Before Cami & I left for Maine last week, I had a really fun shoot with the Hilton Family on Folly Beach. Dr. Hilton is our dentist and we LOVE the great care they give our smiles! J (Check out www.hiltondental.net.)
Owl’s Head Lighthouse
Here’s a couple shots from around Owl’s Head Lighthouse near Rockland, ME. It’s supposed to be the most haunted lighthouse in America! Many thanks to Mike & Becky of Rock Coast Sports for pointing us in the right direction and treating us to lunch. J
Bass Harbor Lighthouse
Cami & I just walked in the door from a fantastic and relaxing week-long trek through scenic Maine. The LIGHTBENDING 411 WORKSHOP at the end of the week went great! But before I do a full write-up on that, I thought I’d post a few shots from our travels. We spent several days in Bar Harbor, taking in the hikes and views of Acadia National Park.
The first morning we were there I woke pre-dawn and drove to Bass Harbor Lighthouse to get a sun-rise shot. It was cold and windy. So I set my white-balance to a 4500K to draw out the cool tones and help evoke the mood of the morning. I have a wonderful Cokin graduated tobacco filter I like using for landscapes. But unfortunately I didn’t have it with me. So when I brought the image in to Adobe Lightroom, I created a Virtual Copy of the image, and processed the second one at a much warmer 7000K white balance. Combining the images in Adobe Photoshop allowed me to duplicate the effect of that graduated filter and brought back the natural color of the rocks while retaining the cool blue tone of the sky that I liked. I shot this in two vertical frames that were stitched together for the final image.
RadioPopper Goes to Romania
I have been a HUGE fan of RadioPoppers since they liberated me from the line-of-sight limitations of my Nikon Creative Lighting System. I absolutely LOVE the versatility, dependability, and control that the whole Nikon CLS flash system gives me. Extending all those qualities to HUNDREDS of feet instead of a couple dozen, and being able to place remote flashes around walls and behind subjects, all while maintaining full i-TTL functionality and high-speed-sync, truly allows me to bring my vision to life without any limitations.
This past July I traveled to Romania with a very compact lineup of gear that included a RadioPopper Px System. (To see some my other posts and photos from Romania, Click Here.) I have a couple of tricks I’ll share some day that allow me to attach the units in a more compact and streamlined manner to my flashes. This maximizes my opportunities and minimizes set-up, tear-down, and excess space in my camera bag…especially important while doing run-n-gun street-level travel assignments like this!
In spite of the different radio frequencies floating around most of Eastern Europe, I had absolutely no problems with interference. My RadioPoppers worked every time and made for some really dramatic shots that never would have been possible without them! Since I’m such a believer and real-world tester of their products, the wonderful folks at RadioPopper have been kind enough to sponsor my “Light Bending 411” wireless lighting workshops like the one I’m doing in Maine next week. So please check them out at www.radiopopper.com and let me know if you have any questions or would like a discount code so you can order your own set!
Kathy & Rusty’s family at Folly Beach
I had a really fun time photographing Shelley, Chris, and their son Logan last year. So I was ecstatic when her Mom called to ask me to photograph the WHOLE family. J It was so beautiful, peaceful, and un-crowded out on my favorite stretch of Folly Beach. One of the joys of my job is getting to know folks as we walk to and from the beach…hearing about all the interesting things they do, their amazing accomplishments, their passions, and what’s important in their lives. I’m so blessed to be able to do what I do!
Alison & Kevin at Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian
Alison & Kevin had a GORGEOUS ceremony last Saturday! The sky was blue, the temperature was perfect, and Alison & Kevin were a BLAST to hang out with!!!
I met up with them at Alhambra Hall where the wedding party was getting ready. Kevin & Alison shared their “First Glance” shortly after that, giving us time to get some fun wedding party photos before heading to the church. Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian has a beautiful historic sanctuary that I love photographing in. We always obey each church’s protocol, even if it means no photography inside the sanctuary during the worship service. But I was kindly allowed to polish the glass windows at the back to shoot through them from the foyer, and also mount my fisheye remote camera on the balcony for some unique shots.
After the ceremony, Alison & Kevin burst from the church to an excited gathering of friends and family clapping and blowing bubbles as they rode off on their horse-drawn carriage. The reception followed at the always-popular Alhambra Hall. It was an EXCITING party with lots of laughter, emotional toasts, crazy dancing, and a beautiful sunset for some of my favorite shots of the day. Later, a full moon rose in time for me to grab a couple dramatic images before Alison & Kevin made their grand escape among waving multi-colored glow sticks. What a FANTASTIC day! To see the rest of their photos, head over to www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com.
Alison & Kevin, may the joyous glow of your love for each other never fade…
Belle Hall Eye Care
I first got to know Dr. Lori Donovan when I photographed her wedding seven years ago. Hard to believe it’s been that long…she’s just as beautiful as the day she wore her wedding gown! Now Lori, with the help of her super sweet Mom, Maxine, and indeed the whole family, has become an instant success in the field of eye care. After out-growing their original building in just a few short years, I got to do a photo shoot for them to showcase their brand new state-of-the-art facility! Check them out at www.bellehalleyecare.com.
Patricia & Michael at Summerall Chapel
Last weekend Tricia & Mike tied the knot at Summerall Chapel on The Citadel! Their reception followed at the Carolina Yacht Club in downtown Charleston.
Tricia is a 1st Grade teacher…and we all know I have a big heart for teachers since my parents were educational missionaries and still teach even now that they are retired! Mike traveled a lot since his Dad was a contractor for the Army… Guam, Puerto Rico, and all over the US. So we had a lot in common too. But what really struck me about these two is just how much IN LOVE they are! J I could tell they were close during their engagement session. But even on their wedding day, with all the secret letters and gifts going back and forth…Tricia & Mike are soul mates indeed! I love the story of how Mike proposed. After picking out her ring all on his own, he planned a really amazing proposal at Waterfront Park as they watched their first sunrise together, then arranged to meet ALL their family and friends that he had secretly invited to join them for breakfast afterwards. Isn’t that cool?!?
Check out their fun Music Video at www.chrisandcami.com/blog. Then head over to www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com to see the rest of their Online Gallery.
Tricia & Mike, I absolutely LOVED being a part of your special day. Remember to CHOOSE to make each new day special for each other!!!
Product Photography
Although I primarily showcase our wedding/portrait work on here, we photograph a wide variety of subjects and genres. So I thought I’d write a post about a fun shoot I did for healer Ayal Hurst the other day. She’s a long-time client of ours and so full of positive energy. It’s always a pleasure working with her. Plus she’s a fellow artist, designing and creating beautiful jewelry and truly unique paintings with depth and dimension like you’ve never seen before! Her and her husband also run a very peaceful Bed No Breakfast downtown.
When photographing Products and art, it’s important to use feathering techniques to prevent hotspots. Feathering the light means not pointing it directly at your subject, but aiming it such that just the softer “edge” of the light source illuminates the product. Here I used a soft-box with 2 SB-800 strobes coming in from the right. Feathering gave me “almost” even illumination across the camera plane. But I added an umbrella with a single SB-800 from the left to fill in and further even out the exposure. All strobes were triggered by an SB-900 Commander on my D3, pointed backwards AWAY from the painting so as not to create any glare, and controlled via RadioPoppers.
Light Bending 411 Encore
I’ve been getting such WONDERFUL feedback from the Wireless Lighting Workshops I’ve been teaching. THANK YOU to everyone that has participated and made it such a success. I’ll be teaching my “Light Bending 411” course again on November 6th! I’ve been asked by The Aroostook F-Stops, an extremely active photography club in northern Maine, to come do a full-day program for them. The club’s fearless leader, Tom, has been so organized and fun to work with. His wife is a fellow alumni from The American School of Kinshasa (TASOK)…so we’ll have lots of catching up to do! Since Cami spent several summers in Maine and has many fond memories from this beautiful part of the country, we’ll be going up early and taking some much anticipated R&R. We’ll fly into Portland and wind our way up to Aroostook, hiking and sightseeing in places like Acadia National Park, and staying in quaint B&B’s along the way. I’m truly excited and look forward to sharing my enthusiasm with these wonderfully talented photographers in Maine!!!
Boone Hall Family Shoot
I met Holly while shooting assignments for her at the Charleston Regional Business Journal. We’ve been friends ever since and I’ve had the pleasure of photographing her and Clint’s family for several years. Originally it was just their 4-legged kids, now they have a beautiful 2-legged one too. J We met at the historic Boone Hall Plantation just down the road from their house. The early morning light was just perfect and we had a great time roaming the grounds and stopping for different shots. At one point, when I had everyone set, including 2-dogs and a 1-year old girl, this huge (think grayhound) bus slowly wanders down the famous Avenue of Oaks that was my backdrop…and proceeded to stop right behind us to let it’s FULL contents of elderly tourists out behind us!!! How inconsiderate was that? They could have just as easily pulled up 15 feet closer to the mansion and been out of our shot! But that’s the fun of working in a public environment. We rolled with the punches, moved on to a new spot, and came back to that one after everyone had dispersed.
Tamarae & David at Fort Johnson Baptist
Tamarae & David finally tied the knot last weekend after about 6 years together. They met freshman year at George Mason, where Tamarae may or may not have stalked David until he made her his girlfriend. J She is such a bubbly, fun-loving extrovert, has a flare for the dramatic, and enjoys drama and art. While he is quiet and reserved…that is until you get to REALLY know him. He sings, writes music, and plays in a band. In fact, he recorded and sang the song they did their first dance to. They complement each other so well. Which made their wedding day a true joy for me to be a part of!
The wedding was held at the gorgeous Fort Johnson Baptist Church. Afterwards we went downtown for a fun photo shoot, where they were picked up by Palmetto Carriage for a quiet ride to the historic Francis Marion Hotel for their reception. I got to work with some of my favorite vendors, including Jeff Bradt Video, Cakes by Kasarda, Jay Maxwell’s Music by Request, the Mike Wolk Jazz Group, Seithel’s Florist, and of course the fabulous Caroline Bean from the Francis Marion. Tamarae’s dress came from Blush, the bridesmaids dresses were from the amazing LulaKate, and the gentleman were outfitted at Berlin’s Tuxedos. Everything went as smooth as could be. After watching the fun Music Video at www.chrisandcami.com/blog, head over to www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com to see the rest of their photos.
Tamarae & David, it was such an honor and a pleasure being part of your special day!!!
