Author: Chris Smith

I had my last photo shoot for the week with the fabulous Sandy Ericksen this morning. I got there early and spotted this little guy cuddled up on one of the porch spindles. 🙂  He was only an inch long, if that.  Isn’t he cute?!?

I photographed him with: Nikon D3, Nikkor 105mm VR, 1-SB900, 2-SB800s, and Radio Popper Px on Nikon CLS system.

Cami & I will be visiting family and friends in Ohio for about a week and doing several photo shoots up there. But unlike our Tanzania Trip, we’ll have email, Internet, and phone…so stay in touch!

Safari in Swahili means “journey”. It took 40 hours of buses, prop-planes, and jets…but we’re finally home from our second magical journey to Tanzania. Having been completely unplugged (no Internet, email, or phone) for two weeks, I’ve got a lot of correspondence to get caught up on. But here are a few photos I pulled out of the mix to share with everyone. I’ll post more images and stories when I have time to go through the remaining photos. Enjoy!!!

Jambo!  Thank you so much for your interest in Chris & Cami Photography.  Cami & I will be in Tanzania July 25th – August 9th. We will be out of email and phone coverage for most of that time.  But please feel free to shoot us an email or leave us a voice mail and we promise to get back in touch after we return.  For more information on us and our services, please feel free to peruse our informative websites at www.chrisandcami.com, www.chrisandcami.com/blog, and www.lightbending411.com. We look forward to connecting with you again soon! 

CHARLESTON, S.C. (July 24, 2011) — The St. Louis Aces, winners of the World Team Tennis Western Conference, battled the Washington Kastles, winners of the Eastern Conference, for the King Trophy on Sunday evening at the Family Circle Tennis Center in Charleston, S.C. Rain delays didn’t dampen their enthusiasm as each team gave their all.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (July 23, 2011) — The St. Louis Aces are headed to the World Team Tennis Finals for the first time in 15 years after narrowly defeating the Sacramento Capitals 20-19 to win the WTT Western Conference title on Saturday evening at the Family Circle Tennis Center in Charleston, S.C. The Aces advance to Sunday’s WTT Finals presented by GEICO to face the Eastern Conference Champion Washington Kastles for the King Trophy at 5 p.m. ET.

The last time Sacramento and St. Louis played each other on July 13, it took a Supertiebreaker to decide the match. Once again, these Western Conference rivals kept it close throughout Saturday’s Western Conference Championship match, splitting the first two sets of singles.

Dusan Vemic gave Sacramento an early lead with a 5-3 singles victory over St. Louis’ Roman Borvanov. St. Louis took over the lead when Tamira Paszek ran past Vania King of Sacramento in women’s singles 5-1.

The Capitals men’s doubles team was only ranked No. 8 during the regular season but they turned up the heat as Mark Knowles and Vemic beat the Aces’ Borvanov and 2011 Male Rookie of the Year Jean-Julien Rojer, 5-3, to even the score at 11-11 at half.

King and Yasmin Schnack upset 2011 WTT Female MVP Liezel Huber and Paszek in women’s doubles in a tight 5-4 set, giving the Capitals a one point lead, 16-15, heading into the final set of mixed doubles.

Huber and Rojer got the only service break of the final set and wrapped up a 5-3 victory over Knowles and King when King’s shot sailed wide on match point.

“Every point, every game counts (in WTT),” said Huber. “I wanted to win so bad for my team and St. Louis tonight.” Huber said not to count out the Aces in the Finals against the Kastles, who have yet to lose a match this season. “They are a great team but we start from scratch tomorrow,” she said. “We have nothing to lose.”

The Aces will face the undefeated Washington Kastles in the WTT Finals on Sunday, July 24 at 5 p.m. ET. With a victory, the Kastles would become the first team in WTT history to complete a perfect season. The Aces are vying for their first WTT title since they won their only Championship in 1996. The Finals will be televised live on Tennis Channel and live streamed on http://video.wtt.com.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (July 22, 2011) — The Washington Kastles moved one step closer to their second World Team Tennis title and the first undefeated season in WTT Pro League history with a 23-15 victory over the Boston Lobsters in the WTT Eastern Conference Championship final. The Kastles advance to Sunday’s WTT Finals presented by GEICO to face the winner of Saturday’s Western Conference Championship match.

Leander Paes, who was announced as the 2011 WTT Male MVP prior to the match, partnered with Rennae Stubbs to power past Boston’s Eric Butorac and Mashona Washington, 5-2, in the opening set. That opening match set the tone for the rest of the first half as Stubbs and Arina Rodionova dominated Washington and her partner Irina Falconi in women’s doubles 5-1. The Kastles cruised to a 15-5 halftime lead after Paes and Bobby Reynolds defeated Butorac and Jan-Michael Gambill in men’s doubles, 5-2.

Falconi tried to turn the tide in women’s singles as she faced off against WTT’s Female Rookie of the Year Rodionova. Falconi jumped out to a 3-1 lead before Rodionova shifted gears and evened out the set at 4-4. Falconi hit a crosscourt forehand winner for the 5-4 victory and the first set win for the Lobsters.

Gambill won men’s singles 5-3 to send the match into overtime. Reynolds closed out Washington’s 15th consecutive victory by winning the first Overtime game to give the Kastles the 23-15 win. The win gives 2011 Coach of the Year Murphy Jensen and his squad a shot at making WTT history in Sunday’s final. No team in WTT history has ever gone undefeated throughout the entire regular and post-season.

The St. Louis Aces and the Sacramento Capitals face off for the Western Conference title at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 23. The winner will play the Kastles at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 24, for the King Trophy in the WTT Finals. The Finals will be televised live on Tennis Channel and live streamed on http://video.wtt.com.

Summer Beach Portrait Season is almost over. Soon kids will be going back to school, and the crowded beaches from summer vacationers will go back to normal. We’ve had a fabulous time getting to know all our wonderful new families, and getting re-acquainted with our return families. THANK YOU to each and every one of you. We look forward to seeing everyone again next year! 🙂

Here’s a few favorites from the Hill Family on Sullivan’s Island earlier this week…

There’s a new magazine in town!  The inaugural issue of Mount Pleasant Magazine is due out August 1st.  I had the honor of photographing Mayor Billy Swails for the cover and feature article.

“Billy Swails is the top elected official in South Carolina’s fourth largest municipality, a vibrant and growing town that has attracted a wide range of cultural and culinary events and festivals, as well as the attention of the National Civic League and its coveted designation of All-America City.”

Photographed with Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-70 f2.8, 1 SB-900 (Commander), 6 SB-800 (Remotes), & RadioPopper Px triggers

This weekend I’ll be photographing the World Team Tennis Finals at the Family Circle Cup Tennis Center here in Charleston, SC.  The Washington Castles will take on the Boston Lobsters today in the Eastern Conference playoff.  The St. Louis Aces will take on the Sacramento Capitals in the Western Conference playoffs tomorrow.   The finals between the two winners will be on Sunday. 

I photographed this image of Serena Williams when she won the FCC title in 2008.  Serena plays for the Washington Castles. 

As Michael’s brother said in his toast “I came a LONG way to witness this event”!  Michael and his family are from Australia. Megan and her family are from Columbia, SC. Many of Michael’s friends and family traveled great distances to be there!  Megan & Michael have a really unique story of how they met. And they both are such amazing world travelers. I suppose that’s part of what drew Cami & I to them…since Cami’s Maid of Honor in our wedding was Australian, and since we both love to travel so much.

Their ceremony was held at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Columbia. I love photographing all kinds of ethnic ceremonies, and the Greek Orthodox is one of my favorites! The reception was held at the South Carolina State Museum. Now can you think of any two people groups that know how to party more than the Greeks and the Australians?!? Needless to say, Megan & Michael’s reception was a BLAST! To see more of their photos, visit www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com.

CONGRATULATIONS Megan & Michael!!!

Located near Edisto Beach, Botany Bay Plantation Wildlife Management Area is a treasure to be explored.

I spent the morning meandering along the 6.5 mile dirt road tour, occasionally stopping for short hikes to satisfy my curiosity. The property comprises the land from two old plantation, Bleak Hall and Sea Cloud, which were combined by John Ferrars Townsend in 1859.

As the morning turned to mid-day, I grabbed my gear and went hiking along the famous stretch of protected beach with its layers upon layers of shells, and odd arrangements of of drift wood. Having packed a sandwich, I sat under the shade of a tree on the bank to enjoy lunch in quiet solitude with nothing but the wind and the waves, and the occasional call of a gull, to keep me company. As always, the getaway was therapeutic, and I came back refreshed and re-energized!

If you get a chance, I highly recommend a visit. For more info visit www.dnr.sc.gov.

It will have almost been a year since Andy proposed to Elisabeth…in PARIS! It was all a huge surprise. Andy never told Elisabeth where they were going. She didn’t find out until they got to Atlanta and walked up to the gate and she saw the destination on the placard. How cool is that?!? 🙂

Elisabeth & Andy met in Augusta. His family is from Ohio. Hers is from Charleston. Their wedding was held at the beautiful St. Luke’s Chapel. And their reception was at The Lighthouse, a fun venue overlooking Shem Creek.

I don’t think I need to say it…the pictures tell the whole story…but we had a BALL!  Check out the rest of the images at www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com.

CONGRATULATIONS Elisabeth & Andy!!!