Iowa Corn Director Alumni Banquet

Before leaving Des Moines, I had one more fantastic event to cover!

It was an absolute pleasure to photograph the Iowa Corn Director Alumni Banquet at the Hilton Garden Inn. I’ve come to know a lot of the attendees through my coverage of various events involving the farming community…many of them I consider friends. It was wonderful to catch up with some of those friends like Julius, Maurice, Pam, Mark, and many others I haven’t seen in several years! But more importantly, it was such a joy to be there to capture Julie Kirby’s retirement roast at the end of the banquet. She has been with Iowa Corn for 39 years!!! Congratulations on an amazing career, Julie!

After a day of photographing the NASCAR Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol, a second day of photographing promotional photos at Paige & Joe’s corn farm, and this third day of photographing the Director Alumni Event, I have to say that Iowa Corn farmers are some of the nicest people on the planet!!! I was happy to be heading home, but sad to be saying goodbye to so many friends, new and old.

Iowa Corn Farm

While I was in Des Moines to photograph the NASCAR Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol, I had the opportunity to create some new marketing images for Iowa Corn. Getting to Joe’s farm was a beautiful scenic drive through endless fields of lush green corn. Joe and his beautiful fiance were wonderful to work with. Their passion and knowledge for farming was infectious! We had a blast and came away with a variety of great shots for Iowa Corn to use in spreading their message and promoting their product.

NASCAR Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol

Last weekend I had the honor and privilege of photographing the inaugural NASCAR Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at the Iowa Speedway on behalf of the title sponsor, Iowa Corn!!!

The Iowa Corn 350 (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol) is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. It was NASCAR Cup Series’ first race at Iowa Speedway and first race in the state of Iowa. The Iowa Speedway is a 7⁄8-mile (1.4 km) oval short track featuring 10 degrees of banking in the frontstretch, four degrees in the backstretch, and a progressive banking system utilized from 12 to 14 degrees in the turns. It’s known as “The fastest short-track on the planet.”

After struggling earlier this year, Ryan Blaney in car #12 took home the trophy!!! Grabbing the lead on crew chief Jonathan Hassler’s two-tire call under the final caution of Sunday night’s Iowa Corn 350, Blaney led the final 88 laps of the inaugural Cup race at the 0.875-mile Iowa Speedway. In front of a large contingent of family and friends, the reigning series champion crossed the finish line 0.716 seconds ahead of runner-up William Byron, who was racing on four new tires after a pit stop under caution for Chris Buescher’s accident on Lap 260. The victory was Blaney’s first of the season and the 11th of his career. Blaney now has won at Iowa Speedway in all three NASCAR national series, having also triumphed in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2012 and the Xfinity Series in 2015.

Not only was this the first NASCAR Cup race at the Iowa Speedway, and Iowa Corn’s first year as title sponsor…it was also my first time photographing a NASCAR motorsport. I did my research, and was happy with the results. Yes, there were areas I could have been more efficient or come away with a better shot or two. But I’m pretty pleased with what I was able to capture, having never even been to a race like this!

It was a grueling day. I woke up in Charleston at 4:00 am to catch my 5:50 am flight to Des Moines. I landed at 10:30 am, picked up my rental car, and drove directly to the speedway. I started shooting at 12:00 noon and didn’t stup until 9:30 pm (minus a 30-minute break in the media center where I managed to grab a quick bite to eat and get re-hydrated. By the time I had packed up and fought the traffic back to my hotel, it was 11:30 pm. But it was 12:30 am before I had gotten all the images imported, backed up, and my head hit the pillow!

5 hours of sleep the night before
9 hours of non-stop shooting
30 pounds of camera gear carried
3,284 photos captured
20,665 steps walked

* All images captured with Nikon Z9 (x2), Nikkor 14-30Z f4, Nikkor 24-120 Z f4, Nikkor 70-200 Z f2.8 (frequently with TC1.4Z attached for a 100-300 f4 effective focal length), Nikkor 400 Z f4.5, DJI Mini 3 Pro, Sony XQD cards, and ThinkTank Speedbelt.

PNC Bank Elite Awards Banquet – Westin Savannah Harbor Resort

It was an absolute pleasure photographing the PNC Elite Awards Banquet at the Westin Savannah Harbor Resort earlier this week!

Because all the Elite Awards Winners were going to be receiving complimentary headshots during cocktail hour, my good friend and amazing photographer, Jason, joined me so we could double the pace. We set up two identical shooting stations on either side of a Savage Studio Gray backdrop. This allowed us two have two shooting stations going full tilt so we could get everyone photographed before the awards banquet began.

Once everyone had gotten their portraits made, Jason and I quickly repurposed several of the off-camera speedlights to use as spot-lights on the stage. As each award winner was called up, I photographed the formal shot of them receiving the award, while Jason coverd the podium and candids of the crowd cheering and clapping for their friends. It was a fun and exciting night!

Many thanks to Laura at KLH Group, as well as Margeaux & Danielle at PNC Bank, for trusting us with this assignment and keeping everything organized.

Another Awesome Wild Dunes Event

I always enjoy working with my good friend and amazing photographer, Gary at Coleman Photography!

This was the second event I shot for him out at Wild Dunes Resort this weekend…and it was absolutely AWESOME!!! We had covered this awards conference for many years up until the pandemic put things on hold. But this year it was back…and bigger than ever! It was so much fun catching up with their amazing staff that we haven’t seen in a couple years.  🙂

My kit for covering the event included the DJI Mavic 2 Pro, Nikon Z9 (x2), 14-30S f4, 24-70S f2.8, 105G f2.8 Micro, Flashpoint flashes, Manfrotto stands, and Westcott modifiers.

CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners!!!

Dart Container for Gary Coleman

I always enjoy working with my good friend and amazing photographer, Gary at Coleman Photography!

This week we tag-teamed to cover several events for the Dart Container Summit. Gary had me cover the rooftop reception and awards banquet at the new Sweetgrass Inn on Isle of Palms. This new property is part of the beautiful Wild Dunes Resort.  The views from the rooftop deck outside the Indigo Ballroom are AMAZING!!!

It was a fantastic evening of fellowship and fun, which I covered with the DJI Mavic 2 Pro, Nikon Z9 (x2), 14-30S f4, 24-70S f2.8, 105G f2.8 Micro + FTZII, and Flashpoint flashes.

Trident Literacy Association 50th Anniversary Gala

What a milestone event!!!

I had the pleasure of photographing the Trident Literacy Association’s 50th Anniversary Gala this weekend. The evening was full of music, keynote speakers, awards presentations, a fundraiser, and a live auction!

The incomparable Carolyn Murray served as Mistress of Ceremonies. The keynote address was delivered by the eloquent British Robinson from the Barbara Bush Foundation. And the lively Tom Crawford served as auctioneer when the bidding began.

Many thanks to Lee & Taylor from Experience Holy City for helping make sure everything ran perfectly. And a huge “thank you” to Joanne and Judianne from the Trident Literacy Association for bringing me in to cover The Golden Gala!

Shot with Nikon Z9 (x2), Nikkor 14-30 f4, 24-70 f2.8, 70-200 f2.8, Godox flashes (x8)

USTA South Carolina Hall of Fame Awards Banquet

I love tennis! My dad taught me how to play back in high-school. I was a “walk-on” at college and rose to the #2 doubles position. I photograph the Volvo Car Open (among other) professional tennis tournaments every year. And I played USTA league tennis for many years at the 4.0 and 4.5 levels.

So it was a great honor when I was asked to photograph the USTA South Carolina Awards Banquet this weekend!!!

Amerisure Champions Circle

As a full time professional photographer in Charleston, it’s good to have a great network of trusted colleagues in the industry. Often we get multiple requests for assignments on the same day, or requests for assignments that are so big that they require multiple photographers all shooting at once.

My friend Gary at Coleman Photography is one of those trusted shooters that I can always count on when needed. Earlier this week, I had the honor of returning the favor when he asked me to cover an awards banquet for Amerisure while he was on another assignment.

The Amerisure Champions Circle was an awards gala in honor of their top performers. It was held at the beautiful old historic William Aiken House. And it was planned and orchestrated by the amazing team at Destination South. CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners!!!

Center for Birds of Prey Annual Gala

Last week I was thrilled to photograph a fundraising gala for an important cause! Aloft at the Cedar Room was this year’s annual celebration of the Center for Birds of Prey, the amazing team that works there, and the incredible work they do for our planet and the wonderful creatures we share it with!

Kara Bale from the Center for Birds of Prey writes: “What a wonderful night! Aloft at the Cedar Room was a fantastic event. The Cedar Room is a beautiful space which allowed guests to enjoy and celebrate the beauty, mystery, and wonder of wild birds while contributing to their conservation and our own future. The energy in the room was amazing! Here’s a quick snapshot of our evening for those of you who could not attend. We would like to extend another special thanks to our top sponsors including Coastal Expeditions, Benefitfirst, and The Boeing Company and to the many others that made this event possible. More photos to come from the very fabulous Chris Smith!!!”

It was an honor and a pleasure to be a part of this great evening again. I can’t wait for next year!!!

DHG Leadership Conference – Dinner at the Aquarium

I always enjoy photographing the Dixon Hughes Goodman Leadership Conference. They are such a great organization, and truly care about their people!

At the conclusion of the second day’s meetings and presentations, everyone was treated to an AMAZING dinner party at the South Carolina Aquarium!

Banquet on The USS Yorktown

Last week I had the honor of photographing a high-profile corporate event in Charleston with a wonderful group of amazing people! At the conclusion of the conference was an incredible celebration banquet, held on the flight deck of The USS Yorktown.