One day while we were in Romania we visited a Gypsy Village. It really touched my heart to see the conditions these people live in. They were so kind and gracious, allowing me to photograph them, photograph their families. One lady even came up to me and motioned for me to follow her. We wound our way back through the shacks to HER shack. It was a humble one-bedroom home…but it was HER home and she wanted her portrait in front of it! I was honored to oblige.
As most of you know, I recently traveled to Romania. Here are a few of my favorites of some young people dressed in traditional outfits. We saw them warming up for a performance they had later that evening. When my new friends Mihaela & Ana asked them if they’d be interested in working with me, they went for it! Zack was there with me and did an excellent job as a lighting assistant, holding an SB-800 with a warming gel for a little extra kick to the lighting in some of the shots. I loved the colorful details in their outfits!
The Blalocks are spread out all over the country…Colorado, Georgia, Pennsylvania. So it was very special for them to be able to come together for a family vacation here in the Charleston area. I was honored that they contacted us about photographing their family portrait on the beach across from the house they had rented on IOP. We laughed, got wet, and had a great time creating some fun memories. J
My friend and extraordinary real-estate agent, Nick Maffia, came over the other day to update his portfolio of images for his brochures, business cards, and marketing material. He’s lost a lot of weight recently and looks GREAT! Nick sold our old house and helped us buy the one we’re in. I highly recommend him if you need a real estate agent!
While thinking about what I wanted to take to Romania, I knew I wanted to pack light. So I left my main ThinkTank Take-Off bag at home. But I also knew I wanted to have as full a range of equipment at my disposal as possible, since I didn’t know what kinds of photographic opportunities were going to avail themselves. So here’s what I packed:
Nikon D3
Nikon D300 + MBD10 Grip with ENEL4a adapter
Nikkor 10.5mm f2.8 fisheye
Nikkor 24-70 f2.8
Nikkor 70-200 f2.8
3 – RadioPoppers (1 transmitter, 2 receivers)
3 – SB800 strobes
2 – Bogen 5001B light stands
All of this gear along with spare batteries, chargers, compact flash cards, lens cleaning pens, and the usual assortment of doodads all fit into my ThinkTank Streetwalker Pro and this super small generic light stand bag pictured in the photo. I was very happy with my selection and used every piece of equipment I brought, without being left wanting for anything I didn’t!
My thinking on bringing the D300 instead of two D3 bodies was because it gave me a little more reach, turning my 70-200 into a 105-300 f2.8 if I needed it. Plus in a pinch I could command my remote flashes with its built-in pop-up flash. Both proved to be scenarios I would be glad I had. I fitted it with the MBD10 Grip with the ENEL4a adapter so that I could use the same larger capacity batteries for both cameras and only have to bring one charger.
For image management and storage, I brought my smaller 14” Toshiba laptop in a small backpack. That and my Streetwalker Pro were my carry-on luggage. The light stand case fit easily into my checked bag. I’ve mounted this laptop with a small 320GB external drive and software that backs up all the important data off my laptop every night. After each day of shooting I transferred all the images from my CF cards to my laptop, which then got backed up to the external hard drive. I brought enough CF cards that I never had to re-use them. I kept each copy of my images separate from the other…especially during the 26-hour trip home.
I hope some of this info helps you out the next time you have to pack light…
Buna! (Hello!) I’ll be photographing in Romania all next week! Our church sends a mission team there every year to work with the orphanage, school children, and others in need. This year I’m excited to be going along as the “team photographer”. We’ll be flying into Bucharest where we’ll be picked up for the long drive to Campulung. I’ll be gone from July 18th – July 26th. If you have any questions while I’m gone, don’t hesitate to call Cami at 843-324-0010. I look forward to catching up with everyone when I return!
Over the years I’ve done several shoots for the new award-winning Holiday Inn at Charleston Airport & Convention Center. Dan, the GM there, is a great guy and goes to our church. Recently they asked me to put together a video montage of some of the images and post it to YouTube so potential guests could see what the interior & architecture of their facility looks like. Here’s what I create. Enjoy!
Last weekend, I had the honor of photographing Sarah & Seth Beautiful Day in Rock Hill, SC! They live in Charleston now. But they’re from Rock Hill. They’ve known each other since pre-school, but didn’t start dating until college. The wedding was held at Bethesda Presbyterian Church. It’s a very historic church in town and I loved the organic atmosphere with all the hardwood and hand-crafted molding. We laughed a LOT throughout the day. But I think the best part was when Sarah sort of spaced out during the ceremony (probably just so enamored with how handsome Seth was) and had to be asked “Do you take this man?” a second time. The whole place burst into laughter and with perfect comedic timing, Sarah turned to the congregation and said “OOPS!”. J After their ceremony it was off to the reception at The City Club of Rock Hill where the band, U-Neek Flavur rocked the house.
Enjoy their music video at www.chrisandcami.com that I put together to give a little vignette into the story of Sarah & Seth’s beautiful day. Then head on over to www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com to see the rest of their photos in the Online Gallery.
CONGRATULATIONS to Sarah & Seth. You guys are ONE OF A KIND!!!
A few days ago I had the distinct pleasure of photographing Jim & Pat, who were celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary with a vacation to Kiawah Island along with their extended family. Having recently returned from my own family reunion in Ohio, it was neat to witness the bonds and connections that were shared by all. Next month marks 15 years for Cami & I. Only 35 more to go and we’ll reach Jim & Pat’s status!!! J
Though I mostly post my Wedding and Portrait work on here, I shoot a good bit of Corporate/Commercial photography as well. One of my favorite corporate clients to work with is Caldwell Commercial. They are a great group of folks, always fun and entertaining to be around. Plus, Bob (the owner) used to do a bit of professional photography himself back in the film days. So he and I always have lots in common to talk about. Here’s a shot I did a few days ago of Cindy, the latest member on their team.
Last weekend I attended Ken Sklute’s photography seminar for the annual Lamarr School of Photography in Columbia. He’s an amazing photographer and fantastic speaker. After the seminar, we had a short photo-shoot-out where the attendees could break out their gear. It was overcast, meaning the light was nice and soft. So everyone else just started shooting with available light. But when I saw our model and the custom chopper, I knew I wanted something a little more EDGY! Soft natural light just wasn’t going to do her justice. So I lit her up with three SB-800 strobes and further enhanced that with a high-contrast selective-color filter in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Let me know what you think…
I had a really cool 4th of July Wedding at Pepper Plantation last weekend. Lisa & Chadwick are a really fun, casual, and laid back couple that are absolutely a RUSH to be around. They have so much personality and energy…and truly are perfect for each other! Check out the fun slideshow on our blog at www.chrisandcami.com/blog. Then head over to www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com to see photos from their downtown Engagement Session, their entire Wedding Day, AND their crazy PhotoBooth! CONGRATULATIONS Lisa & Chadwick…you guys deserve the world!
