Archive for January, 2010

Ft. Collins Engagement: Courtney & Dorn

29.01.10 engagements

Happy Friday!  Wanted to share two very special things with you.  Number one, a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke.  This poem has meant a lot to me over the last year as I dig deeper in relationships with others.  Thought it might bring some peace to your heart as well:

Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart.

Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language.

Do not now look for the answers.

They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them.

It is a question of experiencing everything.

At present you need to live the question.

Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day.

Lastly, here’s a fun engagement shoot that ought to get you excited for summertime.  Courtney and Dorn are two high school sweethearts from Ft. Collins, CO. We did their engagement pictures several months ago around downtown Fort Collins and then finished up at Fort FUN!

6 Comments

  1. Aundie said

    You can just see their love!!! It’s too cute! love it!!

  2. Kami said

    They look so happy! :) I love that you can always capture that…

  3. Mike said

    These photos are great! Love the light….

  4. Sarah Norwood said

    Oh man, love that ice cream cone shot! :)

  5. Donna Jeanne said

    Woohoo! These turned out so cute! The purple shirts look awesome! Way to go Rene!

  6. Donna Jeanne said

    Ahhh! These turned out sooooo cute!!! The purple shirts actually look really good!!!! YEAH!!!



Things

26.01.10 personal, the latest & greatest

Attention all Type A people.. this post could change your life.

I’m about to tell you about the coolest thing since sliced bread.  And no, it’s not that peanut butter and jelly mixed into one jar.  Sorry.  First, a quick glimpse at how I used to live my life:

Post-Its everywhere reminding me of To-Dos:

A brown-leather agenda book with appointments and to-dos written in pencil and of course, more Post-Its:

In addition to the Post-Its, To-Do lists galore:

Not just one To-Do list, but many:

I guess on some level I always knew it was inevitable: a PDA of some sort was in my future.  I just refused to believe it.  I pride myself in being somewhat traditional.  So what if I like writing checks and paying bills via snail mail?  But alas, after hundreds of Post-Its and handwritten to-do lists, many tasks never completed because they “fell through the cracks,” and a sore arm from carrying around such a big planner, I knew something needed to change.  About a month ago, Dane Sanders introduced me to the niftiest program ever, and thank goodness our paths crossed cause the fate of René Tate Photography’s organization was in trouble.

Introducing: Things.  That’s what it’s called.  Things. It’s a task-management program, winning a Best of Show award at the 2009 MacWorld. You’re gonna want to watch this neat little video about how this program can change your life.  Click here to do so.

After trying out this little “thing” for a month, I realized how much easier it’s made my life.  The idea behind Things goes back to David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) movement.  We have so many “inboxes” in our lives.  For me, I have a snail mailbox, two email inboxes, a Facebook inbox, a voicemail box, a grocery list, a personal to-do list, a business to-do list, a storage area collecting junk, etc. etc.  All of these things competing for my attention and haunting me at night. Basically anything that collects to-dos is an inbox.  Point is: we have A LOT to keep track of with so many “inboxes” in our lives.  And our minds are NOT meant to keep track of all the things we have to do in all the different areas of our lives.

Enter: Things.  It’s my only inbox.  I clear out all my inboxes (to include email and voicemail) everyday and streamline those to-dos to my Things list.  In addition, as soon as a new idea or task enters my mind, I just insert it into my Things Inbox on my iPod touch.  Every morning I sit down and organize that inbox and pick out items to accomplish on that particular day. I can prioritize and categorize tasks by subject, time need to complete tasks, etc.  My brown planner and billions of Post-Its were replaced by this:

It’s the best program/app ever and keeps me organized and sane.  Things also syncs with my computer.

A small preview of what my computer looks like:

Definitely watch the short video on the Things website.  Things is available at any Apple store and the corresponding iPod Touch or iPhone app is available through iTunes.  Give me a buzz if you’re thinking about using this program and have questions.  It’s one of the biggest recommendations I can give to anyone running a business or really, anyone who leads a hectic lifestyle!

Rule your inboxes, don’t let them rule you.

6 Comments

  1. joyana said

    LOVE…LOVE…LOVE!! The concept, the post, the picts & the advice! So happy for you that you found this! You’re awesome :)

  2. Karen Raucher said

    You guys look so happy! What a beautiful day. Thanks for sharing.

  3. Kelsey Bigelow said

    Awesome Rene! I don’t have Things as I’m a PC user but I’ve updated my Microsoft Outlook to function basically as Things. Looks like it’s working well so far!

  4. René said

    haha Yes, Alyssa, see it pays to check the blog! And don’t let the order of those frames fool you. Cal knocks them down all the time, so at present, the order is: Jes, You, and then Me. It’s like you’re looking down on me as I work. ;-) Love you!

  5. Alyssa said

    Mine too!! Partly because I’m a big fan of organization, but also because I think I saw a photo of me on your desk that I didn’t know you framed :) Great job getting organized! A world famous photographer like yourself needs to stay on top of things, after all.

  6. Jesie McElroy said

    FAVORITE POST OF THE WEEK!!



Tiffany, Luke, and Ellie – Part II

23.01.10 portraits

And now for the highly anticipated second half of Tiffany and Luke!  We pick up with some handsome portraits of Luke in the Abbey vineyard:

I remember first talking to Tiffany and her saying, “It’s gonna be such a challenge to get him to smile!”  Whatever… ;-)
All Tiffany had to do was moo like a cow and he was all giggles.

From the Abbey we headed to Cañon’s Main Street:

The sun was setting and looked so great hitting them!

Love the way she looks at him!

Love this buttery light!

Red wall.  Red hair.  Perfect.

Ugh, I LOVE these!!

Could you be any more beautiful, you two?

Who would think the Cañon City BAR alleys would lend themselves to such such great backdrops?

Pretty much my all time favorite….

One last shot after Ellie had a nap:

*sigh* Too cute…

Aaaand, I’m spent! Tiffany and Luke, THANK YOU for being so incredible!  Shooting you two was such a treat!  You’re both so beautiful inside and out.  It was truly an honor… Love you both!!

8 Comments

  1. Ashley E said

    Wow this shoot is so awesome! I LOVE how natural the Tiffany and Luke look on camera. I don’t even know them, but I feel such joy and natural beauty radiating from both of them. Power on, Rene!

  2. Jesie McElroy said

    One of your BEST, Tater. Tiffany and Luke, your little family is stunning!

  3. Kami said

    Beautiful part two :) And I still want their puppy…

  4. Sarah Norwood said

    Totally had the hugest smile when I came across the last pic. Love it!

  5. Tara said

    I can’t decide which one I like the most. They are all really good! You two are so perfect together!

  6. Andrea Phillips said

    I love them all. you both look awesome.

  7. Emily Cornella said

    I love them!

  8. Chandra said

    Freaking gorgeous! Tiffany and Luke could be in jewelry ads. And ellie is quite adorable :)



Tiffany, Luke, and Ellie – Part I

21.01.10 portraits

Okay, braces yourself.  I don’t know if you can handle all of this eye candy that’s about to hit your screen.  Tiffany and Luke, and their new baby Ellie, are pretty much some of the most beautiful subjects you will ever see.  I’m serious.  Over Christmas, I had the opportunity to work with Tiffany and Luke, both Cañon City High School grads (Go Tigers!).  It was a shoot I had been looking forward to for months – it wasn’t an engagement shoot just a “we need some René Tate quality portraits of us” shoot. :) Always a good shoot to have.  So, we had a great time shooting around my hometown (which is a total rarity!), including Luke’s parents’ backyard (which was so neat, cause I’ve always admired his house since I was a child), the Abbey winery (coooool!), and downtown Cañon City.  Feast your eyes upon some of the most beautiful images of 2009.  And definitely make sure you come back for more mouth-watering images in Part II!

Introducing: Tiffany and Luke (and Luke’s Christmas present: Ellie :-)

I know!  Aaaadorable.

Meet Ellie:

You should see these two together… All they do is laugh and love.  They were the easiest people to shoot.

Their chemistry was through the roof good!

Okay, check out this old door that Luke’s dad just HAPPEN to have in his yard!

I took one look at it and knew I had to have it.

Brace yourselves.  This girl is fall-out-of-your-chair beautiful.

And knows how to work the camera!

MY. FAVORITE.

Enter the Abbey Winery:

I’m tempted to say, “It doesn’t get much better than this,” but I’d totally be lying. We were just getting warmed up!  Part II = amazing.

105 Comments

  1. Ashley E said

    Sheesh I am definitely doing a future photo shoot in a vineyard. It’s such a naturally breathtaking backdrop. Great job, Rene :)

  2. Trish said

    These pictures are phenomenal, you guys look great!

  3. Scharlotte Garcia said

    What a great photo shoot!

  4. Jessica Rygg said

    Beautiful, absolutely beautiful photos.

  5. Shelby Austin said

    Wow! This pictures are beautiful! Great photography.

  6. Alishaq said

    These Photos are so amazing!!! You two are so cute together!!!

  7. phil trujillo said

    wow! beautiful!

  8. Mark said

    Your a lucky man Luke. Great photos

  9. Callie Anderson said

    These pictures are amazing!!!

  10. Jordan Anderson said

    These look really professional! I expect to see them up in Time Square next time I’m there!

  11. Emily Cornella said

    Wow! I love them, you guys looks so great. Rene did a great job

  12. lori said

    WOW you two!!! I’m nearly speechless..What a couple. I have seen so many of those expressions on both of your faces but to have them captured in still life..

  13. Allison Bush said

    What great pics!

  14. Ali Nichols said

    LOVE the pictures! Every single one is absolutely perfect:) What an adorable couple!

  15. Lisa Needy said

    WOW!!! Your photos of these two are amazing! They belong in a magazine…some romantic fragrance add or something. I looked at all of them and I really couldn’t pick a favorite.

  16. TJ Hamilton said

    Of course the two of you are wonderful, beautiful people but I have to say Rene really captured the puppy in these pics.

  17. o.j. vick said

    These pics make me want to pick up a camera and shoot something myself. Really digging the black and white.

  18. Corky Crigler said

    Beautiful Pictures and Beautiful Memories

  19. Jackie said

    These pics are beautiful. Cutest family ever!

  20. Brittany Wilcox said

    Tiff and Luke these pictures are amazing!!!

  21. Dustin Peter said

    Incredible pictures. First class portraits of a first class couple. These look like they belong in a magazine advertising a clothing company’s fall line.

  22. Jenn Wimmer said

    Tiff! These pictures are AMAZING, what a great job Rene did. Congrats on a job well done with these photos~ Jenn

  23. trav said

    Everyone is saying how great you guys look. I’ll just say that I never realized your teeth are so big Tiff. Love ya!

  24. Kyle said

    Those are great pictures! Ellie looks great. Tiff and Luke aren’t bad either.

  25. Robbie said

    You are crazy beautiful You two look great together! My favorite is the one with the dog with his tounge sticking out.

  26. Randi said

    Yall look amazing…what a happy family!

  27. Lisa said

    You guys look great! And Ellie looks like the sweetest dog. I love the 4th picture especially.

  28. Lisa Hill said

    Where is this photographer?! These are fabulous pics! The couple are fabulous looking people! I have a daughter that is probably going to get engaged soon.

  29. Kimmi said

    These are beautiful!

  30. Elizabeth said

    Wow, these look like engagement photos! You guys look like you had so much fun – so many giggles! Absolutely gorgeous.

  31. Cody Brady said

    These are great pics, you guys look good.

  32. kristen said

    you are adorable. I love all these pictures!

  33. Jesse Mueller said

    Amazing pictures and what a cute puppy. Glad you guys are doing good

  34. brett said

    cool pics guys, glad to see you are doing well.

  35. Chris Williams said

    Wow! These pictures are really amazing – to say that all three of you are photogenic would be an understatement. (And René was right – it is lucky that you had a random, solitary door in the back yard!)

    ReneTatePhotography is going straight to my Favorites – one never knows when one might need a great photographer…

  36. Mandy said

    Wow! These pictures are amazing! :)

  37. Paris said

    Love you guys. Beautiful pics.

  38. Riley White said

    You guys look amazing. I think we are going to need a few of these.

  39. Taylor White said

    You guys look great. Wonderful pictures.

  40. Katie Nester said

    What gorgeous pictures of you two beautiful people! It looks like you had a lot of fun during this shoot. Can’t wait to see Part II.

  41. Betty said

    What stunning pictures of Tiffany and Luke. Thank you for sharing.

  42. Kelsea said

    Beautiful pictures Tiffany! And what a cute new addition to the family!

  43. Brittany said

    These pictures are really nice. Well done to Rene, and Tiff and Luke of course.

  44. Jodi L said

    It’s pretty unfortunate that you guys aren’t better looking. And if Rene were a better photographer that might help too… :) Just kidding. Tiff and Rene you’re two of my favorite CC people and combining both of you was a genius idea. Rene, you make me want to find a man solely to have you take our pictures.

  45. Marcia Visnack said

    You guys are gorgeous together! Great photography!!!

  46. Lindsay Hayden said

    Wow… what amazing pictures! Sure hope you make it to 100, they would look amazing as a canvas!

  47. Kris said

    You guys look great.. This lady catches the beauty of your love.. However I think it would be hard not to.. I did look at her other photo’s, and she is quite a great photographic genius.. she captures, the beauty of life.. love me

  48. Lauren Mohr said

    You did such an lovely job!!! Your work is beautiful, and your subjects are perfect! I wouldnt change a thing about them, beautiful photos!

  49. Todd Albrecht said

    Great kids! Great pic Rene, you are truly gifted! I hope you are still around this area when my kids get married. I am so proud of all of you! Love ya–Mr. A

  50. Tanessa White said

    you two should be models or postcard people for love and happy marriage, love all of these cant wait to see more!!!

  51. Laura said

    Absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I wish I looked this good in pictures!

  52. Laura said

    absolutely beautiful! i wish i looked that good in pictures! :)

  53. Meghan Nelson (Callahan) said

    Soooo beautiful! Love them all…Ellie looks so cute

  54. Sheri Warnock said

    The photos are amazing! Of course, you are working with two gorgeous people but still the pictures themselves are beautiful!

  55. Kathy said

    Abusolutely beautiful pictures. Love them all so far.

  56. René said

    You’re half way there, Tiff!

  57. Rhonda Javernick said

    Amazing photos of an absolutely stunning couple…and a precious puppy. Love them all!

  58. Nichole said

    Love these pics they are amazing! What a great photographer. You guys make a wonderful looking family all three of you.

  59. Nicole Jones said

    I love these pictures, you two look amazing and are the true image of love.

  60. Nicole Jones said

    I love these pictures, You two look amazing

  61. dallyn said

    wow. you guys are dolls! they look so awesome. and it scared me for a minute with the whole baby thing. haha. LOVE the puppy. i cant believe rene caught sucha gorgeous srelaxed photo of the dog. awesome!

  62. Kasie Caldwell Acosta said

    These are stunning just like I remember you!

  63. KJ said

    Holy crap Tiff, you look BEAUTIFUL! :) Could these honestly be any cuter…oh my gosh. I knew you and Luke were in love but in these, you are MADLY in love :) hahaha I love you.

  64. David said

    Sweet Pictures. What a great looking dog!

  65. Amy Allred said

    Oh, what a beautiful couple. They look so happy. You seem to have captured every perfect moment of them together. Beautiful pictures!

  66. Nichole said

    Love these pics they’re all stunning!

  67. Ashley Smith said

    So beautiful!

  68. Daniel said

    The dog, the door, the rustic vineyard in winter. It just kept getting better and better! A beautiful couple and wonderfully talented photographer!

  69. Erika Phillips said

    Beautiful as always! And Ellie is precious… can’t wait for Part II!

  70. phil trujillo said

    Wow you both look fantastic! hope you are both doing well!!

  71. Tim Garner said

    Tiff,

    These pictures are amazing! Of course, the photographer did a good job, but you two are incredibly photogenic. Can I pick three favorites? Ok, the first one, b/c both of your are really smiling! The one with the door and you on Luke’s back. My final and most favorite is you two in the vineyard, standing up, kissing. Epic! Thanks for sharing.

  72. Katie McGuinn said

    What a beautiful couple:) Amazing pictures!

  73. Greg Owens said

    Those are amazing photographs… it’s strange to see such high art coming from my hometown and the subjects being my former classmates…

  74. tyler said

    the pictures tured out great

  75. tiffany javernick said

    Thank you all for your comments!! only 70 more…. Seriously though, René’s camera works magic its not me at all!

  76. Holly said

    these pictures are amazing!

  77. Cassandra Wireman said

    Your pictures are beautiful!!!

  78. Kenzie said

    I am so jealous! These are absolutely amazing! I think we might need some!!

  79. Rossi Javernick said

    Absolutely amazing!!

  80. Brooke Keller said

    I know these two are easy to get great pictures of, but these are awesome Rene! You are so very talented!

  81. arin said

    simply stunning….WOW! these are amazing you and luke and the photographer did an AMAZING job. and that door what a good idea JOB WELL DONE to all of you.

  82. Randi Holcomb said

    These photographs are B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! You did an amazing job. And gosh Tiff you and Luke both look stunning in these photo’s! Great work, both for the photographer and the subjects!

  83. Stacey Lunt said

    Love them, you guys look so great, beautiful.

  84. Kara Mocko said

    Simply stunning…

  85. ali cash said

    sooooo flippin cute i love them….tiff you look beautiful as always.

  86. Allison said

    Soooo beautiful guys!!!

  87. Valerie Webster said

    How nice to have your young, sweet family captured so beautifully! Gorgeous photos!

  88. Tara said

    Wow! What a photography. Must be pretty amazing to make T and Luke look that good…Haha. Just kidding, these pictures are fantastic, Tiff looks so beautiful and who knew Luke could smile like that! I’m jealous, I want new family pictures as well.

  89. lisa said

    Wow! What beautiful pics! Love em.

  90. Jennifer Rogers said

    Oh my goodness. Breath taking pictures Rene. Absolutely beautiful family Tiff, and Luke. Awesome Awesome Awesome!

  91. Jocelyn Predovich said

    the pictures couldn’t have captured you and luke better. Wow! Brock and I need to schedule an apt with her to do the same. Although, i don’t think Tulip will look as good as Ellie.

  92. Gabrielle said

    Oh my gosh tiff…these might just be the cutest pics i’ve ever seen!! You guys are so wonderful together….love them!

  93. tera said

    these pictures are amazing!!! tiff you have always been so pretty! you two are great models!

  94. Brandy Southern said

    Such beautiful pictures!! You two are so cute together she did a great job with the pictures!!

  95. Libby Crow said

    These are the most beautiful pictures of a couple I have ever seen–and the puppy makes them that much better!

  96. Lauren Bonjour said

    Beautiful!

  97. ashley said

    Oh wow!! these are so amazing and beautiful! stunning little family and beautiful photography.

  98. Travis and Erika said

    Great pics! She is so beautiful!!! I would love to have her. Tiff and Luke look good too.

  99. Harvey Bennett said

    What a stunning couple!!! This should be on the cover of every promotion that this company has. You have not only captured the chemistry here, but the Love they have for each other. I salute!!!

  100. Cherie Gallagher said

    These are beautiful Tiffany!

  101. Amanda said

    these are amazing they really are.

  102. Holly LeBlanc said

    Tiffany and Luke are a very cute couple. I love the ones of the families back yard but I love the black and white at the Abbey! I love it.

  103. Sarah Norwood said

    B-E-A-utiful. that’s all I can say.

  104. Kami said

    Beautiful! I want their puppy :) And I want that door, too. Love love love them!

  105. Christine said

    OMG, these are incredible! You are such a talented photographer and they are such a stunning couple!