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This was my 4th year photographing the Charleston Classic for ESPN. Each year is always unique, fun, and very exciting! You can head over to http://www.charlestonclassic.com for details. But here’s this year’s recap from AP:

Northwestern showed experience, depth and poise to earn itself a tournament title at the Charleston Classic. Does that mean the Wildcats are ready to reach a much more important tournament come March?

“It’s November 20th. Come on,” Wildcats coach Bill Carmody said when asked if these Wildcats (4-0) looked like the group that could end the school’s 0-for-the-NCAA-tournament run.

Northwestern is the lone school from a BCS conference that hasn’t played in the NCAAs. But if the Wildcats continue to play as they did this weekend at TD Arena, that’s a distinction likely to end.

Drew Crawford had 27 points and John Shurna 19, the two upperclassmen making plenty of plays down the stretch after the Wildcats lost a 12-point lead in the second half. Crawford scored 72 points in Northwestern’s three tournament games and was named the Charleston Classic MVP.

Crawford, a junior, is not worried about individual honors or ultimate goals, not when the season’s just starting and the Wildcats are still a work in progress.

“We’ve got a few young guys, but we’ve got a few experienced guys,” Crawford said. “Coach has confidence in us. We have confidence in our teammates.”

All of that was well-placed against Seton Hall (3-1) and star Herb Pope, who had a career-high 32 points in the title game.

Northwestern had a 10-point lead at the half, but was in trouble right away as the Pirates turned up the pressure. Aaron Cosby, Pope and FuquanEdwin had three straight 3s to start a 15-0 run by the Hall. When Edwin made a basket with8:29 to go, the Pirates were up 57-54 and the large following that traveled from New Jersey filled TD Arena with shouts of celebration.

Shurna, a senior, quickly quieted things witha tying 3-pointer and began a stretch where the lead changed hands on six straight possessions. Seton Hall point guard Jordan Theodore had the last one withhis 3 for a 67-65 lead with 4:18 to go. Shurnatied things withtwo foul shots and Crawford put the Wildcats up front for good, 69-67, on a jumper with 2:28 remaining. Crawford and Shurna each had four more points down the stretch to seal the win.

Carmody acknowledged that he counted on his team’s experience to right the ship after losing its large lead. He said during one time out, “I really had nothing to say,” because he knew his players understood the situation and would correct their mistakes.

Don’t let Carmodyfool you, though. “Coach always has a little something to say,” Crawford said with a smile.

Crawford and Shurna were the Wildcats’ steadying hands throughout a very tough tournament. Shurnawent for a career-high 37 points and Crawford 17 in an 88-82 win over LSU of the Southeastern Conference on Thursday. The next day, it was Crawford withthe hot hand with 28 points and Shurna had 15 points and made several key plays near the end in a 69-65 victory over Tulsa of Conference USA on Friday.

Then came Seton Hall of the Big East, all the types of teams the Wildcats might see in March — if Carmody wasn’t so dead set against considering it.

“That’s what we’re all trying to do, just like everyone,” Carmody said. “But we’re working on ourselves as much as anyone.”

That’s what coach Kevin Willard wants his players to do, too. He was proud of their comeback, yet knew he had several young players who need more experience in end-of-game situations to pull out ones like this.

“They made some great plays,” he said. “Shurna and Crawford are excellent players and those two guys made great plays down the stretch.”

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
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Once again, I have the privilege of covering the Charleston Classic college basketball tournament for ESPN. I really enjoy photographing this assignment each year and can’t wait for the action to begin! 🙂 Last night was the Welcome Reception, help on the historic USS Yorktown as in years past. That is such a challenging location to photograph in because they use those horrible, dim, greenish-yellow sodium vapor lights. Plus who’d of thought it…but AC outlets are pretty rare on an aircraft carrier of this era!

So this turns out to be another perfect project for wireless off-camera flash. As each team arrived, I photographed them in front of one of the aircraft on the hanger deck. I used my home-made Triple Tree brackets to mount three SB-800 strobes on each Bogen light stand, shooting through Westcott umbrellas. (See before/after photos included.) Once all the team photos were done, I separated all the SB-800s onto individual stands and strategically placed them around the huge hanger for nice, clean, directional lighting. All the remote flashes were fired in manual CLS mode, via SB-900 strobes mounted to each of my D3s, using my trusty RadioPopper Px system to trigger them.

I hope you enjoy and “Like” this post. More to come soon…
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Last weekend Cami & I took off for another adventure with our good friends, Byron & Kathleen, their daughter, and their King Charles spaniel. Our base was a quaint little cabin in Tugaloo State Park, GA. From there we hiked and canoed and visited some beautiful sites in the area. It’s always great to get away and go exploring!
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Amy & Charles are the most AMAZING couple. They met in South Korea, have traveled all over the world, and now live in Australia. But since Amy is originally from Charleston, she told Charles “If I’m going to live with you in your country, you need to mary me in mine!” 🙂 Read more of their wonderful story at http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/AmyBasha&CharlesSaadeh.  

The two were married at the beautiful I’On Creek Club where a brilliant melange of cultures, friends, and family came together for the joyful celebration. To see more of their photos visit www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com.

CONGRATULATIONS Amy & Charles! May God Bless you as you journey together the rest of your lives…

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We got to know the Bessingers at Ashley River Baptist and have stayed in touch ever since. Not only do I LOVE their family’s BBQ…but they are just the neatest, kindest, most generous folks you’ll ever meet. So when Michael & Faith’s youngest turned one, I was so honored to photograph some updated family portraits for them at his Dad’s beautiful home on the marsh where he and his brother grew up.  🙂
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Now that Amy & Charles have tied the knot, I’m so excited to share her Bridal Portraits. I love her style, her energy, and her passion for Moulin Rouge! 🙂

I had an UNBELIEVABLY fun session at Old Santee Canal State Park last week with Rachel & Adam and their super sweet Peekapoo named “Sully”. 🙂 I had photographed their wedding several years ago. It’s always so wonderful to reconnect with brides and grooms…and watch their families grow. Yup, Sully is part of the family now!!!
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The Caw Caw Interpretive Center is well noted for its beauty and its bird life. Sunday afternoon I had an opportunity to canoe up into the creeks and marshes behind this pristine habitat. Enjoy!
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I had the honor of photographing Paul Parr many years ago just as he began his climb on the Country Music scene! He recently had a life-changing experience and has taken his Musical Gifts in a BRAND NEW direction! So it was with great pleasure that I photographed all new images to go with Paul’s new vision. Check out his testimony, his amazing musical gifts, and the new photos on his website at www.paulparr.com!
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I just finished photographing the PGA Nationwide Tour Championships, which is organized by the fine folks at the Family Circle Cup.  It was great to see some familiar faces.  But this brought on a little Family Circle Cup Fever!

I’ve been the Official Photographer of this amazing Premier WTA Tour tennis tournament for half-a-dozen years or more.  It’s a week of long hours and hard work!  But I love the thrill of being on the court, behind the scenes, around the grounds, capturing every aspect of the big event.  This coming year will be particularly historic as WTA Founder, Billie Jean King, and other members of the “Original 9” come to celebrate over 40 years of women’s professional tennis.

Here’s a fun little video I found that gives an excellent sense of what it’s like to be there.  At the 1:02 minute you’ll even catch a glimpse of me in the black pants and white shirt photographing John McEnroe under the lights of Center Stadium.  🙂  After watching, make sure to mark your calendar and come on out, March 31st – April 8th, 2012!!!

It was a pleasure photographing the PGA Nationwide Tour Championships again this year. Now that things have settled down, here are a few fav’s from the final round.

Arkansas veteran Ken Duke won the title at this year’s Championship with a two-shot victory over South Carolinian Scott Brown.  This is the tournament’s last year at the scenic Ralston Creek Course on Daniel Island before moving to Dallas. Ken becomes one of 25 players to lock up a PGA Tour Card for 2012. Congratulations Ken!
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