Monthly Archives: June 2009

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DeVry Charlotte Graduation | Charlotte Convention Center

June 27, 2009 – 6:58 pm

We were invited to photograph the DeVry Charlotte Graduation at the Charlotte Convention Center by DeVry University. After a 3 hour drive from the studio in Cary NC, we met with Carla at the Convention Center and discussed the schedule. After a short Starbucks break (nothing like a little bit of caffeine to recover from the drive), we got started on taking some initial images of the room, the folders, the posters and those sitting in the room. This was a good time to get the exposure and white balance set too. Again, shooting in manual mode, with a little bounce flash, really captures the ambient light and maintains a small catch light.

The ceremony was very fast, with everything done within an hour. My assistant and I had planned out the shooting locations before hand. But during the ceremony, having to modify and tweak the best spots was necessary. Which is actually usually the norm, as you can never really predict the best locations until you see the scene and get inspired.

My main goal was to capture the hand shaking, the award taking and the emotions. On top of that, I wanted to record the story of the graduation, showing how it unfolds and finally finishes. I like to do things a little more than norm and definitely tried to do that with this shoot. Rather than just simple award images, show the emotions in the audience and on stage too.

I really feel like I achieved those goals.

By Warren | Posted in Events | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Raleigh Fashion Week 2009 | Raleigh Convention Center

June 26, 2009 – 9:57 pm

Raleigh Fashion Week 2009, held at the new Raleigh Convention Center in download Raleigh NC. Three days of fashion, from the trade show to the cat walk. The couple behind the show are the talented Brian Williams and his lovely wife Janice Williams. Along with many other skilled professionals in various businesses, the fashion show brings attention to Raleigh’s talented, creative, fashion setting local businesses and fashion college. It also brought attention to the wonderful charity Race for the Cure.

I was one of a handful of local professional photographers invited by Brian and Janice to photograph during the fashion show. With a good position and an interesting set of angles. I decided to make the most of the constantly changing ceiling lights, incorporating the available light in the feeling of the image. I wanted to capture the movement of the night, along with the personalities of the models as they strutted their stuff down the cat walk. No flash was used, purely available light. Along with some controlled shutter speeds and panning (one reason why I love manual mode – total control). I was able to get the images I was thinking off on the night. I had a great time!

There’s nothing more thrilling to me than getting the chance to be creative in the moment and working with the challenges around you. One thing I’ve learnt about myself, I work extremely well under pressure and actually feel the results are even better than without the pressure. I realize it focuses the mind, but seriously, it works amazingly well, as I’m surely thinking about a million different things during the day!

Here are a collection of images that I like from a fine art perspective. A little different to the normal cat walk image, which is something I’m drawn to as a photographer – being creative and being unique.

By Warren | Posted in Events | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

NC CEO Forum | Conference

June 26, 2009 – 4:08 pm

This was the first annual NC CEO Forum, taking place at Preston Country Club in Cary NC. The conference was hosted by Summit Performance Systems, and Rick Deckelbaum and Associates. A huge number of key company CEO’s attended the conference to understand how the current economy is affecting public and non-public industry sectors. Along with NBC to film some of the conference and interview a few key speakers.

I was invited to photograph the 8 hour conference, recording key speakers, discussion and the general details of the day by The Special Event Company. Covering conferences for me is a great way to get pulled into one area of photography that I love and that is photojournalism. I’m there to purely capture emotions, expressions, interactions as they happen. With some expectation at key points, I can sit and wait out a moment. Other times, it is more a case of being ready to capture a moment whenever it should arise. I tend not to photography 1000s of images, but selectively, mindfully capture the images I truly want.

All profits from the 2009 NC CEO Forum benefited the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Eastern North Carolina. Due to the nature of the event, I decided to become a Silver Level Sponsor, hoping to help in my own small way. Every little bit helps though – right!?

One of the cool things about being a photographer is that you get to photograph some really interesting people. This event certainly was no exception, with a whole list of guest speakers in the public and non-public sectors:

By Warren | Posted in Events | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Elizabeth and Ryan | Engagement Session

June 23, 2009 – 10:46 pm

This was a fun evening wondering around Brightleaf Square in Durham NC. This post industrial, urban re-vitalized location offered a perfect set of backdrops for Elizabeth and Ryan to use. I had previously gone out on a scouting trip, looking around at a few country locations and then Brightlead Square. I’d always envisioned shooting there and had actually visualized a few of the images before I even knew the couple.

Even though I have initial ideas before arriving, there are so many other attributes that play their role during the shoot that you can’t control it, you simply kind the flow. I always like to give ideas to the couple and then watch the flow of interactions, expressions and emotions that follow. With the aim of capturing the right moment when I see it.

Elizabeth and Ryan are a couple, trendy and confident couple. You can quite clearly see the love and respect the two have for one another. The engagement session was pure fun, even though this is work, it sure does not feel like it.

One of the reasons I got into photography was to reconnect back with my creative side, be a business owner and meet interesting people. Being creative, being a photographer and a business owner have been life long dreams. I think what amazes me routinely is that I’m finally living those dreams!

Useful links:

By Warren | Posted in Engagements | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Rachel McKay | Senior Session

June 11, 2009 – 1:34 pm

During the planning stages of this shoot, Rachel’s mother Rhonda had told me that her daughter loves fashion and making clothes. At that time, I knew I had to do something geared towards an edgy, fashion, hip style shoot. As with most shoots, I like to brainstorm a little and get creative before we get started. I knew there were a few locations in downtown Raleigh I’d like to use, so I scouted out the spots and the imagination took off.

Raleigh has some really cool locations, that capture a once developed scene that has fallen to the wayside, which is perfect for a fashion shoot. With run down buildings, streets, traffic lights, railway lines and a sunset. The locations, the time of day were perfect.

I have a fascination with movement captured in a single frame. Add to it an expression, mood, texture and light. With this session, I wanted to freeze her energy and confidence. In addition to movement, I am drawn to a cinematic composition and tend to steer towards panoramic dimensions.

The slideshow above are all the edited images from the senior session. The images that follow are a handful of fine art versions. These look amazing when printed on fiber paper and matted. Or printed onto a large canvas.

By Warren | Posted in Portraits | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)