The Sunburn Circuit

Photography. Motorcycles Travel. These are my three biggest passions in life!

Most of you know that I started riding motorcycles at a young age in Africa, where I grew up. A motorcycle was my main means of transportation in college and in my early years in the work force. But then “life” happened and I took a hiatus from riding. Several years ago, I fell back in love with riding motorcycles and haven’t look back!

I started a YouTube channel with my good friends, great riders, and fellow photographers, Jason, and Steve: https://www.youtube.com/motophotoadventures. We even built a website around the whole Moto Photo Adventures theme at: https://motophotoadventures.com/. We’ve been picked up by a number of sponsors, and appeared on a couple podcasts. It’s been a TON of fun!!!

Last week we took off on another crazy adventure. The idea was to get out of the cold weather and head south to Key West…somewhere warm. We called it the Sunburn Circuit. Little did we know that a massive cold front was heading towards the southeast and we’d be shivering in our tents as we camped along The Keys and through the Everglades! 🙂

Unfortunately Steve couldn’t make it at the last minute. So our friend and fellow YouTuber, David Mays jumped on his bike and met up with us. You should check out his channel at: https://www.youtube.com/c/aMAYSingLife. We missed having Steve. But we still had a fantastic time, exploring some amazing sights, and capturing some fantastic memories as we circled around “Gator Country.”

Many thanks to all our friends and family who have supported our little side-hustle. If you haven’t already, Subscribe to the YouTube channel and get ready for episodes of the Sunburn Circuit to hit the internet!!!

Natalia and Andres in Key West

Photographing proposals is one of my favorite things to shoot! So when a random couple came up to me in Key West last week, let me know they’d just gotten engaged, and asked if I would take a few photos, I jumped at the chance!!!

Jason, David, and I were in Key West photographing another one of our Moto Photo Adventures episodes, which you’ll be able to watch on our channel at http://youtube.com/MotoPhotoAdventures in a few weeks. As we walked around, enjoying the sights, photographing the chickens and tourists alike, we happened upon the famous Hemingway House.

As we gathered outside this popular tourist stop to get a glimpse of the 6-toed cats, and inquire about tour costs, Andres must have noticed my more professional looking camera. While Natalia was at the booth buying their tour tickets, he told me that he had just asked Natalia to be his wife! How cool is that?!? And the best part is, she said YES! He asked if I would mind taking a couple photos for them to commemorate the occasion. And of course I too said YES!!! 🙂

We only had a couple minutes before they were to enter for their tour. Quickly switching from my “travel photographer” hat to my “couples portraits” hat, I captured a few fun portraits for Natalia and Andres while everyone watched. They were so much fun to work with!!!  Andres was tall and strong…his khaki pants and penny loafers an indication of his laid-back demeanor.  Natalia was stunning with her flowing hair and beautiful Bimini-blue blouse.  It was an an absolute delight to spend a few minutes with these two amazing people before we headed down the road to find our campsite for the night.

Many thanks to Natalia and Andres for allowing me to have the honor of photographing their first portraits as a newly engaged couple.

USGC 17th Internationall Marketing Conference – Day 3

Last week I had the pleasure of Photographing the US Grains Council’s 17th International Marketing Conference at the Hilton Downtown Tampa, Florida. It also happened to be the Council’s 60th Annual Membership Meeting, which made it extra special!

In keeping with Chairman Darren Armstrong’s theme of “Make Something Happen”, members had opportunities to visit directly with the Council’s staff from around the globe, build relationships with them, and deepen their understanding of the critical efforts they undertake for the US grains industry. In addition, Advisory Teams held in-depth meetings, offering the chance to provide recommendations to develop markets, enable trade and improve lives. Plus of course there was an incredible lineup of fantastic speakers, experts, and panels during the general session.

After three long but fulfilling days together, everyone left the meeting with a renewed dedication to the work at hand of promoting coarse grains and ethanol exports for US farmers. And I left with a sense of accomplishment at having faced the many challenges of dark conference rooms and grueling 12-hour days loaded down with camera gear, to come away with a collection of images that truly captured the spirit of the event!

Here are a few favorites from Day 3…

USGC 17th Internationall Marketing Conference – Day 2

Last week I had the pleasure of Photographing the US Grains Council’s 17th International Marketing Conference at the Hilton Downtown Tampa, Florida. It also happened to be the Council’s 60th Annual Membership Meeting, which made it extra special!

In keeping with Chairman Darren Armstrong’s theme of “Make Something Happen”, members had opportunities to visit directly with the Council’s staff from around the globe, build relationships with them, and deepen their understanding of the critical efforts they undertake for the US grains industry. In addition, Advisory Teams held in-depth meetings, offering the chance to provide recommendations to develop markets, enable trade and improve lives. Plus of course there was an incredible lineup of fantastic speakers, experts, and panels during the general session.

After three long but fulfilling days together, everyone left the meeting with a renewed dedication to the work at hand of promoting coarse grains and ethanol exports for US farmers. And I left with a sense of accomplishment at having faced the many challenges of dark conference rooms and grueling 12-hour days loaded down with camera gear, to come away with a collection of images that truly captured the spirit of the event!

Here are a few favorites from Day 2…

USGC 17th Internationall Marketing Conference – Day 1

Last week I had the pleasure of Photographing the US Grains Council’s 17th International Marketing Conference at the Hilton Downtown Tampa, Florida. It also happened to be the Council’s 60th Annual Membership Meeting, which made it extra special!

In keeping with Chairman Darren Armstrong’s theme of “Make Something Happen”, members had opportunities to visit directly with the Council’s staff from around the globe, build relationships with them, and deepen their understanding of the critical efforts they undertake for the US grains industry. In addition, Advisory Teams held in-depth meetings, offering the chance to provide recommendations to develop markets, enable trade and improve lives. Plus of course there was an incredible lineup of fantastic speakers, experts, and panels during the general session.

After three long but fulfilling days together, everyone left the meeting with a renewed dedication to the work at hand of promoting coarse grains and ethanol exports for US farmers. And I left with a sense of accomplishment at having faced the many challenges of dark conference rooms and grueling 12-hour days loaded down with camera gear, to come away with a collection of images that truly captured the spirit of the event!

Here are a few favorites from Day 1…

Annual Florida Birding Adventure

After completing my photographic coverage of a fantastic 3-day corporate event in Sarasota, I scheduled a few days off to visit some of my favorite avian hot spots!

Each spring, I plan an expedition through Florida to cover the incredible mating and breeding cycle of life. There are secret areas that are literally flooded with activity this time of year…making for exciting photographic oportunities!

Unfortunately, I had to be back in Charleston for another photo shoot after only a few days. I usually take a week to seek out and shoot this avian activity. But I still got a few keepers in spite of the shortened expedition. Here are some of my favorites! 🙂

Josh & Ashley’s “Destin” Destination Wedding

Ashley & Josh were married last weekend in a beautiful Destination Wedding on the pure white sands of Destin, Florida.  (Check out their Music Video at www.chrisandcami.com/blog.)  I went for a walk on the beach the morning of their wedding and the turquiose waters of the Gulf of Mexico stretching as far as the eye could see!  They had rented a gorgeous Spanish mansion across from the beach which was transformed into the perfect reception site.  Between the dramatic architecture of the mansion, the amazing scenery on the beach, and how beatiful Ashley looked in her flowing white wedding gown…the whole day was like visual candy to my camera!  Top that off with how genuine, friendly, and full of life all their friends and family were…well…let’s just say I had a BLAST!!!  J 

I first met Ashley at Whitney & Ryan’s wedding on Seabrook Island last year.  So a HUGE “thank you” goes to Whitney for introducing me to Ashley!  Whitney was also a bridesmaid in Ashley’s wedding, so it was great to see her again and catch up.  (After watching the Music Video, head over to www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com to see the rest of their Online Gallery.) 

Ashley & Josh honeymooned in The Bahamas before returning home to Dallas, Georgia.  I tip my hat to Ashley as she is a 4th grade teacher there…I have the utmost respect for teachers and think they should get paid what lawyers get paid!  CONGRATULATIONS to Ashley & Josh…you guys ROCK!!!