This spring I had the pleasure of attending one of the Photography Days at the Charleston Center for Birds of Prey.
I absolutely LOVE visiting and supporting this amazing facility. The work they do to save and rehab injured birds, and the education programs they have for schools and communities, are so valuable for our society if we’re to live in harmony with the other creatures on our planet.
If you ever get a chance, I highly recommend taking a trip to the Center for Birds of Prey!!!
Hailing from Ohio, our old stomping grounds before moving here, I had so much fun hanging out with the Martin Family on Kiawah Island last night!
This was their first time vacationing to the Charleston area…and their first time being professionally photographed all together as a family! What an HONOR for me to be a part of their first family beach portrait session!!! I hope the experience didn’t hurt tooooooo much. 😉
Many thanks to Amy for organizing everything. You have a lovely family. It would be a real treat to photograph you guys again any time!!!
For the grand finale of Maniesha & Travis’ amazing Charleston wedding celebration, we met up at Folly Beach for an incredible Trash-the-Dress session!
Actually, we prefer the term Rock-the-Dress. Some even call it Rock-the-Frock. Regardless of what you call it, I love the romantic notion behind this concept. When a bride elects to do a TTD session, essentially she’s saying “I have found the one true love of my life, and will never need this dress again!!!” Isn’t that sweet?!? Of course most brides get it cleaned and sell it, or get it preserved in a shadowbox. But the best part is, they have all these AMAZING, creative, artistic, and unique images to hang in their home or preserve in their album to commemorate this special day when they said “I do”.
CONGRATULATIONS again to Maniesha & Travis! You are two very special people. Your son Dallas is lucky to have you. And I consider myself lucky to have met you!!!
P.S. As soon as we finished shooting and got out of the water, a pod of dolphins came RIGHT UP to us…as if to investigate this strange shimmering gown that was so elegantly swaying in the waved!!! How cool is that?!? 🙂
The title of this story could be “From Germany with Love”. 🙂
Hailing from Deutschland, Tatjana has her masters degree in education, but also a minor in photography. So the two of us hit it off right away!!! She and Scott met in Greenville, where he was doing his medical residency. They soon fell in love! But his roots are right here in Charleston. Naturally, when he moved back to Charleston to work in the ER, Tatjana came with him and their relationship blossomed!
Tatjana & Scott were married in a beautiful and intimate wedding ceremony, led by Scott’s childhood friend, now pastor at St. John’s Parish. The flock of adorable flower girls nearly stole the show. But when Tatjana in her gorgeous gown entered on her father’s arm, with the magical afternoon sun glowing through the windows behind them, it was a heart-stopping experience!
A picturesque low-country reception followed at Scott’s family home on the banks of the Wadmalaw River. The setting sun, the clear-top wedding tent, the amazing band, the delicious food, and of course the delightful friends and family who came out to help these two celebrate their special day…all made for an INCREDIBLE evening!
Many thanks to my friends at Sposa Bella for recommending us to Tatjana and Scott. Also, a huge thank you to my amazing second-shooter Laura. To see some of Tatjana & Scott’s adorable Engagement Photos, check out: https://chrisandcami.com/tatjana-scotts-historic-charleston-engagement-shoot/. And to see the rest of Tatjana & Scott’s photos, visit: http://chrisandcami.zenfolio.com/tatjanaandscott.
CONGRATULATIONS Tatjana & Scott! Prost!!!
Möge dir dein Weg leicht werden
Möge dir der Wind immer von hinten kommen
Möge dir die Sonne warm ins Gesicht scheinen
Möge dir ein sanfter Regen auf die Felder fallen
und bis wir uns wiedersehen
möge Gott dich in seiner Hand halten.
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
After their beautiful wedding, Maniesha & Travis met up with me for a fun After-Shoot in historic downtown Charleston!
We met at Waterfront Park, explored the old French Quarter, stumbled onto some cobblestone streets, found some black iron gates, and even hit up famous Rainbow Row. We had a BLAST, and came up with some really cool photos together. Both Maniesha and Travis are very creative and I loved all their amazing ideas!
CONGRATULATIONS to Charleston’s newest newlyweds!!! 🙂
Maniesha & Travis are so in love!!! It was an honor to be a part of their beautiful wedding yesterday morning at Boone Hall Plantation. It was a simple, elegant affair in the picturesque courtyard behind the plantation house. The touching ceremony included God’s Knot, for “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Many thanks to Cori of Reynolds Treasures for bringing all the details together!
Hailing from Colorado at the moment, Maniesha & Travis have traveled all over the country. As a heavy equipment operator, Travis gets job opportunities both near and far. Being a travel-junkie myself, I love that they are getting to see the world together. Even their adorable son, Dallas, seem to be taking it all in stride! 🙂
After the ceremony we had a fun time exploring the plantation property, photographing beautiful images along the way. Stay tuned for more awesome images of these two in Parts 2 and 3 of their epic elopement to Charleston!!!
Last week I managed to find a little time to go photograph a fun personal project!
I’ve heard of the amazing Kites of Allendale for several years, but never had a chance to get up there to photograph them. So I packed up the Nikon D500 and Nikkor 200-400 f4 VR…my favorite wildlife combo…and headed out on a road trip.
Allendale county is known to have huge fields of crops where tons of dragonflies and beetles congregate during the summer months. Swallow-tailed kites don’t normally come this far over. But during this time of year, they’ve discovered this bountiful feast-for-the-taking! Here’s some info if you’re interested in seeing this majestic scene: http://www.carolinabirdclub.org/sites/SC/allendale.html.
It’s a little late in the season. Normally July is the best time to catch them. But I managed to find a few swooping and soaring not far outside Allendale. At first I just watched in awe as these expert flyers effortlessly circled and swirled overhead, periodically diving to grab a tasty handful, then climbing back into the wind to chow down. Eventually I grabbed the camera and enjoyed playing “target practice” with these fast-moving subjects.
It was a great challenge! I’m happy with what I got for as few kites as there were, and as short a window of time I had to work with. But my resolve to return next year during peak season has been doubled!!! 🙂
Jeff and I have been covertly corresponding about his Secret Proposal to his beautiful girlfriend, Christina, since back in March!!! It’s been so much fun coming up with the perfect plan together. It really showed me how much he truly loves this amazing young lady!
The Big Day finally arrived yesterday. As they were enjoying the House Tour at Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, I was getting the stage set and getting in my hiding place. When the tour was done, Jeff led Christina down a winding path and stopped underneath a gorgeous live oak tree. He read a wonderful speech he had prepared for Christina. Than got down on his knee to ask for her hand in marriage.
SHE SAID YES!!! 🙂
Afterwards we spent some time walking through the gardens, photographing fun engagement photos, and enjoying the evening together. Christina was so excited. She could hardly keep her eyes off her amazing new ring. And she couldn’t stop hugging and loving on Jeff the whole time! 🙂
It was an honor and a pleasure to be a part of this special occasion for Christina & Jeff. CONGRATULATIONS to you both!!!
Last night we had the BEST beach portrait session weather we’ve had all summer! A late afternoon shower came through town and cooled things off. The wind wasn’t too strong. And the light was soft and beautiful. Add to all that, how much fun the AMAZING Mahoney Family was to work with, and you have the makings of a wonderful beach portrait session!
I met up with this crazy gang on Isle of Palms. Part of their family lives on IOP. Others drove down to visit from Ohio. So it was the perfect opportunity to gather everyone to gather in one place for some family photos! Not to mention that we were celebrating a major milestone as well.
Many thanks to Emily for organizing everything. And CONGRATULATIONS to Dan on turning 75!!! 🙂
Visiting from Ohio, Kristin’s family thought it would be really cool to have her Senior Portrait Session in a unique and different setting than all her friends back home.
So we scheduled a 3-location shoot for her that included Folly Beach, downtown Charleston, and the Old Sheldon Church ruins. Many thanks to her brother, Andrew, for coming along and providing a lot of good laughs!
CONGRATULATIONS, Kristin! You’re a beautiful, talented young lady…we can’t wait to see what the future holds for you!!!
