The Blalocks are spread out all over the country…Colorado, Georgia, Pennsylvania. So it was very special for them to be able to come together for a family vacation here in the Charleston area. I was honored that they contacted us about photographing their family portrait on the beach across from the house they had rented on IOP. We laughed, got wet, and had a great time creating some fun memories. J
My friend and extraordinary real-estate agent, Nick Maffia, came over the other day to update his portfolio of images for his brochures, business cards, and marketing material. He’s lost a lot of weight recently and looks GREAT! Nick sold our old house and helped us buy the one we’re in. I highly recommend him if you need a real estate agent!
After courting her for a while, Kyle proposed to Laura over Christmas last year. Soon wedding plans were in full swing and through their fabulous wedding planner, Emmy at Peacock Events, I was the lucky photographer they picked to cover their special day! J Laura is a teacher…and you all KNOW how much I love and respect teachers! Her and Kyle live in Greer, where they’ll be returning after their fabulous Jamaica Honeymoon. Laura & Kyle rented a beautiful home on the marsh side of Folly beach where they could do their “I Do’s”. As it turns out, it was the home of my good friend and fellow photographer, Charlie Thiel!!! The late afternoon summer showers held off juuuust long enough for the ceremony and a few photos on the lawn. And they didn’t dampen the fun atmosphere and crazy party that ensued! I had a great time and LOVED being a part of Laura & Kyle’s beautiful wedding day. To see their fun Music Video, head over to www.chrisandcami.com/blog and click on the first image. To see their Engagement Portraits and the rest of their Wedding Photos, head over to www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com. CONGRATULATIONS to Laura & Kyle…may you have a LIFETIME OF DREAMS together!!!
A couple days ago I met with Mollie & Vincent, who were in town on break from Furman University, to see if we’d be the right fit for them to photograph their wedding. Not only are they the coolest couple on the planet, but we hit it off so well that they decided they wanted me to go shoot their Engagement Portraits right away! So we zipped over to Mollie’s parent’s house, where they got changed. The property is this beautiful red barn-style house on the marsh way out on Wadmallaw Island. With the sun setting and sifting through the trees, the creek running through the marsh, the boardwalk, and that peaceful night sky…I was in heaven. We got some AMAZING photos and had a blast traipsing all around her parent’s property. We probably didn’t even get to HALF of it! But Mollie could tell I was loving the place, discovering all kinds of neat spots to shoot in. So she said she might let me do her Bridal Portraits out there too…WOOHOO! J I’m SO EXCITED for Mollie & Vincent! I hope you guys have fun back at Furman…and we’ll see you guys next time you’re in town!!!
Just before I left for Romania I got a call from Corbin, who was secretly planning to propose to his girlfriend. They are from Augusta, but were moving to Charleston that weekend. He’d already convinced her that they should make their first morning in town a special one by watching the sunrise together and going to breakfast afterwards. He even bought her a special beach dress to wear and made arrangements with The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island. He’d seen my pictures of Allison & Damon’s Proposal (https://chrisandcami.com/blog/2010/07/07/allison-says-yes-to-damon-on-kiawah-island/) and really wanted me to be there to capture theirs.
Well, 5:00 A.M. came awfully early as I dragged myself out of bed to drive out to Kiawah. But to experience such a beautiful moment between two people in love, within the stillness and calm of a deserted beach before dawn, and accentuated with the glorious rising of the sun…well, I have chills just writing about it. Needless to say, the comfort of my bed didn’t hold a stick to the gravity of such a moment! I felt truly blessed to be there.
After shooting his proposal incognito, Corbin brought Sarah over to meet me. We laughed and I shared some of the pictures from the back of the camera with them. Then as the sun rose into place, I shot a few “true” Engagement Portraits for them. We had such a great time together. Corbin & Sarah were so much fun to work with…even letting me talk them into getting a little wet. J CONGRATULATIONS to you both!
I first met Brittainy & Nate last August. They are friends of Whitney & Ryan, as well as Amy & Seth, both of whom I photographed their weddings. So I owe a HUGE thank you to these guys for encouraging Brittainy & Nate to check out our website. I’m so glad I got a chance to work with them and preserve all these beautiful moments of their special day! I had SUCH a hard time narrowing down my favorites for the blog!!! J
Brittainy & Nate were married at St. Luke’s Chapel…one of my favorite churches in town. I love the dramatic wooden rafters and quaint courtyard. Brittainy went to MUSC Pharmacy School, so the chapel, which is located on MUSC campus and is affiliated with the school, was a great choice. Chaplain George Rossi, also of MUSC, did a beautiful job with their ceremony. Afterwards, Brittainy & Nate made a stop down at Waterfront Park for some really cool portraits. I LOVE IT when a couple appreciates what I do enough to give me just a few moments alone with them so that we can create something special together!!! Afterwards we met everyone at Cottage on the Creek for a fun-filled evening reception. One of my favorites is this last shot of them on the top deck at dusk with Shem Creek below and the dramatic sky behind them. After watching their Music Video below, head over to www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com to see the rest of their wedding photos, engagement portraits, and Brittainy’s beautiful bridal portraits.
Brittainy & Nate, CONGRATULATIONS!!! You guys were AWESOME! I had so much fun on your wedding day and wish you all the best for a beautiful new life together…
Earlier this week I got to work with some of my favorite corporate clients at Colliers Keenan. They’re doing some re-branding and decided to make all new headshots using a high-key white background. I lit them with a single giant softbox and placed a reflector on the oposite side to open up the shadows. The background was placed about 8 feet behind my subject and lit separately with an umbrella on each side. I’ve found that when shooting high-key, it’s very important to light the background separately from the subject to really keep those whites clean and bright!
While thinking about what I wanted to take to Romania, I knew I wanted to pack light. So I left my main ThinkTank Take-Off bag at home. But I also knew I wanted to have as full a range of equipment at my disposal as possible, since I didn’t know what kinds of photographic opportunities were going to avail themselves. So here’s what I packed:
Nikon D3
Nikon D300 + MBD10 Grip with ENEL4a adapter
Nikkor 10.5mm f2.8 fisheye
Nikkor 24-70 f2.8
Nikkor 70-200 f2.8
3 – RadioPoppers (1 transmitter, 2 receivers)
3 – SB800 strobes
2 – Bogen 5001B light stands
All of this gear along with spare batteries, chargers, compact flash cards, lens cleaning pens, and the usual assortment of doodads all fit into my ThinkTank Streetwalker Pro and this super small generic light stand bag pictured in the photo. I was very happy with my selection and used every piece of equipment I brought, without being left wanting for anything I didn’t!
My thinking on bringing the D300 instead of two D3 bodies was because it gave me a little more reach, turning my 70-200 into a 105-300 f2.8 if I needed it. Plus in a pinch I could command my remote flashes with its built-in pop-up flash. Both proved to be scenarios I would be glad I had. I fitted it with the MBD10 Grip with the ENEL4a adapter so that I could use the same larger capacity batteries for both cameras and only have to bring one charger.
For image management and storage, I brought my smaller 14” Toshiba laptop in a small backpack. That and my Streetwalker Pro were my carry-on luggage. The light stand case fit easily into my checked bag. I’ve mounted this laptop with a small 320GB external drive and software that backs up all the important data off my laptop every night. After each day of shooting I transferred all the images from my CF cards to my laptop, which then got backed up to the external hard drive. I brought enough CF cards that I never had to re-use them. I kept each copy of my images separate from the other…especially during the 26-hour trip home.
I hope some of this info helps you out the next time you have to pack light…
Buna! (Hello!) I’ll be photographing in Romania all next week! Our church sends a mission team there every year to work with the orphanage, school children, and others in need. This year I’m excited to be going along as the “team photographer”. We’ll be flying into Bucharest where we’ll be picked up for the long drive to Campulung. I’ll be gone from July 18th – July 26th. If you have any questions while I’m gone, don’t hesitate to call Cami at 843-324-0010. I look forward to catching up with everyone when I return!
Over the years I’ve done several shoots for the new award-winning Holiday Inn at Charleston Airport & Convention Center. Dan, the GM there, is a great guy and goes to our church. Recently they asked me to put together a video montage of some of the images and post it to YouTube so potential guests could see what the interior & architecture of their facility looks like. Here’s what I create. Enjoy!
Mike Saia, my “Boss” for the week at the Family Circle Cup when I photograph the professional tennis tournament there every spring, just sent me this note: “Check out the WTA home page: www.sonyericssonwtatour.com. Wait for the Flash to move to More News!” Turns out the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour is using my image of Samantha Stosur, last year’s champion, on their main page. I love it!!!
Last weekend, I had the honor of photographing Sarah & Seth Beautiful Day in Rock Hill, SC! They live in Charleston now. But they’re from Rock Hill. They’ve known each other since pre-school, but didn’t start dating until college. The wedding was held at Bethesda Presbyterian Church. It’s a very historic church in town and I loved the organic atmosphere with all the hardwood and hand-crafted molding. We laughed a LOT throughout the day. But I think the best part was when Sarah sort of spaced out during the ceremony (probably just so enamored with how handsome Seth was) and had to be asked “Do you take this man?” a second time. The whole place burst into laughter and with perfect comedic timing, Sarah turned to the congregation and said “OOPS!”. J After their ceremony it was off to the reception at The City Club of Rock Hill where the band, U-Neek Flavur rocked the house.
Enjoy their music video at www.chrisandcami.com that I put together to give a little vignette into the story of Sarah & Seth’s beautiful day. Then head on over to www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com to see the rest of their photos in the Online Gallery.
CONGRATULATIONS to Sarah & Seth. You guys are ONE OF A KIND!!!
