Photographing from the Sky

Since becoming FAA Certified for commercial drone photography, I haven’t had as many opportunities to go flying as I used to.  I can accomplish most of my aerial photography requests with the drone. But last week I had an assignment for Trident Construction that was going to require flying above 400 ft, and flying too near the Charleston International Airport…both of which were beyond the legal limits of commercial drone flight.

So I reached out to Hayden and Kris at Holy City Helicopters. Hayden is not only a great chopper pilot, but also an avid photographer. So he “got it” when it came to waiting for the right weather and the right light. Finally, a beautiful blue-sky day opened up to us! Kris was my pilot that morning.  He did a fantastic job of getting me good angles of the projects I needed to photograph.

It was a pleasure flying and photographing with these fine gentlemen. I highly recommend calling Hayden if you’re interested in photographing from the sky!

Citadel Square Baptist Church

Citadel Square Baptist Church was the fourth Baptist church established in Charleston, South Carolina. The original “Citadel Square Church” is a daughter of the First Baptist Church of Charleston (est. 1682), the “mother” church of Baptists in the South. In 1854, approximately a dozen members of the church sought to establish a new church for the Upper Peninsula, to be known as Fourth Baptist Church.

The construction of the church building at 328 Meeting Street began in June 1855. The new building was opened on November 23, 1856. A Sunday School building was added in 1891, then replaced in 1921. In April 1951, an educational building was added to the campus. The church was the first in Charleston to televise its services, doing so for more than 40 years until 1998. In its history, six churches have planted by Citadel Square: Cannon Street Baptist Church, Southside Baptist Church, FBC Mount Pleasant, Ashley River Baptist Church, James Island Baptist Church, and Folly Beach Baptist Church.

With a break in the programming at an event I was photographing nearby, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to fly my drone and get a gorgeous panoramic aerial view of this historic church in the golden rays of the setting sun. Visible in the background is the iconic Mother Emanuel AME Church. And beyond that, the elegant Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge spans the great Cooper River.