What can I say…10 hours a day…10 days straight…10,000 images! I just get such an adrenaline rush out of covering the Family Circle Cup each year. I don’t know if it would be as exciting if I wasn’t a tennis player. But I relish the opportunity to challenge myself and stretch my photographic capabilities. As the final Tier 1 event played on clay before the French Open, all the top players are there. In like fashion, all the top sports photographers are drawn like bees to a beehive. The media tent is a constant buzz of activity. Photographers and writers are rushing from one match to the next, trying to stay on the edge of the latest developments…an upset of a big star, a rising new talent, an emotional meltdown, a fist-pumping moment of triumph. As the Official Photographer of the tournament, it’s my job to provide the most comprehensive coverage possible. On top of all the court action, I get to cover exclusive, behind-the-scenes events that most of the media doesn’t even know about…the player’s ice-cream social…the baby shower for Jennifer Russell (one of the players who just found out she’s pregnant and will be retiring after this tournament)…the Meredith Inspiration Award with Mary Pierce…the Lacoste fashion show with Natalie Dechy and Luke Jensen…the Player’s Party at Saks Fifth Avenue where the players trade in their sports clothes for fashion outfits and their competitive spirits for camaraderie and friendship. All in all, it’s a CRAZY hectic week, but I love it! You can see more of my photos and purchase your tickets for next year’s tournament at www.familycirclecup.com.

I got a call early this month from my friends at Charleston Magazine (http://www.charlestonmag.com/), asking me to photograph the spring color at Middleton Place for an up-coming article about Sidney Frazier, the head gardner. Well, as you know, peak season is almost over by then! And with a full spring schedule already on the books, I was a little worried that we’d miss it. But when I finally got out there about a week later, my worries went away. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Sidney was fantastic to work with. He’s from Africa. So we had that in common and were able to discuss some African history and politics. He’s also been at Middleton Place (http://www.middletonplace.org/) a very long time and was able to share all kinds of neat information with me about the plantation. If you haven’t been, go visit there next spring!

I recently had the privaledge of photographing Channing Proctor, champion of The Charleston Miracle League (www.charlestonmiracleleague.org) for a supplemental issue of the Charleston Regional Business Journal. The Charleston Miracle League is an organization whose mission is to offer accessible recreational opportunities for all children with physical and mental challenges so they can participate firsthand, as team members, in an organized baseball league. Their spring season had just kicked off and Channing was very excited about how well things were going. In the article, he was being honored as one of the “40 Under 40″, which is a pretty big deal hear in town. It honors the 40 top business men & women under 40 years of age. Each of them was asked to bring to their portrait session something that was representative of an activity, value, or past-time that was important to them. Of course Channing brought an old baseball bat. I also photographed the other 39 winners and really got a kick out of all the props they brought in. I saw everything from rock-climbing shoes to german shephards!