20's provided dancing spectacles that everyone loved!

All in all a great day with a family that had a tremendous sense of love and connection to one another. We all should be so lucky to have a family like this.

Melanie's Bridal Shower

2008-04-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

One of my great wedding clients, Melanie, had a great little Bridal Shower this past sunday with a few close friends and family. It was a beautiful sunny southern California day; the kind that make everybody who lives east of the California/Arizona state line really envious.She is a gorgeous bride with an gorgeous bunch of bridesmaids and an adorable Maid of Honor whose innocent little face masks all kinds of mischief!

Ladies! Remember that there is a gentleman here! Don't go showing off the honeymoon wares before the actual big night!

Had a great time! Se you guys on the BIG DAY!

New Photography Classes

2008-04-16T17:02:00.001-07:00

I have just begun a series of photography courses for beginning Digital SLR photographers. The classes are aimed at teaching beginners and novices the fundamentals of Portrait, Sports/Action, Landscape, Nature and Travel photography. The classes will be taught be either myself or my buddy Sandy Huffaker or BOTH of us. We will also have a Photo Class and Field Trip for novices that are smaller and more personal where we will be giving a short lecture as well as answering questions one on one and giving advice on real world techniques.
For information on pricing and locations, feel free to leave a comment, email us at rmrphoto@yahoo.com or by calling 619-379-7899.

Gradfest at SDSU

2008-04-08T22:43:00.000-07:00

Today was day 2 of the graduation festival, or gradfest at San Diego State University. Basically get a couple thousand graduating seniors, throw them in a tent over 3 days and take their photos in less than 3 minutes each. AND make them look great! That was my task today. I have been doing this for years and I still love it. The pressure of taking someone you have just met and then take a great portrait of them keeps my adrenaline pumped.
I try to put myself in their head and think like they would. You really have to be as meticulous as they would be. These grads see themselves everyday in the mirror, so I have to be as picky as they would be, because I want them to go away knowing that I would be as particular about the way they look as they do. I am lucky that SDSU has some of the most beautiful people in the world! Just makes my job that much easier.

Photo assistant for the day.

2008-04-01T23:22:00.000-07:00

Today was a pretty full day. Spent pretty much the whole day assisting my buddy Sandy Huffaker on his photo shoot for the San Diego Sherriff's Department. Started the day at the county jail downtown. Great bunch of people working there. Have to give a shout out to Michelle for being our tour guide and facilitator at the facility. It was an interesting place to be in as an observer watching all of the faces behind bars and glass. Faces staring out at you, some with indignation, some with fear and uncertainty, others seemingly with a look of bewilderment. Wondering how they ended up there. The highlight of the morning was watching the TAC team suit up to confront an unruly inmate. Exciting and surreal at the same time. Like watching a Discovery Channel documentary but in real life.In the afternoon we made it into the east county. Our first stop was the SAR (Search and Rescue) beagles. Adorable little beagles trained to sniff out victims and help to rescue civilians. Great shots of Sandy photographing them.After a quick portrait session we made our way into the ASTREA hangar with all of the helicopters, got some great shots of the bomb squad and their robots as well as helicopters touching down on the airstrip.Picked up some great shots of the SWAT guys jumping off a helicopter skiff and took a great ride on a helicopter with a great crew of guys.Finished the day at the crime lab. Drove to the most non-descript building in the middle of San Diego and found a CSI lovers paradise. The folks at the crime lab were a real pleasure to watch and Sandy got some amazing shots in a lot of great places. Testing for blood on a knife, looking for latent prints, and matching casings and bullets in the ballistics lab. All in all was a great day spent helping out a good friend. More like this to come I hope, and more photos too.