Folly Beach Architecture for Elizabeth Allen Design

Back in 2020, Elizabeth had me photograph some “before” photos of a run-down property on Folly Beach. It was an amazing location, right on the water, with beautiful views of the marsh. But the house and pool needed some serious help.
This week I got to see and photograph the final transformation. It turned out absolutely GORGEOUS!!! They completely gutted the place, extended new wings on both sides, re-designed the roofline, and of course gave the pool a total make-over. Elizabeth even got her master pool designer certification in order to be able to create this beautiful oasis in their back yard!
CONGRATULATIONS to Elizabeth and Greg and their talented crew! Check them out at www.charlestonarchitects.com.

Interior Design Photos for Sandy Ericksen

Sandy Ericksen is one of those people who just has a gift! She has a discerning eye, a keen sense of color, and an innate understanding of what fabrics and materials work in harmony together. I love how she can take a space with four walls and a few windows, and turn it into a warm and inviting home!

It was a pleasure working with Sandy to capture a few shots from some of her more recent projects on Daniel Island, Edisto, and James Island this week.  Check her out at www.sandraericksendesign.com.

First Baptist Church Learning Center

Trident Construction has been busy building a brand new Learning Center for the historic First Baptist Church in downtown Charleston.

Founded in 1682, the FBC is one of the oldest Baptist congregations in the American South. The church congregation was originally organized in Kittery, Maine (then part of Massachusetts) under the guidance of the First Baptist Church of Boston. In 1696 twenty-six congregants followed Pastor Screven and moved to Charleston after being pressured by the New England Congregationalist authorities. The relocated congregation became the First Baptist Church of Charleston.

Replacing the nearly 70-year old building that used to stand on this site was no easy task. The congregation had to temporarily relocate while demolition made the area unsafe. The new facility includes a welcome center, a nursery, a music room, a library, a preschool, eight classrooms, a conference room, several balconies, and a massive new cafeteria on the third floor that also doubles as an event space. Associate Pastor Walker Maginnis says the facility will house hundreds of students for the First Baptist School, as well as hundreds of congregates on the weekends during worship studies and church services.

Having photographed many brides getting ready for their wedding day in the dark basement “bridal suite” of the old facility, it truly was amazing to see the transformation this new building brings to campus!

Barkley Warehouse for Trident Construction

It was a pleasure photographing the massive new Barkley Warehouse in Ladson for Trident Construction.

Located within the Palmetto Commerce Park, which is one of Charleston’s highest performing industrial hubs, the new facility will offer a Class A industrial environment within close proximity to major economic drivers and a robust surrounding workforce.

It was truly awe-inspiring to be inside the MASSIVE structure before it gets filled with tons (literally) of goods, destined for distribution to all parts of the country!

Dorchester County Marketing Photos

This was a fun day!

While creating marketing photos for the Dorchester County Government, I got to photograph a huge variety of images. From staff photos at the Public Works Group, to first-responders at the fire station, to members of the EMS team, to scenic shots of Rosebrock and Ashley River Parks…it was a pretty intense day.  Portraits, group shots, aerial drone photos, nature, architecture, and scenery…I covered a wide gamut.

Two things I love about my job…I get to meet the most interesting people, and I never get bored!  🙂

I’On Neighborhood for Seamon Whiteside

This morning I had the pleasure of photographing some scenic images of the I’On Neighborhood in Mt. Pleasant for one of my engineering clients, Seamon Whiteside.

I was excited about this project, not only because I’m familiar with the area and know how picturesque it is, but also because I was working with the new Nikon Z9 and the brand new DJI Mavic 3 Mini! I’ve had the Z9 for several months. So I knew it would produce stellar results. But after heavy testing, this was my first “official” project with DJI’s most recently released drone. And it did not disappoint!!!

At 1/2 the size and nearly 1/3 the weight, the Mini 3 Pro yields the same high-quality images I’ve come to expect from my Mavic 2 Pro. It’s absolutely ASTOUNDING how far drones have come!

Aiken Eye Care

Ever since I photographed her wedding many years ago, it’s been such a pleasure having Dr. Lori in our lives!

Not only did we photograph her wedding, we’ve photographed family portraits for her family, and marketing photos for her practice at Belle Hall Eye Care. She’s such a great person, and so knowledgeable about her profession, that soon we were also clients of HERS!!! Being that my eyes are an integral part of what I do, I don’t trust my eye care to just anyone!

So when she decided to move to Aiken, Cami and I were delighted when she asked if we’d travel to photograph marketing photos for her new practice! And we were even more delighted when she agreed to continue as our eye doctor!!!  If you’re anywhere near Aiken, check her out at www.aikeneyecare.com.

We had so much fun catching up with Dr. Lori, photographing images for her website, and marketing material, plus of course getting a “clean bill of health” on our eyes. 🙂

Civil Engineering by Seamon Whiteside

Seamon Whiteside is one of my favorite clients! They specialize in Civil Engineering and Landscape Architecture…making commercial and living spaces functional, ergonomic, and safe.

Here are a few photos from 3 projects I photographed for SW this week. All images were captured with DJI Mavic 2 Pro, Nikkor Z9, Nikkor 14-30 S, and Nikkor 24-120 S.

McMillan Pazden Smith Architects

McMillan Pazdan Smith is a regional, studio-based architecture, planning, and interior design firm whose mission is to help clients create environments that embody their vision, enrich their brand, and enhance the quality of their communities: https://mcmillanpazdansmith.com/.

I previously had the pleasure of photographing headshots and team portraits for the Charleston office, which you can find here:  https://chrisandcami.com/environmental-portraits-for-mcmillan-pazden-smith-architecture/.  A couple weeks ago, I was honored to be asked to also photograph the team in their Columbia office!

Many thanks to Kathryn and Abbie for all their hard work coordinating schedules and working out the details for this photo shoot. It was an absolute BLAST and I really enjoyed getting to know this incredible group of human beings!

Kempton Senior Living Facility for Trident Construction

It was a pleasure photographing the Kempton Senior Living Facility for Trident Construction last week!

This was a massive project, right in the middle of a very busy intersection along the cross-town. So I was VERY impressed with how they were able to accomplish the task and make it such a beautiful oasis in the heart of downtown Charleston.

Many thanks to Elizabeth and Nic for all their hard work coordinating schedules and organizing everything for the shoot!

New Pain Specialists Building for Trident Construction

Pain Specialists of Charleston (www.painchas.com) offers the latest, most up-to-date interventional treatments to alleviate and manage back pain and chronic pain. From patients with recent injuries to those who have had multiple surgeries, their board-certified physicians treat a wide variety of painful conditions using innovative, non-surgical treatment approaches.

The incredible team at Trident Construction (www.tridentconstruction.com) recently finished a brand-new state-of-the-art treatment facility for the Pain Specialists of Charleston. Since 1981, Trident Construction has repeatedly earned the trust of our clients, subcontractors, and design professionals. And this project is no exception!

I had the pleasure of photographing the new facility this weekend, as well as a couple shots of their previous building. It was a beautiful day and the light was gorgeous! We had calculated the optimal time for the best lighting, and it paid off. The unique design elements, and attention to every detail in the building process made my job effortless.

Many thanks to Elizabeth for coordinating schedules, and to site supervisor, Bobby, for taking time out of his weekend to open the building for me.

Environmental Portraits for McMillan Pazden Smith Architecture

McMillan Pazden Smith has been struggling to get good environmental headshots of their team in Charleston. They’ve gone through two rounds with other photographers and just haven’t been happy with them.

Part of the reason is because they want a clean, bright, environmental style that reflects the “look” of their Charlotte office. While the Charlotte office has lots of bright colors, glass, and more modern architecture…the Charleston office is in an old historic building with lots of red brick and dark wood. But I made a site-visit to discuss their goals. And I accepted the challenge!

Arriving on location the day of the shoot, I re-arranged the lobby area to gain access to an acute angle that would give me the background I wanted. I overexposed the window a little bit to give the images a high-key style. I lit the inside walls of the conference room with two Flashpoint speedlights bouncing off the ceiling. I placed a white orchid from the lobby area into the corner for a bit of texture. I positioned the team members outside the conference room to catch a bit of the glass, and to separate them from the background. The portraits were lit with 4 more Flashpoint speedlights, using two Westcott shoot-through umbrellas. Everything was photographed with a Nikon D5 and a Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 set to ISO 400, f4, and 1/250 sec. I shot tethered to a Lenovo Yoga laptop so individuals could instantly look through their photos, make sure they were happy with their shots, and pick out their favorites right there on the spot.

We had a fantastic morning and everyone was super happy with how it all turned out! Many thanks to Kathryn and Carol for all their hard work setting this up and working with everyone’s schedules.

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