St. Philips Episcopal Church

St. Philip’s Church is an historic church at 142 Church Street in Charleston. Built in 1836, this stuccoed brick church features an imposing tower designed in the Wren-Gibbs tradition.On November 7, 1973, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark.

Established in 1681, St. Philip’s is the oldest religious congregation in South Carolina. The first St. Philip’s Church, a wooden building, was built between 1680 and 1681 at the corner of Broad and Meeting streets on the present day site of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church. It was damaged in a hurricane in 1710 and a new St. Phillip’s Church was begun a few blocks away on Church Street. After being delayed it was finished in 1723 but burned to the ground in 1835. Work on the present church was begun that same year and completed the next. The steeple was added between 1848 and 1850.

I recently had the pleasure of photographing this aerial photograph featuring St. Philips Episcopal Church. In the foreground we find one of Charleston’s iconic horse-and-carriage tours ambling up Church Street as it approaches the imposing structure. The dramatic Arthur Ravenel Junior Bridge gracefully spans the Charleston Harbor in the distance.

Select Health Annual Report

“First Choice serves more than 355,0001 members in all 46 counties of the state and is the top-rated Medicaid health plan in South Carolina, according to the National Committee for Quality Assurance’s (NCQA’s) Medicaid Health Insurance Plan Ratings 2016 – 2017. The plan has held this distinguished position since 2010. First Choice is the first health plan in South Carolina to earn NCQA’s Multicultural Health Care Distinction, which recognizes our commitment to delivering culturally competent health care, and Select Health is the only managed Medicaid plan in the state with a five-star rating for overall customer satisfaction per the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®).”

I’m thrilled to have been able to provide most of the photography for this year’s Annual Report.  I’m particularly excited that the publication is up for an Aster Award…which is kind of like The Oscars when it comes to marketing material in the the world of health care.  But above all, I’m honored to call Select Health one of our favorite clients to partner with!!!

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!!!

Quest 2018

QUEST is Trident Technical College’s annual academic competition. It is open to Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester public school students in grades 6-12. The competition was developed by TTC to promote academic excellence, provide an academic challenge to students, and recognize top students, teachers and schools.

Approximately 1,100 students participated in this year’s Quest. It was an honor and a pleasure photographing this outstanding event for them. I’d like to say a big Thank You to my friend and colleague, Mic Smith, for kindly recommending me!

Geocent

Geocent is an award winning business, providing technology and engineering solutions that help their clients improve their performance and achieve their goals. Since 1992,​ through experience, innovation, commitment, and reliability, they have steadily earned their clients’ trust. Each member of the Geocent team strives to be an invaluable part of their client’s organizations, advancing them beyond their expectations!

This morning it was my priviledge to photograph three core members of the Charleston team. Using a natural lifestyle aproach to their images, we created a number of headshots and executive portraits to be used in various marketing, social media, and promotional material. Each individual was a pleasure to work with, and their personalities really shone through!

THANK YOU Valerie, Hal, and Andie for your positive energy and friendly hospitality!!!

Citadel Square Baptist Church

Citadel Square Baptist Church was the fourth Baptist church established in Charleston, South Carolina. The original “Citadel Square Church” is a daughter of the First Baptist Church of Charleston (est. 1682), the “mother” church of Baptists in the South. In 1854, approximately a dozen members of the church sought to establish a new church for the Upper Peninsula, to be known as Fourth Baptist Church.

The construction of the church building at 328 Meeting Street began in June 1855. The new building was opened on November 23, 1856. A Sunday School building was added in 1891, then replaced in 1921. In April 1951, an educational building was added to the campus. The church was the first in Charleston to televise its services, doing so for more than 40 years until 1998. In its history, six churches have planted by Citadel Square: Cannon Street Baptist Church, Southside Baptist Church, FBC Mount Pleasant, Ashley River Baptist Church, James Island Baptist Church, and Folly Beach Baptist Church.

With a break in the programming at an event I was photographing nearby, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to fly my drone and get a gorgeous panoramic aerial view of this historic church in the golden rays of the setting sun. Visible in the background is the iconic Mother Emanuel AME Church. And beyond that, the elegant Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge spans the great Cooper River.

CresCom Bank

Photographing great aerial images with a quad-copter is tough. Photographing great aerial images with a quad-copter AT DUSK is nearly impossible!!!

With calm winds at my back, and clear skies ahead, I was able to keep the stick steady enough for the drone to capture several beautiful images of CresCom’s West Ashley location. The glowing windows and doors are representative of the banks warm customer service attitude and welcoming personality!  So the timing was critical.  And I’m very pleased with how it turned out!

CresCom Bank, a leader in community banking, is dedicated to providing exceptional customer service and quality products to the communities it calls home, and prides itself on its strong knowledge of local business and economic trends. Currently, CresCom Bank has 62 branch locations throughout the Carolinas and also owns Crescent Mortgage Company.  You should check them out!

Tim Waters for SCCLF

Earlier this week I had the distinct honor of photographing visionary (and a persistent one at that I might ad) Tim Waters at the future site of his healthy food retail store. I was truly blessed to spend time with this humble hero!

Check out the excellent article at http://sccommunityloanfund.org/blog/2017/10/25/loan-closing-elijah-craig/. Here are a few excerpts to give you some context:

The North Dargan Street and Darlington Street corridor, a neighborhood in Florence, SC, is deemed “blighted” by city officials. It is also located in a food desert, meaning residents lack access to fresh and nutritious foods. Tim Waters, owner of Elijah Craig, LLC and a lifelong resident of the neighborhood, wanted to help his community by bringing a full-service grocery store to the area. However, Tim struggled to secure financing and lacked the specialized experience grocery store operators need to secure a franchise deal.

The Elijah Craig, LLC Save-A-Lot will initially create 20 new jobs for community members, 12 of which will be full time and the number of employees will increase to 30 as the store grows. Families in the North Dargan Street community will finally have the ability to purchase fresh, healthy food in their neighborhood. Further, a neighborhood currently defined by the city as blighted will have a revitalization effort led in part by a lifelong resident with a vision of community change. “I see the store as building up the community in a healthy way,” says Tim. “I want it to be a beacon for healthy change.”

Many thanks to the SC Community Loan Fund for this amazing opportunity!

Pete’s Mobile Auto and Truck Repairs

I had the honor of photographing Pet’s Mobile Auto and Truck Repairs as part of a project for the SC Community Loan Fund. Their story will be featured in the SCCLF Annual Report.

“An older repair shop in Columbia’s Percival Road community has remained an eyesore to residents after falling into disrepair and shuttering its doors over a year ago. The closing of this facility left the community without a full-service automotive repair shop. Meanwhile, Pete’s Auto & Truck Repairs, LLC, a South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) was leasing a building in the Columbia area but the owners had a dream of purchasing their own shop. Once Pete’s owners Melvin & Sandra Wells discovered the Percival Road site, they sought to leverage Mr. Wells’ 40 years of experience in the automotive repair industry to attract the financing to purchase and renovate the shop.”

Congratulations to Sandra, Melvin, and their boys, who plan to one day carry on their father’s legacy as they continue to run the family business.

Headshots for Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart

It was a pleasure to meet and photograph the latest addition to the team at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart this morning.

Michelle earned her B.B.A. from Mercer University in 2005, focusing on business management and international business. In 2012, she graduated magna cum laude from Charleston School of Law. While in law school, she interned for The Honorable Tommy R. Hankinson, superior court judge of the Griffin Circuit of Georgia. Prior to joining Ogletree Deakins, Michelle served five years as a law clerk to the late Honorable C. Weston Houck of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.

Welcome to the team, Michelle!!!

Headshots at First Citizens Bank

We are so blessed to work with some of the nicest, kindest clients on the planet! Yesterday I had the pleasure of catching up with our friends at First Citizens Bank. It was so much fun meeting and photographing corporate head-shots for the new faces on this amazing team of professionals!

The Lovely Law Firm

It was my pleasure last week, to photograph the Lovely Law Firm for Super Lawyers Magazine!

Based out of Myrtle Beach, the Lovely Law Firm specializes in personal injury and criminal defense. If you’re in need of legal representation, I highly recommend checking them out: www.justiceislovely.com.

All the attorneys were great to work with! We staged the shoot at an old historic train depot, located across from their offices. It made for a unique and interesting backdrop. I really enjoyed working with the talented team at the Lovely Law Firm!