Photographing from the Sky

Since becoming FAA Certified for commercial drone photography, I haven’t had as many opportunities to go flying as I used to.  I can accomplish most of my aerial photography requests with the drone. But last week I had an assignment for Trident Construction that was going to require flying above 400 ft, and flying too near the Charleston International Airport…both of which were beyond the legal limits of commercial drone flight.

So I reached out to Hayden and Kris at Holy City Helicopters. Hayden is not only a great chopper pilot, but also an avid photographer. So he “got it” when it came to waiting for the right weather and the right light. Finally, a beautiful blue-sky day opened up to us! Kris was my pilot that morning.  He did a fantastic job of getting me good angles of the projects I needed to photograph.

It was a pleasure flying and photographing with these fine gentlemen. I highly recommend calling Hayden if you’re interested in photographing from the sky!

Indigo Square for Seamon Whiteside

As Hurricane Dorian crawled up the coast to Charleston, I was a little worried I wouldn’t be able to get this assignment completed for Seamon Whiteside.

Their amazing team of engineers and designers created the layout of the new Indigo Square multi-use complex in Mt. Pleasant, for which they’d won several awards. I had been tasked with capturing all the key features and amenities of the project for an upcoming presentation.

Luckily, the “calm before the storm” turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous day! I was able to complete the assignment just before the weather turned ugly.  🙂

Tru Hotel by Hilton

Last week I had the pleasure of photographing the brand new Tru Hotel by Hilton in Orangeburg, SC for the Naman Hotel group! As always, Dexter and Kristi from the marketing team were fabulous to work with. The staff was super friendly and accommodating. And the breakfast spread they are famous for was delicious!

Siemon Whiteside Development Projects

Variety is the spice of life, as they say. That’s one of the reasons why I choose NOT to be pigeon-holed into one particular genre of photography. Instead of doing the same thing over and over again, day after day…for me each day is full of unique assignments and new challenges!

Recently I have really enjoyed working with Siemon Whiteside, photographing a number of their projects. SW is a leader of environmentally conscious, low-impact advancements in engineering and site design. They are known for how they blend civil engineering civil engineering and landscape architecture to create beautiful yet functional holistic environments.

From wide sweeping landscape shots, to tiny detail images, to aerial drone photos…capturing the essence of these projects always pushes the limits of my dexterity and creativity. I absolutely LOVE that!!!

Home on the Marsh

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of photographing this delightful home on the marsh, tucked away in the back of Brickyard Plantation, for our good friend and amazing real estate agent, Pat Broghammer.

Indeed, Pat isn’t just a friend, she’s also OUR agent! She helped us sell our previous home, and helped us find our current one. Plus we had the honor of photographing her daughter’s wedding! Check her out at www.iwanttoliveincharleston.com. We highly recommend her!!!

Interior/Architecture Assignment for Holiday Inn Express

Last week I had a fun assignment, photographing the Holiday Inn Express at the Harbison location in Columbia. Many thanks to Dexter and Kristi at Naman Hotels for trusting me with another one of their awesome photo shoots!

Waterfront Home for Solaris

Since receiving our FAA Certification for Commercial Drone Photography last year, we’ve been loving all the requests for amazing aerial images!

This shoot for Solaris was one of my favorite interior/architecture assignments to date. The freedom allowed by the DJI Mavic Pro to capture epic images from impossible angles was fantastic! This quad-copter is a real work horse, combining excellent quality with a streamlines size that allows it to fly in higher wind gusts than previous models.

In addition to the benefits of the drone, this was also the first time I had used the incredible Nikon D850 on such an assignment. The detail and resolution provided by this new high-performance camera is INCREDIBLE!!! The sensor in this camera is the first ever to receive a “Perfect 100” score from the independent testing agency DXO Optics. I’ve been very pleased to add this camera to our arsenal.

Between the DJI Mavic Pro and the Nikon D850, I’m wondering if we’ve hit upon the best one-two combination for architecture photography ever?!?

Many thanks to Julie at Solaris for all her help on this project!

New Construction Drone Photography

It’s no secret that the Charleston real estate market is on fire. Charleston is at the top of many Best Of lists, feeding the “I want to move to Charleston” craze!

Growth of the aeronautics, automotive, and tech sectors has Lowcountry area home builders working hard to build homes fast enough to keep up with growing needs. Due to the high demand, Charleston has a lower number of available homes on the market than most areas of the country. The Charleston real estate market only has a three-month supply of homes available, unlike most markets with at least a six-month supply! It’s no wonder there are so many new developments, new neighborhoods, and new construction projects going up all over town!

If you’re a home builder, this is a great time to capitalize on your share of that business. With our licensed, insured, and FAA Certified Remote Pilot, we are here to help you attract your piece of the pie through dynamic aerial drone photographs. Let us capture beautiful images of your projects today before it’s too late!!!

Aerial Assignments

More and more corporate clients are turning to us for our new Aerial Drone Photography. Why?

EXPERIENCE:
Much like buying a nice digital camera doesn’t instantly make one a great digital photographer, simply buying a drone doesn’t make one a great aerial photographer! Just because someone can fly a drone doesn’t mean they know how to capture a compelling image. Mastering the tried and true techniques of lighting, exposure, composition, color, (and the list is a mile long) takes time! Cami and I have professional photography degrees, which means we’ve truly studied the finer nuances of beautiful art and imagery. Plus we’ve been photographing professionally for over two decades! That’s a priceless amount of experience and training that you just can’t pick up in a weekend workshop. Think about the revolutions and changes that have taken place in 20+ years. From medium format to 35mm, from film to digital, from crop sensors to full-frame sensors, from megabytes to gigabytes…we’ve seen it all! Which is why our clients feel confident in our abilities to deliver more compelling images.

EQUIPMENT:
Sure, the latest drones are easy to fly and take descent photos in their dumbed-down-out-of-the-box settings. It takes a lot of studying and experimenting with the deeper nuances and internal settings to eek out that NEXT higher level of quality and detail. I wonder how many new drone pilots never even read the manual?!? Flying the latest quadcopters on the market, and setting them up to take full advantage of every pixel they offer, we’re able to deliver a superior quality product.

EDUCATION:
Everyone has seen one news story or another about crashed drones or near collisions with other aircraft. Unlike a highway where you can only go one of two directions, airspace is a wide open fronteir. For the safety of other aircraft, and the safety of people below, the Federal Aviation Administration has implimented strict rules and regulations. Unfortunately, very few UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) pilots have taken the time to study, train, and pass the FAA certification process. We are proud to have passed the exam with the highest grade in the class, on our way to obtaining the FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Licesnse! This means we are legal to fly our drones commercially, and will do so with safety as a primary concern.

For more information, check out https://chrisandcami.com/gallery/aerial/.  When it’s time for YOUR aerial photography assignment, please don’t hesitate to contact us! You’ll be in good hands…and you’ll be glad you did.

The Ocean Course

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort hosted the 2007 Senior PGA and the 2012 PGA Championships. It will also host the 2021 PGA Championships. The Ocean Course is only the fourth course to have hosted each of the PGA of America’s major championships.

The Ocean Course gained instant notoriety as the host of the dramatic “War by the Shore,” a battle decided literally by the final putt of Sunday’s final match in 1991’s Ryder Cup Matches. In 1997, The Ocean Course hosted the World Cup of Golf, with the world’s finest golfers from 32 countries competing in the stroke play tournament. The inaugural UBS Cup took place on the course in 2001, and in 2003 the course hosted the World Golf Championships World Cup. The PGA Professional National Championship was played in June 2005.

Golf Digest named The Ocean Course “#3 Public Golf Course in U.S.”, #20 among “America’s Greatest Courses” and “America’s Toughest Resort Course.” It is one of only 17 “5-star” courses in North America in Golf Digest’s “Best Places to Play” reader’s poll. GOLF Magazine has rated it #4 in its “Top 100 Courses You Can Play” list. The Ocean Course has achieved the designation as a “Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary” by the Audubon Sanctuary System, and has recently been named “Golf Course of the Year” by the National Golf Course Owners Association.

The Ocean Course made its big screen debut in November 2000 when the movie “The Legend of Bagger Vance”, directed by Robert Redford, narrated by Jack Lemon, and starring Will Smith, Matt Damon, and Charlize Theron, opened at theatres nation-wide.

Drayton Hall in Infrared

Drayton Hall, the iconic 18th-century estate in the South Carolina Lowcountry, is vital to our understanding of early American history. It’s also one of my favorite plantations in Charleston!

Founded in 1738, Drayton Hall is the nation’s earliest example of fully executed Palladian architecture…and the oldest preserved plantation house in America still open to the public!!!

I recently had the pleasure of exploring and photographing the property with my Infrared Camera. It’s a special Nikon camera, converted to be able to “see” a frequency of light that’s beyond the range of human sight. I’m always pleasantly surprised by the surreal images it creates! Please enjoy…