Anderson Reynolds & Stephens

Anderson Reynolds & Stephens, LLC, is a statewide civil litigation defense firm that represents individuals, their businesses, corporations, insurance carriers and government entities in a wide array of disputes.

I’ve had the pleasure of being their photographer for many years. They are a great group of people who truly take their customer’s needs to heart!

Here are a few images from the latest assignment I had for them, photographing updated head-shots and new group photos of the attorneys.

Haik Family on Isle of Palms

It’s been several years now since I last photographed the Haik Family. I was absolutely THRILLED when they called to let me know they were coming back to Wild Dunes and wanted some updated family beach portraits! The best news of all was finding out that their oldest daughter is engaged! CONGRATULATIONS Miranda & Mason!!!

State Farm Headshots

We’ve had the privilege of working with some of our corporate clients for a very long time. I consider this a real honor and a true testament to our service! After all, if we weren’t providing a great product, with friendly service, at a reasonable rate, in a timely turnaround…who would keep coming back?

It’s been 10 years since I photographed Kevin Sevier’s first State Farm headshots!!! Based out of Hilton Head, it was great to catch up with him and photograph some new headshots for him and his staff while we were down there this week.  Congratulations on your continued success, Kevin!

If you or your office would like to experience why so many of our corporate clients have been with us for so long, please reach out!  We’re currently booking new clients who are ready for a new  headshot to kick off NEW YEAR with a smile!!!

Amy & Adam at Medicine Wind Farm

Some of you may remember this absolutely GORGEOUS Engagement Photo Shoot I had with Amy & Adam at Middleton Plantation eight months ago: https://chrisandcami.com/amy-adam-at-middleton-place-plantation-garden/.

Last weekend, Amy & Adam finally tied the knot in a BEAUTIFUL outdoor ceremony on the grand lawn at the picturesque Medicine Wind Farm! It was a chilly afternoon outside. But the palpable love between these two, and the warm comradery of good friends and great family that surrounded them, kept all of us warm inside.

To see more of their photos, visit their full gallery at:  http://chrisandcami.zenfolio.com/adamandamy

CONGRATULATIONS Amy & Adam! You two are absolutely perfect for each other…a true match made in heaven. May God bless you as you begin this wonderful new journey together!!!

Ethanol Summit of the Americas in Houston

Photographing the inaugural Ethanol Summit of the Americas at The Westin Oaks in Houston, TX, was a real honor for me. I owe a HUGE Thank You to the US Grains Council for this assignment!

Industry and government officials from more than 15 countries in the Western Hemisphere met a few weeks ago at the Ethanol Summit of the Americas to discuss current and future opportunities for ethanol in the region.

The event was sponsored by the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board. These organizations and others in the U.S. agriculture and renewable fuels industries work together to promote the global use of ethanol and U.S. ethanol exports.

This Summit brought together recognized scientists and ethanol experts to engage with policymakers and provide information on the economic and environmental benefits of ethanol-blended fuel. The Summit also served as a launching point for expanded regional engagement markets in the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

“Increasing cooperation between ethanol industries supports economic growth for all countries involved,” said Tom Sleight, USGC president and chief executive officer. “Collaborative efforts like the meetings this week enable a greater understanding of the policy climate surrounding ethanol and help pave the way for expanded ethanol use throughout the region.”

The Summit highlighted the use of ethanol in transportation fuels to help meet a number of economic and environmental challenges, including improving air quality, extending the current fuel supply and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.S. ethanol industry’s efforts, including conferences like the Ethanol Summit of the Americas, are helping successfully establish the United States as a reliable and affordable source of fuel.

Here are a few of my favorite images from this fantastic 2-day conference!!!

Hadden Family at Washington Square Park

Check out the AMAZING time I had with the Hadden’s last weekend!!! 🙂

It’s been my honor to photograph this beautiful family since capturing Lisa & Clay’s gorgeous wedding celebration at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church several years ago. For this session, we decided to start out in front of St. Michael’s with its beautiful black iron gates and those old red brick walls.  The circle is complete!

We then headed over to historic Washington Square Park for the natural greenery and the amazing late-afternoon light that comes flooding through that eccentric park in the heart of downtown.

For the grand finale, we couldn’t pass up the longest cobblestone street in Charleston! Chalmers Street provided a charming backdrop for some fun moments and fond memories.

CONGRATULATIONS Lisa & Clay! Your growing family gets even more precious every time I see them!!! 🙂

Boucher Family at Charlestowne Landing

I got to spend Saturday morning with one of my all-time-favorite wedding couples!

That’s right, just a few short years since Catie & Justin’s AMAZING Boone Hall Plantation wedding, I got to meet the newest addition to their family! We met up at the historic Charlestowne Landing, on a beautiful fall day. This is the same historic location where Catie had her beautiful Bridal Shoot. So it was fitting that this would be the same picturesque setting for Savvy’s 6-month old session!  🙂

Savvy is an absolutely ADORABLE 6-month old girl.  She’s a bouncing, bubbling, bundle of joy.  With her mom’s beautiful blue eyes, and her dad’s funny sense of humor, she’s just a delight to be around!

CONGRATULATIONS Catie & Justin! You guys are going to be the BEST parents ever!!!

Winter Wonderland Wedding

In my 25+ year career as a professional photographer, I STILL experience some wonderful firsts!!!

Last weekend I had the privilege of photographing my first outdoor wedding in a snow storm! It may have been freezing…but the “magic” of the falling snow that transformed the mountain scene into a winter wonderland made it all worthwhile!!!  It truly was an experience I’ll never forget.  The fact that Kaite and Donnie were so incredibly head-over heals in love with each other made it all the more special.  🙂

Many thanks to Cami’s cousin and amazing photographer, Beth at Beth Brown Photography, for making this incredible experience a dream come true.  It was so much fun working with you!

CONGRATULATIONS to Kaite & Donnie! May the road rise up to meet you, my friends…

Amelia’s Senior Portraits

We’ve been best friends with Byron & Kathleen for a looong time. We don’t want to date ourselves, but we’ve known them since the BAE…”Before Amelia Era”!!! 😉

As you can imagine, it’s been a real joy of ours to watch Amelia grow from adorable baby, to cute little girl, and now into the beautiful young lady she’s become! We couldn’t be more proud of the amazing, kind, and giving human being she’s grown into!!!

For something fun and different, Byron, Kathleen, and Amelia joined us for a weekend get-away in Maggie Valley to photograph Amelia’s Senior Portraits. True to the White/Smith tradition, IT RAINED! You see, the number of camping trips and expeditions we’ve been on together, it’s astounding how often it rains. It was only fitting that it rain on this one too. But we don’t think of it as a curse. We think of it as an adventure!

And so, with an ADVENTURE in mind, we forged ahead with our plans to meet in picturesque Cataloochee Valley to photograph Amelia. As a bonus, we got to see a herd of elk grazing in one of the fields. But the real thrill was hanging out with this wonderful family, and capturing beautiful images of their amazing daughter!!!

Thanks for another great expedition, Byron, Kathleen, and Amelia. We can’t wait to see what great things God has in store for you, Amelia! We are so proud of you.

Kiawah Cottage for Solaris Inc.

One of my favorite parts about my job is that no two assignments are ever the same!

I photograph a lot of “people” assignments where juggling personalities is a large part of the equation. Balancing those assignments with the more cerebral ones like architecture and interior photography is always a nice change of pace. Houses don’t talk. To capture their “good side” involves carefully calculating the best lighting, angles, and perspectives.

One of my favorite architecture clients is Solaris, Inc. They create such BEAUTIFUL houses with such unique character! They pay attention to the fine details.  Every little piece of the puzzle is considered to ensure it belongs in the design.

Here is one of their amazing projects on Kiawah Island that I had the honor of photographing recently!  Kudos to Steve on another brilliant home.  And Thanks to Julie for always being so great to work with.

Wild at Wingswood Gala

Photographing the annual Wild at Wingswood gala for the Charleston Center for Birds of Prey is one of my most anticipated events of the year!

It’s a very unique fundraiser, where live raptors, owls, and other beautiful birds soar through the air, gliding silently over guests and attendees under the big tent!
The Avian Conservation Center and the Center for Birds of Prey are doing AMAZING things for our natural world. If you’ve never been, they are open to the public on most Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. You’ve GOT to check this cool place out and see for yourself why nature lovers from all over the country speak so highly of this gem, located just a few miles outside of Charleston!

Check them out at http://www.thecenterforbirdsofprey.org/.

D850 vs D500

When my good friend and AMAZING wildlife photographer, David Archer, invited me to play with his new D850, I jumped at the chance! Thanks again, David!!!

I’ve read all the reviews, and seen all the stats. But what I wanted to know was how well it would stand up in those dim conference rooms and dark churches I frequently deal with when covering corporate events and weddings. The flagship Nikon D5 is my main camera. The D500 is my secondary. My question was, would the D850 beat the D500 in low light?!?

In my opinion, for what I shoot, the “Pixel Race” ended a LOOOONG time ago! Huge enlargements from any modern camera with a 20-24MP sensor will turn out gorgeous. So the D850’s huge 47MP sensor has no appeal to me. In most situations, I would probably shoot it in the Medium RAW setting, which is approximately 25MP. The REAL challenge that remains, is dealing with shooting in low-light conditions. I have yet to see a real-world comparison in this situation between Nikon’s latest work-horses, the D5, D500, and D850.

I already knew my D5 would be superior to both the D850 and the D500 at high-iso settings. Still, I brought it along and incorporated it in the test. There wasn’t even a comparison!!! And since my goal was to determine if the D850 would be a better secondary-camera than my D500, I simplified the comparison to just those two bodies.

David and I met for lunch at the delicious Ti-Ney Bangkok Thai restaurant in Summerville. I mounted my 70-200 f2.8 to a tripod. Because the D850 is so new, I knew I couldn’t open the RAW files in Lightroom. So all cameras were set to JPG. I mounted each camera to the lens and took 3 shots…ISO 1600, ISO 3200, and ISO 6400. That was it! That’s all I cared about!

Back at the work station, I imported all the images. Next, the D850 files were normalized to be the same size as the D500 files, bringing them both to approximately 21MP. Downsizing the 47MP file to 21MP surely helped improve the grain characteristics of that camera. But again, this was a “real world” type of test. In other words, if I’m faced with a difficult lighting situation, what’s the BEST low-light performance I can get out of each camera? No adjustments were made to noise reduction or sharpness in post-processing. Next to each high-resolution image, I also outputed a 100% crop. So the images go as follows:

D850 @ 1600
D850 @1600 100% crop
D850 @ 3200
D850 @ 3200 100% crop
D850 @ 6400
D850 @ 6400 100% crop
D500 @ 1600
D500 @1600 100% crop
D500 @ 3200
D500 @ 3200 100% crop
D500 @ 6400
D500 @ 6400 100% crop

One thing I did note was that the D850 files look softer than the D500 files. That may have been partly due to the JPG settings in that camera. Unfortunately I didn’t check to make sure both JPG profiles were the same. It also might be due to the fact that my 70-200 lens is calibrated to my D500 body and not to the D850. So the focus might have been off a little. But regardless, I’m very impressed with the D850!!!

What do you think?