Photography was not born as it is today; it has transformed from something too insignificant to something extraordinarily dynamic. A decade ago, there were two kinds of photographers—professionals who owned studios and amateurs who would just take out their cameras on vacations. But with better access to technology, the lines between photography as a hobby and a profession have become blurred. It no longer remains an uncommon practice to see people practice photography as a hobby while using cameras that were once used exclusively by professionals.
Sales of digital cameras took a dive from 2010 onwards. This was brought about by two things – rapid improvements in smartphone cameras and a growing obsession with social media sharing. Although smartphone cameras in the early 2010s were far from the quality of DSLRs, they had the advantage of convenience and portability. Nowadays, the gap has become much smaller. Modern smartphone cameras have become even better than many point-and-shoot cameras of the past few years.
As time passes, the scope of photography is expanding. Photographers follow different careers that reflect their interests, backgrounds, qualifications, and preference of working locations. With diversified interests, photography is divided further into portrait photography, advertising photography, editorial photography, elopement photography, and much more. This diversification has proved that virtual representation is a dynamic expansion of arts. In order to capture the art in photography, one must have the potential of an artist.
Born in Pine Island, Minnesota, on July 30, 1991, Kristi Ronning explored the growth of the photography industry. The artistic world has always been her inspiration. She discovered her love for creativity when she was in first grade. As a youngster, she started taking dance and theater classes. When she came to second grade, her mom gave her disposable cameras, which quickly turned into digital one. From there, her love for photography experienced an unimaginable increase.
Ronning started capturing the essence of nature through the lens of her camera. Later, switched to elopement photography, for which she started her own small photography and videography endeavour under the name, Opal & Ox. She is best known for climbing mountain peaks with couples and documenting their weddings at elevations of over 10,000 feet. She started shooting on a Hasselblad 907x medium format digital camera. Since 2012, Ronning has been exploring different countries with her husband Ralphie and covering several weddings. Her expertise and her husband’s support have enabled her to expand the business worldwide. Endeavour
The motive of Opal & Ox is to bring beauty to a couple’s special day through photography and film. With Ronning’s restless efforts, Opal & Ox now offers photography for family & maternity portraits, newborn portraits, senior portraits, and elopement portraits.
Ronning’s talent got her work featured on the cover of Montana Bride magazine with one of the first true mountaintop cover photos. The magazine covered 9 pages of a 3-day overnight hike in the mountains outside Yellowstone National Park.
To Ronning, life is all about uncovering different adventures. Her exceptional skills have given her the talent to add color to the special days of her clients.
She is a self-made woman who just believed in her passion and fulfilled her dreams. There is no doubt she has achieved her goals admirably.
Her future endeavors include working on her first photography book and film a documentary on her life. Ronning is breaking all barriers in photography, and her clients love the work she portrays.