Being a full-time professional photographer often requires wearing many hats. Usually those hats don’t come into play at the same shoot!
One day might find you photographing professional head-shots for a client’s website. The next day, you might be creating product photography for a retail storefront. Then on your day off, maybe you capture some amazing wildlife encounter.
This week at the Center for Birds of Prey, I had the pleasure of photographing all three in one day!!!
Photographing the annual Wild at Wingswood gala for the Charleston Center for Birds of Prey is one of my most anticipated events of the year!
It’s a very unique fundraiser, where live raptors, owls, and other beautiful birds soar through the air, gliding silently over guests and attendees under the big tent!
The Avian Conservation Center and the Center for Birds of Prey are doing AMAZING things for our natural world. If you’ve never been, they are open to the public on most Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. You’ve GOT to check this cool place out and see for yourself why nature lovers from all over the country speak so highly of this gem, located just a few miles outside of Charleston!
Check them out at http://www.thecenterforbirdsofprey.org/.
“How do you fit all your gear on THAT?!?” This is a question I get a lot.
Most of my friends know that I’ve been riding motorcycles since I was about 15 years old. Aside from being a joy to ride, there are many practical reasons for using a motorcycle as a means of transportation. Not the least of these is the fact that my current bike, a Honda CB500X, gets 60-70 miles per gallon. That’s THREE TIMES what I get out of my SUV!!!
According to Honda: “Our objective when developing the engine for the CB500 series was to produce a global, kind-to-the-environment parallel twin-cylinder engine that looks ahead to the next generation and, by being both sporty and easy to handle, transcends regions to appeal equally to those in both developed and emerging countries.” In other words, this bike produces plenty of power, while putting out very low emissions into the environment.
It feels good to know that I’m doing my part to save the planet. 🙂
Aside from being fun, economical and environmentally friendly, motorcycles are more maneuverable in tight traffic. While driving to photo shoots downtown with its narrow streets, it’s not uncommon to have a delivery truck stopped in the middle of the road blocking most of the traffic. Plus parking spaces are hard to find and tight to get into. Such issues are more easily managed when on a small vehicle like my CB500X, which has been affectionately named Trinity.
As an adventure-style motorcycle, Trinity has been accessorized with Givi locking panniers and top boxes made out of aircraft grade aluminum. I use ThinkTank camera bags, with excellent padding, and professional grade material, that slip perfectly into each box. This allows me to carry my valuable equipment securely and safely.
Adjusting my luggage system into any number of configurations according to the job requirements is literally a snap! The Italian-made boxes clip on or clip off with the turn of a key. Sometimes I just need a top box with a single camera bag that holds 2 bodies, 4 lenses, and a couple of flashes. Switching to two panniers works better if I need a little more lighting gear. For really complex assignments, I can mount all three boxes.
In this assignment at the Center for Birds of Prey, I was photographing head-shots of the staff using the natural wooded environment of their beautiful facility in Awendaw. For the first day of photography, I took my SUV. For the follow-up date, I took Trinity (see picture below). One pannier carried a Nikon D5, Nikon D500, Nikkor 24-70 f2.8, Nikkor 70-200 VRII, Nikkor 300mm PF, and 2 SB-500 flashes. The other pannier held 2 SB-800 flashes, a MeFoto carbon fiber tripod, a 24″ softbox, 2 sand bags, and various other accessories. A 48″ softbox and 2 9-ft Manfrotto light-stands were strapped to the top plate where the top box would normally be.
I didn’t use all the gear I brought, of course. But I like to be over-repared! I ended up using the Nikon D5, the 70-200, and both SB-5000 flashes. One flash was fired through the 48″ softbox on a light-stand to my right. The other was given a 1/2 CTO gel and placed on a stand behind the subject to my left as a warm rim light or kicker light.
I truly love working with the Center for Birds of Prey! They are a wonderful organization, staffed by people of integrity, who are doing good work for our planet and the beautiful creatures we share it with! I HIGHLY recommend visiting their world class facility just 30 minutes from Charleston. It’s a great place to take a date, bring the family, or enjoy a peaceful outing on your own. Learn something new on the walking tour, be fascinated by the huge variety of species on display, marvel at the aerial acrobatics during the flight demonstration, and enjoy the great outdoors. You won’t regret it!!!
After months of planning, I was honored to be invited to join a small contingent of photographers that were given permission and granted access to photograph the 2017 eclipse from the private grounds of the Center for Birds of Prey.
Located in Awendaw, SC, this amazing organization includes an Avian Medical Center, an Oil Spill Treatment Facility, and a very active Environmental Education Department. They are only open to the public on the weekends. However, they happened to be located in a prime spot near the center of the path of Totality!!! So it was a special treat for us to be invited to photograph from their grounds that day.
In spite of all our preparations for the big day, weather happened! I had visions of capturing every stage of the process and creating a wonderful composite showing the entire sequence. But the dark, low-lying cloud cover only allowed us a few glimpses through to the dramatic events unfolding behind them. At 9 minutes before totality, we saw our last sighting of the sun and moon. We never saw Totality or any of the phases following.
At first I was disappointed. All my photography friends started sharing post after post of clear views of the eclipse from other parts of the state. But pretty soon all their shots started to look the same. Suddenly, I realized that my twist of fate had landed me with some very interesting and unique images of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The foreboding clouds encircled the sun and moon to create these wonderfully ominous and moody images!
Here are a few of my favorites.
Last weekend I had the privilege of photographing a group of children involved in an immersive learning experience at the Center for Birds of Prey.
Thank you Kara for the wonderful opportunity to see the wonder and awe in these young people’s faces as they learned about these beautiful creatures!
And a special thank you to Audrey, Meghan, and Natalie for leading the wonderful program!
Beautiful weather…beautiful birds…I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day at the Center for Birds of Prey!
I’ve been attending their Photography Day events for several years now. These events sell out fast, and never disappoint!
Most of these were shot with the new Nikkor 300mm f4 PF on either a Nikon D500 or a Nikon D4.
Kudos to the staff and volunteers at the Center for Birds of Prey for putting on such an AMAZING opportunity for us photographers to get up close and personal with these incredible creature.
2016 marks 25 years of science, education and conservation at the Avian Conservation Center and Center for Birds of Prey. This weekend I had the distinct honor of photographing their Wild at Wingswood 25th Anniversary Silver Celebration!
The annual corporate event is a fundraising gala for the Center for Birds of Prey. Historically, it’s been held in downtown Charleston. But with the special significance this year, a beautiful tent was erected INSIDE the Center for Birds of Prey compound! It was an absolutely gorgeous setting for a fabulous celebration!!! The acoustic talents of David Archer of Archer Music made it even more magical!
“Beyond the valuable contributions to avian science the Center provides, there is a more subtle outcome that is perhaps the most profound. Through this shared work, we are defining and fostering a value system, an underlying ethic that will literally determine what of the natural world we will preserve and what will be irrevocably lost. Ultimately, we will be remembered by what we leave for future generations. It is this legacy that we must preserve and share; one that will endure for the benefit of our children, our grandchildren, and all of those who follow.”
In addition to the evening’s usual activities, Jim Elliott, was awarded the Order of the Palmetto! Issued by Governor Nikki Haley, this is the highest honor our state can be bestow upon a civilian!!! Congratulations to the passionate and dedicated founder of the Center for Birds of Prey on a job well done.
I recently had the pleasure of photographing this AMAZING event at the Center for Birds of Prey:
“Welcome to Zugunruhefest – the Southeast’s most comprehensive migration-focused birding festival. Zugunruhe (zu – gun – rue) is a German word derived from Zug (move, migration) and Unruhe (restlessness). This state of restlessness is commonly noted in migratory animals, especially birds.
As fall approaches and instincts prevail, birds are compelled by this silent call to take flight to their wintering grounds. As part of the Atlantic Flyway, the Lowcountry serves as a predictable thoroughfare for migrating raptors and shore birds during fall migration passage. Exploiting the Center’s strategic location, Zugunruhefest will afford numerous opportunities for observers, both novice and advanced, to experience fall migration from an exceptional vantage point.
In addition to onsite vendors and children’s activities, the festival will include three days filled with naturalists, ornithologists, and educators leading bird walks, flight demonstrations, informative lectures and programs, and more. The festival will culminate with a panel of avian experts in a round-table discussion and reception.
Significantly, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which provides over-arching legal protection for all migratory birds, is marking its Centennial this year, a fitting context and milestone to recognize as we celebrate the wonders of migration.”
I hope you’ll consider coming out for this incredible festival next year!!!
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!!!
This week I had the honor of reprising my role as the official photographer for “Migration to Memminger”, which is the annual fund-raising gala for the Center for Birds of Prey. I absolutely love photographing corporate events that are as fun and rewarding as this one!
This Avian Conservation Center is located approximately 30 minutes north of Charleston, in Awendaw. If you’ve never been, I HIGHLY recommend it!!! Jack Hanna writes:
“I have traveled worldwide and seen countless centers and this is the absolute best of its kind I have ever seen anywhere.”
Many thanks to David Archer for his amazing musical gift, my friend Steven Hyatt for raffling off his beautiful fine-art prints of the raptors in flight, Kara Bale for her amazing leadership and organization, and the zillions of other staff and volunteers who made this evening a huge success!!!
