While visiting Cami’s parents over Mother’s Day weekend, I slipped out one evening for a hike and came across this Great Egret protecting her nest. It was dusk, so she appeared to be done for the night. But the chicks all seemed to be saying “Feed Me” as they watched her every move!

Shot with Nikon D300, Nikkor 200-400VR, f4.0, 1/160sec, ISO 640, on a Manfrotto Carbon Fiber tripod with a Wimberly Sidekick head.

I’ve had so much fun getting to know Brooke, who has been a model in some of my www.lightbending411.com workshops, and Daniel at their amazzzing Engagement Session on Folly Beach. So I knew their wedding was going to be a BLAST!

For something different, Brooke & Daniel decided to have their First Glance at Boone Hall Platation! We met there and got Daniel ready to see his bride for the first time under the famous Avenue of Oaks. It was so neat to see how he looked at her, and the expression on her face after he gave her that first huge hug!!!

Then we headed up the road to The Pavilion at Pepper Plantation for their ceremony out on the lawn overlooking the lake. It was a gorgeous ceremony with beautiful music and a heart-felt service. The reception followed with dining and dancing inside The Pavilion, a photo booth by our good friend Pat at www.pattendew.com, fishing for the kids, and lots of lively laughter and conversation all around the grounds. To see the rest of their photos, head over to www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com.

CONGRATULATIONS Brooke & Daniel!!! May you each remember you are truly a Godsend to one other…always and forever!

This morning I thought I’d post this amazing INSPIRATIONAL clip from www.ted.com that my friend Byron White shared with me!  You’ll want to watch it several times!  It will BLOW YOU AWAY!!!

What an AMAZING time I had at Ashlynn & Allen’s wedding celebration last weekend!!! It was a beatuful day, Ashlynn was a stunning southern bride, and Allen was quite the handsome gentleman.

They were married at the historic First Baptist Church in downtown Charleston…and they packed the house! I loved so many things about their big day. But one of my favorites was that Ashlynn handed the flower girl a private note to give to Allen when she got down the isle. I wonder what it said because he got a big ol’ grin on his face after reading it.

The reception at The Hibernian was absolutely awesome. The band Flashback really rocked the place and everyone had a grand time all night long. To see more of their photos, head over to www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com.

CONGRATULATIONS Ashlynn & Allen! May God Bless YOU as you journey together down this wonderful path you have chosen!!!

Back in February I made my annual birding pilgrimage down to Florida. It’s become an opportunity I look forward to, when I can escape and unplug for a week…no phone, no email, no Facebook…just enjoying the great outdoors and the hunt for that next great image.

My first stop this year was Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge, where most of these images were taken. I’d read about this location but never been there. I found it had an excellent variety of subjects. However, good camo, plenty of patience, and a powerful telephoto were certainly required.

Fortunately, on top of my Nikkor 200-400VR, I had borrowed the venerable 600VR from Nikon Professional Services. Between those two lenses, my TC14eII, TC20eIII, and the option of a full frame D3 or the 1.5x crop factor of the D300…I had lots of telephoto options…reaching as far as the equivalent of 1800mm!

Here are just a few favorites from that first leg, culled from the over 4500 images I shot that week. Enjoy!

Cami & I have been friends with Chris & Vicki for many years. It was sad when they moved to Pittsburgh. But they still come back to visit Charleston every year. So it’s fun to catch up, see how much their kids have grown, and spend the afternoon together.

Yesterday we met up with our old friends at Waterfront Park and photographed a fun session with their adorable little girls. Then we went out to eat at Fleet Landing. Their stuffed hush-puppies are THE BEST!!! It was a beautiful day and a great time all around.

It’s been 4 years since I had the honor of photographing Allison & Brett’s wedding on Folly Beach. It seems like yesterday! Now they have a handsome 1-year old and wanted to come back to Charleston and photograph their NEW family on Folly Beach.

We had a BLAST recounting stories from their eventful wedding when a horrible storm blew in, tornadoes raced around us, power went out all over town (transforming the reception into a candle-light dinner), and this amazing shaft of vibrant sunset burst through the clouds on the horizon just long enough for us to run out and grab a really dramatic portrait. But more importantly, we had a great time creating NEW memories with their growing family!!!

Holly & Jared are the most AMAZING couple you could ever have the joy of meeting. They met at work Holly is a PT. At first she didn’t think Jared liked her. But before you know it, he was buying her ice-cream on their first date! Jared has moved on and now works for the Bureau of Prisons. But he’s a smart guy…and held on to the best thing that ever happened to him!

They were married last weekend on the North Croquet Lawn at the scenic Wild Dunes Resort. The day started out overcast. But just as Holly and her mother began walking down the isle towards Jared, the sun came out as if God had cued it up just for them!

It was a beautiful day and I had so much fun getting to know Holly & Jared and all their amazing friends and family. Visit www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com to see the rest of their images.

CONGRATULATIONS Holly & Jared! May God Bless your new life together…

“Life is eternal,
and love is immortal,
and death is only a horizon;
and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.”
~ Anonymous

Last week I had a really neat assignment for Mount Pleasant Magazine!

Working with Denise, the wonderfully talented and eloquent new Managing Editor at the magazine, we shot a huge variety of images for a story about the up-coming Homes & Gardens tour in Old Mt. P. It was a beautiful day and the home-owners we met along the way were so pleasant and generous with their time.

Here are a few of my favorites. Look for the article in the up-coming fall issue!!!

A couple days ago I had the pleasure of photographing Brooke & Daniel’s Engagement Shoot at Folly Beach. Brooke is absolutely STUNNING and was the model in the last couple images of this Lightbending Photo Mentor Session: http://chrisandcami.com/blog/2011/10/15/photo-mentor-session/. I’d never met Daniel before, but he was AWESOME! He’s super nice…and I can certainly see why Brooke is head-over-heals over him.

Congratulations you guys! I can’t WAIT to see you at the wedding in a few weeks!!!