Ron Reznick

A 5-time All-American gymnast in college, Ron Reznick spent nearly 25 years after college designing and building a number of loudspeakers, switching systems, acoustical devices, etc. As the computer revolution ramped up, he began designing and building high-grade computers for graphics professionals and photographers. An enthusiastic early adopter of the first Nikon D1 professional dSLR camera in 1999, he trained himself to plan, shoot and process images, taking well over 100,000 shots the first year alone (Nikon kept that camera to test the shutter, giving him a new camera body in exchange). Photographers began to be interested in the techniques he taught himself for image acquisition and processing, so he began training others in 2003. Ron has trained over 2000 photographers, written two books and made 5 videos.

Preferring to work with small groups of 5 to 9 photographers, I taught folks planning and compositional techniques, how to evaluate a scene for luminosity and rapidly set the camera to achieve the correct exposure, how to rapidly evaluate a scene for composition, depth of field requirements, etc. and the most efficient methods of working with the camera and lenses.

I also taught the entire procedure for processing images in a very rapid and consistent manner to achieve the best results with regards to color, saturation, detail, and the other factors which allow the photographer to draw the most from an image.

I developed an extremely stable hand-holding technique by practicing in dark museums, where tripods are not allowed but only perfect results are a necessity. While this is less of a requirement when shooting in daylight, as shown below, it allows you to achieve excellent results at night or when you are shooting in dark interiors (an example is the 1/6 second night image of St. Peter’s Basilica shown further below. As tripods were not allowed in churches (and on many streets in Europe) I didn’t even take one. This technique made all the difference.

The image shown at right proves that a photographer must be part pack mule. It’s amazing how much we carry with us. If you are wondering what I was shooting, see the image below.

The image to the left didn’t require the bracing technique as much as many others I could show, but that was one of those moments where you get one chance to get a clean shot, and reducing the possibility of a blurry result caused by excessive camera movement means that you can concentrate on getting the exposure right the first time, while trying hard not to laugh.

The image below is an entirely different matter. This is the one which was mentioned above, taken at 1/6 second, hand-held at night with the 85mm. Normally an impossible shot... and a low yield even with this technique (I took several to be sure).

Ancient sculpture of Akhenaten, taken in early 2000, when I was first developing the bracing technique. 1/8 sec. at 24mm.

As a final example of what can be achieved using the bracing technique in situations for which I developed it, here are two examples of fine art, images of which would be completely useless if they were at all blurry (both taken in dark rooms).

The gold relief above was taken at 1/20 sec. at 28mm.
Both images link to 1500 pixel versions showing fine detail.

Shooting wildlife can often lead to some interesting situations. I have encountered moments that did not always lead to images that you would be able to do anything with (not that you would want to). As an example, on a trip to Alaska one of my students got proof of the old question as to whether or not bears poop in the woods. The image above left provides a bookend to his shot.

I suppose you can tell by now that I decided to have a little fun with this page.

Not all critters are so nonchalant when you wander into them doing what they normally do in the wild. A bear was eating a silver salmon he had just evicted from a creek, when along comes our intrepid photographer. The image to the right is cropped from the larger version of the image below (he does look annoyed that we have been discussing his toilet habits).

Now this is an entirely different sort of look... one day, I was shooting river otter on the bank of the Madison River with two friends who had driven in from Colorado. I had gotten several great images and was totally engrossed in their activity, when I noticed out of the corner of my eye that my friends and the others on the bank were moving off rapidly. Nobody said a thing, so I looked up from my viewfinder and noticed a herd of rapidly approaching bison who were funneled into the narrow riverbank and only about 100 feet away moving about 20 mph.

With all of the rocks, dead trees, and other obstacles on the riverbank, if I tripped trying to escape up the hill I would have been squished like a bug, so I did the only thing left, running towards the bison herd to get my back against a tree. I barely made it when the bison herd split around the tree. A close call.

Then, there was the case of the killer attack warbler. A very territorial fellow, he decided that
nobody was going to get near his tree and he did his best to make sure you knew how he felt.

You just never know what you are going to run into. No larger version is provided of the image shown below.

I have led myself (and a lot of other people) into all sorts of situations, getting close to some spectacular scenery and wildlife. In some cases, I stalked with one person to get very close for an incredible opportunity, such as the time a friend and I got within hackle-raising distance of the pronghorn shown at the right (pronghorns usually run when you get within 75 feet or so, but we radiated zen-like calm and didn’t shoot until we were inside 30 feet). It doesn’t get much better...

The image above was taken at the top of Red Canyon, which is actually quite orange, but I guess “Orange Canyon” would sound like it’s in Florida rather than near Bryce Canyon, Utah. You would not believe what that place looks like at sunrise. Stop by the Southwest Scenics section, Bryce Canyon page, for a look at Southwest scenery, Bryce Cyn. and Red Canyon.

Well, I’ve enjoyed spending this time with you. I guess I’ll say goodbye for now. I hope you’ll stop back by when you have a chance. There are thousands of images on this website waiting for you, of all sorts of subjects from all sorts of places. Many people tell me that they get lost for hours, wandering around on this site. I ask them if they enjoyed it, and they tell me that they wouldn’t have spent hours here if they didn’t.

Maybe you will find an image or two that you would like to have for your very own. On each page, there is a black and gold banner that leads to my Photoshelter website, where you can buy downloads and/or prints and products. I have kept the prices well under normal prices for stock photography, so I hope you find a few that strike your fancy.

I’ll leave you with one last image, taken just before sunset at Glacier Point, Yosemite by one of my students. The light was as sublime as the scenery. It just doesn’t get much better...

Some of Ron’s design work
is at the Trapagon website.