Credit One Charleston Open – Iconic Photo Shoot

Every spring, it’s an absolute honor to be invited back as the official photographer of the Credit One Charleston Open!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. It was the first women’s tennis event to offer $100,000 in prize money. The tournament was the first women’s event to be broadcast on network television. More recently, the Credit One Charleston Open was named WTA 500 Tournament of the Year. Kicking off the clay season, it’s grown to be the largest women’s professional tennis tournament in North America.

Early on Day 2 of the tournament I got to capture the tournament’s Iconic Photo Shoot. This is a tradition every year where two top players are chosen to join me and the video team at an iconic location, indicative of our beautiful city and the lowcountry area, for a private photo session. This year the players selected were 2023 Guadalajara Open Champion, Maria Sakkari (Greece) and 2021 Monterrey Open Champion, Leylah Fernandez (Canada). The location for this year’s shoot was Shem Creek Pier. Both Maria and Leylah were fun, friendly, and wonderful to work with!

Credit One Charleston Open – Day 1

Every spring, it’s an absolute honor to be invited back as the official photographer of the Credit One Charleston Open!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. It was the first women’s tennis event to offer $100,000 in prize money. The tournament was the first women’s event to be broadcast on network television. More recently, the Credit One Charleston Open was named WTA 500 Tournament of the Year. Kicking off the clay season, it’s grown to be the largest women’s professional tennis tournament in North America.

Day 1 of the tournament had lots of tennis action, tons of activities on the Grand Lawn, live Tennis Talks with players, and even a Padel exhibition match. Padel, sometimes called Padel Tennis, is a racket sport of Mexican origin, typically played in doubles on a glass-enclosed court that is slightly smaller than a doubles tennis court. Although Padel shares the same scoring system as tennis, the rules, strokes, and technique are different.

Credit One Charleston Open – Charity ProAm

Every spring, it’s an absolute honor to be invited back as the official photographer of the Credit One Charleston Open!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. It was the first women’s tennis event to offer $100,000 in prize money. The tournament was the first women’s event to be broadcast on network television. More recently, the Credit One Charleston Open was named WTA 500 Tournament of the Year. Kicking off the clay season, it’s grown to be the largest women’s professional tennis tournament in North America.

Arriving early on the first day of Qualifying Rounds, I got to photograph the Celebrity Pro-Am benefitting Madison Keys’ non-profit, Kindness Wins. Some of the celebrity players included Tracy Austin, Jessica Pegula, Shelby Rogers, Jennifer Brady, Emma Navarro, Taylor Townsend, and so many more.

Credit One Charleston Open – Pre Tournament

Every spring, it’s an absolute honor to be invited back as the official photographer of the Credit One Charleston Open!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. It was the first women’s tennis event to offer $100,000 in prize money. The tournament was the first women’s event to be broadcast on network television. More recently, the Credit One Charleston Open was named WTA 500 Tournament of the Year. Kicking off the clay season, it’s grown to be the largest women’s professional tennis tournament in North America.

The week before the tournament began, I had the pleasure of photographing some pre-event photos! Working with the new DJI Mavic 3 Pro, I got some cool drone shots of the grounds. Then I brought out the Z9 for details of the trophy. And I even caught a few practice shots of last year’s champion, Ons Jabeur!!!

Music Movement 7th Annual East Coast Charity Golf Tournament

Music Movement is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that develops and funds music-centric programs, scholarships, and events to improve the lives of young people with Autism and learning differences. The organization hosts several major fundraisers throughout the year. One of them is the popular Annual Music Movement Charity Golf Tournament at the beautiful Dunes West Golf Club in Mount Pleasant, SC. Proceeds from the tournament benefit their cause of changing the lives of the young people they serve.

I had an absolute pleasure photographing the tournament and reception this year. In spite of the inclimate weather, everyone still showed up and had a great time at the event!!!

Palmetto ADV Rally

This weekend I had the pleasure of participating in the 3rd annual Palmetto ADV Rally! It was so fun re-connecting with old riding buddies, and meeting new ones. Our YouTube channel of @MotoPhotoAdventures was well represented with Jason, Steve, and I all being there together. We led a couple of the group rides to showcase how beautiful the lowcountry is, stayed up ’till all hours solving the world’s problems around the campfire with our fellow riders, and supporting our awesome sponsors like Moto Camp Nerd, SC Moto Lawyer Rick Stewart, and ADV Gourmet. Plus we were able to reconnect with our fellow YouTubers, Greg Simpson at The Bearded Grump and Frank Cone at One Old Man Riding! What a great weekend…we’re already looking forward to the 2025 PAR!!!

Kiawah Event Hall for Trident Construction

A brand new high-end Kiawah Event Hall is going up on the banks of the Kiawah River. I had the honor of being the first person to photograph the freshly finished project for Trident Construction!!!

Azalea Drive Project for Trident Construction

Trident Construction, founded in Charleston in 1981, provides construction services in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Florida and Alabama. The amazing team at Trident Construction invited me to photograph some promotional photos of the progress being made on their latest project.

Forty years after opening its first Public Works facility, North Charleston is unveiling a new, state of the art complex posed to streamline services from a central location within the city. This $42 million multi-building campus, spread across 38 acres, houses public works functions, such as engineering, street and sidewalk maintenance, stormwater maintenance and utility, solid waste disposal, traffic signs and signals, landscaping, city facilities maintenance and repair, fleet maintenance, and construction contract administration.

“We are proud to open a Public Works complex that fits the stature of our growing city. From an old, small, metal creek-side building to a beautiful campus on repurposed land from the federal government, this facility ensures the capacity to handle the growth of North Charleston over the decades to come,” said North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey.

Headshots for Weeks & Irvine

Becca moved here to attend the Charleston School of Law. She specialized in real-estate law. And has joined the amazing team at Weeks & Irvine! It was a pleasure photographing her headshots this morning.

Not only has Bacca had a great start to her new career, she’s also getting married in 5 weeks! She and her fiance, along with 140 of their favorite friends and family, are heading to Key West to tie the knot. How fun is that? 🙂

Everyone help me congratulate Becca on her new position…and on her upcoming wedding!!!

Carolyn & Colin’s Wedding at I’On Creek Club

As a wedding photographer, I often find myself privileged to capture the love stories of couples like Carolyn and Colin. Their recent wedding at the picturesque I’On Creek Club was nothing short of magical. From the moment I arrived, I was greeted by the serene ambiance of the venue, nestled along the tranquil water’s edge. The natural beauty of the surroundings served as a perfect backdrop for their special day.

Carolyn and Colin’s love for each other was palpable throughout the entire event. From the tender moments shared during their intimate ceremony to the joyous celebrations that followed, every photograph captured reflected the depth of their connection. It was evident that their family and friends played a significant role in their lives, as laughter and heartfelt embraces filled the air.

As an added bonus, my good friend and amazing photographer, Mic, agreed to second-shoot their wedding. His daughter is best friends with Carolyn’s sister, the maid of honor. So their two families already shared a wonderful connection. Many thanks to Mic for capturing some amazing moments!

Carolyn and Colin’s wedding at the I’On Creek Club was a beautiful testament to love, commitment, and the joy of starting a new chapter together. It was an honor to document their special day. And we wish them a lifetime of happiness and adventure ahead as they begin this new journey together!

Headshots for Joye Law Firm

In a complex personal injury case, two sisters suffered severe and permanent injuries as passengers in a Tesla accident in Charleston. The case was handled by Attorney Mark Joye of the Joye Law Firm. The litigation involved challenging negotiations with the Cincinnati Insurance Company, which initially understated the available insurance coverage. Ultimately, Mark was able to get a $2,417,500 settlement for the sisters. This case highlights the importance of skilled legal representation in personal injury cases.

It was an honor to photograph updated headshots for the Joye Law Firm last week. I set up a portable studio in their atrium, with a white background, and a high-key Rembrandt lighting style. I used the Nikon Z9, Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 Z, Flashpoint speedlights (x5), Manfrotto supports, and Westcott umbrellas. Of course I created serious portraits of each employee. But my favorites are the fun “outtakes” that I frequently throw in to help people get relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera!!! 🙂

Many thanks to Nicole & Rachel for coordinating schedules and helping organize the shoot.

Hayden Family at White Point Garden

For her birthday this year, Claire asked Doug for an extended family portrait session with her kids, parents, brother, and sister-in-law. We made it happen!

The weather all weekend was predicted to be rainy and overcast. So we pushed the session, originally planned for Saturday morning, to Sunday afternoon. As luck would have it, the rains moved out of town just in time for the sun to come out for our beautiful portrait session!

I met up with everyone at White Point Garden, where we captured a variety of shots with the extended family. After they took off to drive back to Charlotte, I continued on with Claire, Doug, and their adorable girls. We walked up into the old historic parts of town for some cool backdrops with ivy-covered walls, black iron gates, and more!

It was an absolute pleasure helping make Claire’s birthday wish come true!