Credit One Charleston Open 2025 – Player Party

At the end of Qualifying Rounds, all the players are invited to a fun Player Party! It’s the tournement’s way of saying welcome back to Charleston!!! This year, I had the honor of photographing the official “Purple Carpet” photos as players and VIP’s arrived. Purple being the tournament’s color, we use a purple carpet instead of a red one. 🙂 This year’s Player Party was held at The Peacock.

Being a former collegiate tennis player, one of my favorite assignments to photograph each year is the Credit One Charleston Open (formerly Volvo Car Open, and Family Circle Cup before that). I don’t follow basketball, football, or baseball. I sometimes keep up with soccer, since I also had a soccer scholarship. But I DO have a subscription to Tennis Channel! So it’s always exciting to be “in the trenches” at this amazing tennis tournament, among the incredible athletes that I follow throughout the year.

Having said that, it is also by far the HARDEST assignment I photograph each year! From the start of qualifying rounds, to the final photoshoot with the champion, I work a total of 9 12-hour days in a row. For my photographer friends who shoot weddings, imagine photographing 9 12-hour weddings in a row?!? Every day is a constant hussle…bouncing back and forth between covering multiple matches, vip appearances, autograph sessions, suite visits, national anthem singers, practice sessions, media appearances, press conferences, and so much more. Plus in between all that, I’m rushing back to the media center to download, cull, and transmit selects for the media team to use in press releases and on social media. But, I’ve been one of the official tournament photographers for almost 20 years now. I wouldn’t keep doing it if I didn’t absolutely love it!!!

This year the Credit One Charleston Open celebrates 25 years of award-winning tennis on Daniel Island, where for a quarter century, the world’s best players and finest fans have gathered for nine days of tennis excellence. As the largest women’s only professional tennis tournament in North America, the tournament welcomes nearly 90,000 tennis enthusiasts to the state-of-the-art Credit One Stadium. A WTA 500 event on the Hologic WTA Tour, the tournament features a singles draw of 48 players, a qualifying draw of 24 players and a doubles draw of 16 players. Voted the WTA 500 Tournament of the Year, the Credit One Charleston Open is recognized for excellence in staff and organization, passionate fan engagement, and its commitment to tennis and its athletes. This prestigious award, voted on by WTA players, highlights the event’s impact both on and off the court.

Credit One Charleston Open 2025 – Day 2

There are 2 days of Qualifying Rounds at the Credit One Charleston Open. Those who qualify, join the other higher-ranked players who are already eligible for the Main Draw. What’s fun about these first two days is that while the competition among the qualifiers is intense, the overall atmosphere is more relaxed. Higher ranked players are just arriving into town, getting their first practice sessions on the green clay, and catching up with their friends on tour. Plus it’s Family Weekend, with tons of fun activities for kids of all ages!

Being a former collegiate tennis player, one of my favorite assignments to photograph each year is the Credit One Charleston Open (formerly Volvo Car Open, and Family Circle Cup before that). I don’t follow basketball, football, or baseball. I sometimes keep up with soccer, since I also had a soccer scholarship. But I DO have a subscription to Tennis Channel! So it’s always exciting to be “in the trenches” at this amazing tennis tournament, among the incredible athletes that I follow throughout the year.

Having said that, it is also by far the HARDEST assignment I photograph each year! From the start of qualifying rounds, to the final photoshoot with the champion, I work a total of 9 12-hour days in a row. For my photographer friends who shoot weddings, imagine photographing 9 12-hour weddings in a row?!? Every day is a constant hussle…bouncing back and forth between covering multiple matches, vip appearances, autograph sessions, suite visits, national anthem singers, practice sessions, media appearances, press conferences, and so much more. Plus in between all that, I’m rushing back to the media center to download, cull, and transmit selects for the media team to use in press releases and on social media. But, I’ve been one of the official tournament photographers for almost 20 years now. I wouldn’t keep doing it if I didn’t absolutely love it!!!

This year the Credit One Charleston Open celebrates 25 years of award-winning tennis on Daniel Island, where for a quarter century, the world’s best players and finest fans have gathered for nine days of tennis excellence. As the largest women’s only professional tennis tournament in North America, the tournament welcomes nearly 90,000 tennis enthusiasts to the state-of-the-art Credit One Stadium. A WTA 500 event on the Hologic WTA Tour, the tournament features a singles draw of 48 players, a qualifying draw of 24 players and a doubles draw of 16 players. Voted the WTA 500 Tournament of the Year, the Credit One Charleston Open is recognized for excellence in staff and organization, passionate fan engagement, and its commitment to tennis and its athletes. This prestigious award, voted on by WTA players, highlights the event’s impact both on and off the court.

Credit One Charleston Open 2025 – Day 1

There are 2 days of Qualifying Rounds at the Credit One Charleston Open. Those who qualify, join the other higher-ranked players who are already eligible for the Main Draw. What’s fun about these first two days is that while the competition among the qualifiers is intense, the overall atmosphere is more relaxed. Higher ranked players are just arriving into town, getting their first practice sessions on the green clay, and catching up with their friends on tour. Plus it’s Family Weekend, with tons of fun activities for kids of all ages!

Being a former collegiate tennis player, one of my favorite assignments to photograph each year is the Credit One Charleston Open (formerly Volvo Car Open, and Family Circle Cup before that). I don’t follow basketball, football, or baseball. I sometimes keep up with soccer, since I also had a soccer scholarship. But I DO have a subscription to Tennis Channel! So it’s always exciting to be “in the trenches” at this amazing tennis tournament, among the incredible athletes that I follow throughout the year.

Having said that, it is also by far the HARDEST assignment I photograph each year! From the start of qualifying rounds, to the final photoshoot with the champion, I work a total of 9 12-hour days in a row. For my photographer friends who shoot weddings, imagine photographing 9 12-hour weddings in a row?!? Every day is a constant hussle…bouncing back and forth between covering multiple matches, vip appearances, autograph sessions, suite visits, national anthem singers, practice sessions, media appearances, press conferences, and so much more. Plus in between all that, I’m rushing back to the media center to download, cull, and transmit selects for the media team to use in press releases and on social media. But, I’ve been one of the official tournament photographers for almost 20 years now. I wouldn’t keep doing it if I didn’t absolutely love it!!!

This year the Credit One Charleston Open celebrates 25 years of award-winning tennis on Daniel Island, where for a quarter century, the world’s best players and finest fans have gathered for nine days of tennis excellence. As the largest women’s only professional tennis tournament in North America, the tournament welcomes nearly 90,000 tennis enthusiasts to the state-of-the-art Credit One Stadium. A WTA 500 event on the Hologic WTA Tour, the tournament features a singles draw of 48 players, a qualifying draw of 24 players and a doubles draw of 16 players. Voted the WTA 500 Tournament of the Year, the Credit One Charleston Open is recognized for excellence in staff and organization, passionate fan engagement, and its commitment to tennis and its athletes. This prestigious award, voted on by WTA players, highlights the event’s impact both on and off the court.

Headshots for Novus Architect

I had a BLAST photographing all the fun headshots for Novus Architect here in Charleston last year. So when they asked me to drive to Raleigh-Durham to do the same with their staff up there, I jumped at the chance! Especially because I love the fact that they aren’t going after traditional headshots. Their use of the canary yellow background (which is a design element of their logo), the silly poses, and the fun props, makes their photo shoots fun and interesting!!!

Novus Architects took shape in 1992 – with one architect working for one new client. Strong, long-term relationships are the heart of what they do. And they never take for granted the trust clients place in them to listen intently to their needs, craft a custom process, gather a team with the right skills and passions – and together, bring to life spaces that serve people.

Many thanks to Lydia for coordinating everyone’s schedules and making this happen!

Seamon Whiteside Headshots

What a fun morning!!! It was an absolute pleasure meeting and photographing each of the new team members at Seamon Whiteside today. They are such a great group. And they always seem to hire the nicest people! In fact, I recognized Diandre, who used to work at Carolina Landscapes. I really enjoyed working with her there and photographing some of the projects she had designed for them. So I’m really looking forward to seeing what she does with her new projects for Seamon Whiteside!!!

Daniel Island Headshots

What a gorgeous spring day in Charleston!!!

Today I had the pleasure of photographing headshots and team photos for several new employees at Commonwealth Financial Services. I arrived early and set up in the open shade of their building. I put up a Flashpoint eVolve 200 Pro in a large Glow sofbox as my main light. And I placed a Flashpoint Zoom II in a small Westcott strip box, placed behind their shoulder as a kicker light. Both were triggered by a Flashpoint Mark II trigger on my Nikon Z9. I used the Nikkor Z 70-200 f2.8 lens to compress the background. Camera and lights were on Manfrotto supports. We had a lot of fun. And everything turned out great!

Many thanks to Katelyn for all her hard work coordinating everyones schedules!!!

Seamon Whiteside Surveying Team

It was a beautiful spring day for my photo shoot with Seamon Whiteside last week!

Lia had asked me to capture some marketing photos for her of their surveying team in action at the marsh near Patriots Point with the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in the distance. After that, she wanted shots of their construction administration team that has been working on the new Residence Inn at Patriot’s Point. We had a BLAST and came away with a variety of colorful shots for them!

Many thanks to Lia and Denise for coordinating everything for this shoot!!!

NAEGA Conference at the Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, CA

The NAEGA Mission is to promote and sustain the reliability of commercial agricultural exports.

It was my pleasure to photograph the NAEGA Annual Meeting in Carlsbad, CA this year. The conference was held at the beautiful Omni La Costa Resort. From executive meetings, to networking lunches…from to keynote speakers like Ted McKinney of NASDA, to a group photo and headshots for the new Board of Directors…I had a fantastic experience!

The North American Export Grains Association is the global leader in shaping commercial solutions rooted in contractual expertise, commercial knowledge and industry innovation. The organization prioritizes the exchange of trade information to pinpoint and establish feasible pre-competitive market solutions. And it maintains a steadfast commitment to outcomes that are risk proportionate and science based.

Many thanks to Alejandra Castillo for bringing me on board for this important event, and to Rebecca Cain for keeping everything organized and on track!

Robert Lyles for Super Lawers Magazine

Yesterday I drove down to Beaufort for a really cool assignment. I was there to photograph attorney Robert Lyles of Lyles & Associates for an article in Super Lawyers Magazine.

Lyles & Associates provide clients with extensive legal experience regarding all aspects of matters involving construction related insurance litigation. Having been involved in construction and related insurance litigation since 1989, the attorneys at Lyles & Associates have know what it takes to represent owners, developers, contractors, subcontractors, design professionals, product manufacturers and sellers in such disputes.

Using the Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 24-70 f2.8, I set up one off-camera Flashpoint eVolve 200 Pro in a softbox as the main light. And I used a second off-camera Flashpoint speedlight as a “kicker” light on the opposite side. I used Manfrotto light-stands and tripods for support. And I used my HP Envy laptop to review the images with Robert after the shoot so he could pick out his favorite.

NASDA Annual Winter Meeting in Washington D.C. – Nationals Park Reception

I had the pleasure of getting to know Amelia when she worked for the US Grains Council. Since then, she has taken on a new role as the Associate Director of Events & Member Engagement at the
National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), which she absolutely loves. I was so humbled and honored when Amelia remembered me, and reached out to see if I would fly to Washington D.C. to photograph their Annual Winter Meeting!!!

“At the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, we enhance American food and agricultural communities through policy, partnerships and public engagement. As a unified voice representing all 50 states and four territories, NASDA is a leader and problem-solver for our nation’s most pressing agricultural issues. NASDA members champion U.S. farmers, ranchers and food producers by bridging the gap between the farm and policy, representing the interests of everyone in the food supply chain and opening doors to new markets.”

This winter conference was held at The Conrad Hotel in downtown Washington D.C. Departments of Agriculture in all fifty states, plus four U.S. territories, make up the membership of NASDA. With these commissioners, secretaries, or directors of each department coming together to represent their state, this was an important meeting. I was particularly impressed with SC Commissioner Hugh Weathers, who opened the Plenary Session with a beautiful rendition of God Bless America. Keynote speakers included U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, Representative Angie Craig, and the Honorable GT Thompson. But the most notable guest speaker was Brooke Rollins, who took over as the 33rd US Secretary of Agriculture in February. And of course NASDA CEO Ted McKinney stayed extremely busy throughout the meeting. I closed out my coverage of the event with a wonderful reception at Washington Nationals Park Baseball Field, which was pretty cool!!!

NASDA Annual Winter Meeting in Washington D.C. – Day 2

I had the pleasure of getting to know Amelia when she worked for the US Grains Council. Since then, she has taken on a new role as the Associate Director of Events & Member Engagement at the
National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), which she absolutely loves. I was so humbled and honored when Amelia remembered me, and reached out to see if I would fly to Washington D.C. to photograph their Annual Winter Meeting!!!

“At the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, we enhance American food and agricultural communities through policy, partnerships and public engagement. As a unified voice representing all 50 states and four territories, NASDA is a leader and problem-solver for our nation’s most pressing agricultural issues. NASDA members champion U.S. farmers, ranchers and food producers by bridging the gap between the farm and policy, representing the interests of everyone in the food supply chain and opening doors to new markets.”

This winter conference was held at The Conrad Hotel in downtown Washington D.C. Departments of Agriculture in all fifty states, plus four U.S. territories, make up the membership of NASDA. With these commissioners, secretaries, or directors of each department coming together to represent their state, this was an important meeting. I was particularly impressed with SC Commissioner Hugh Weathers, who opened the Plenary Session with a beautiful rendition of God Bless America. Keynote speakers included U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, Representative Angie Craig, and the Honorable GT Thompson. But the most notable guest speaker was Brooke Rollins, who took over as the 33rd US Secretary of Agriculture in February. And of course NASDA CEO Ted McKinney stayed extremely busy throughout the meeting. I closed out my coverage of the event with a wonderful reception at Washington Nationals Park Baseball Field, which was pretty cool!!!

Owls by Moonlight at the Center for Birds of Prey

Let’s see…what’s the hardest challenge we could throw at a photographer?
Hmmm…how about having a fun reception called “Owls by Moonlight”? We’ll ask the photographer to try and capture shots of owls, silently swooping over the heads of attendees, in the pitch black of night!!!
YUP…challenge accepted.