Happy Valentine’s Day

Happy “Heart” Day, Everyone!

Since we’re big movie buffs…here’s one of my favorite movie quotes about LOVE:

“Take love, multiply it by infinity and take it to the depths of forever…and you still have only a glimpse of how I feel for you.”
– Meet Joe Black

May you each have a glimpse of the true meaning of love this year.

Thriller Video

Earlier this year I attended an AWESOME Photography Workshop in Wichita Kansas. It was sponsored by Jeff & Tyffany at T&J; Studios. And the guest speaker was photographer extraordinaire, Corey McNabb, from Asheville. We worked hard…but had a lot of FUN too. 🙂 Click on the picture to watch the HILARIOUS video trailer. See how many times you can find me…

Family Circle Cup Banners are Up!

Mike Saia, Communications Manager at the Family Circle Cup just sent me these photos of this year’s Banners. I am SO HONORED that all three of the 40 x 47 foot banners for this year’s tournament were selected from images I photographed of these great Champions! Venus Williams won the title in 2004, Nadia Petrova won it in 2006, and of course Serena won it last year. Next time you’re drive by the stadium on Daniel Island, check them out. 🙂 You’ll find more of my image on the newly re-designed website at www.familycirclecup.com.

Bride’s Choice Award Winners!!!

2009 Bride's Choice Awards presented by WeddingWire  Wedding Cakes, Wedding Venues, Wedding Photographers & More WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced that Chris & Cami Photography has won the 2009 Bride’s Choice Awards™! The Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and honors vendors that demonstrate excellent quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value of cost and flexibility. This year’s recipients represent the best of WeddingWire’s vendor community, which includes over 100,000 wedding vendors from across the US.

That means Chris & Cami Photography is one of the very best photographers available. Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the company, the Bride’s Choice Awards are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds through surveys and reviews.

“We are excited to launch this annual award program to honor high-performing vendors based solely on the experiences of our WeddingWire community,” according to Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “This year’s recipients have set the bar high, exhibiting excellent service and expertise in the wedding industry.”

Personal Note: Cami & I would like to thank our clients for speaking on our behalf and helping us win the 2009 Bride’s Choice Award! We are TRULY humbled and honored to receive it!!!

Charleston Magazine Feature

This morning I thought I’d share with you a couple spreads from one of my favorite articles I shot for Charleton Magazine. It was a really creatively designed and colored kids room in downtown Charleston. Classic Remodeling did a fantastic job on the project. Since I’m a kid at heart, I truly got into the assignment and really enjoyed the results. I hope you do too!

Photography Composition

Over the last few weeks Cami & I have been working with the Youth Group in our church, teaching them photography. It’s part of a series that Susan Lloyd, our amazing Youth Minister, is bringing to them about being a creative being. Last night we talked about composition – using the Golden Mean (or the Rule of Thirds), framing for a clean background, using leading lines, creating depth, filling the frame, and more. They’re a really bright group of kids and I’m thoroughly enjoying working with them! We feel honored that Susan invited us to be a part of this series. We’ve been so blessed with our photography and giving back to our community is important to us!

Serena Williams

“Faster than a speeding bullet…More powerful than a locomotive…able to beat tall Russians in a single hour.”

I enjoyed the humor in this description of Serena by Diane Elayne Dees: http://www.womenwhoserve.blogspot.com. Indeed, Serena CRUSHED Dinara Safina in the finals, giving her the #1 ranking once again. I’m looking forward to having the World’s #1 back at the Family Circle Cup!

Flagler College

Flagler College was named in recent years by US News & World Report as one of the southeast region’s best comprehensive liberal arts colleges and is included on its list of “America’s Best Colleges”. But to me the most remarkable thing about this institution located in the heart of St. Augustine, is it’s architecture. The centerpiece of campus, built in 1888 as a luxury hotel, is the Ponce de Leon Hall. The architects were John Carrere and Thomas Hastings, working for Henry Flagler, the industrialist, oil magnate and railroad pioneer. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was truly surreal to stand under the arches in this grand hall. The odd thing was, students were constantly slipping in and around us, walking with drive and purpose, on their way to classes and activities. How strange would that be to have to navigate your way around tourists clustered in your dormatory lobby while rushing to catch your 3:00 Psych 101 class?!? 🙂

Breakfast on the Beach

I was up at dawn today to photograph the sunrise over the pristine beach at Anastasia State Park. The air was crisp, a little chilly. A brisk walk was the solution for that. Then I found this little guy enjoying a little breakfast on the beach. We spent a good bit of time together before my fingers started getting numb from gripping the penetratingly cold aluminum tripod. I stopped shooting, shoved my hands in my jeans pockets, and let the warm rays of the rising sun warm my face.

St. Augustine

I made it to St. Augustine, FL yesterday. I had no idea what a cool place this was! Steeped in history, it’s the oldest continuously occupied city in the United States. The first Christian worship service held in the continental United States was a Catholic Mass celebrated in St. Augustine. Martín de Argüelles, the first child of European ancestry to be born in the continental United States was born here. The list of firsts goes on. But aside from its history, this place is a very photogenic city. The St. Augustine Lighthouse, constructed between 1871 and 1874, offers a rare view of the ancient city.

Head Shots

I really enjoyed meeting Alvin today. He’s a very interesting individual! He’s an Entomologist…how many of THOSE do you know…and he loves to travel. He’s even been to a couple countries in Africa. So we had many things in common – like an interest in little critters and seeing the world! 🙂 But more than that we shared a similar perspective on life and a kindred desire to live it to its fullest. Even though Cami & I are wedding and event photographers on the weekend, we shoot a lot of professional head-shots during the week. I’m thankful to have met Alvin and that our life journeys crossed paths today when he came in for his head-shot!

Amanda & Johnny’s Storybook

We just shipped Amanda & Johnny’s Journalist Storybook to them and got the most WONDERFUL response! 🙂
“I received my photo album in the mail last night and it is AMAZING!! Thank you and Cami both for all your hard work from beginning to end…y’all rock! “