USGC 17th Internationall Marketing Conference – Day 2

Last week I had the pleasure of Photographing the US Grains Council’s 17th International Marketing Conference at the Hilton Downtown Tampa, Florida. It also happened to be the Council’s 60th Annual Membership Meeting, which made it extra special!

In keeping with Chairman Darren Armstrong’s theme of “Make Something Happen”, members had opportunities to visit directly with the Council’s staff from around the globe, build relationships with them, and deepen their understanding of the critical efforts they undertake for the US grains industry. In addition, Advisory Teams held in-depth meetings, offering the chance to provide recommendations to develop markets, enable trade and improve lives. Plus of course there was an incredible lineup of fantastic speakers, experts, and panels during the general session.

After three long but fulfilling days together, everyone left the meeting with a renewed dedication to the work at hand of promoting coarse grains and ethanol exports for US farmers. And I left with a sense of accomplishment at having faced the many challenges of dark conference rooms and grueling 12-hour days loaded down with camera gear, to come away with a collection of images that truly captured the spirit of the event!

Here are a few favorites from Day 2…

USGC 17th Internationall Marketing Conference – Day 1

Last week I had the pleasure of Photographing the US Grains Council’s 17th International Marketing Conference at the Hilton Downtown Tampa, Florida. It also happened to be the Council’s 60th Annual Membership Meeting, which made it extra special!

In keeping with Chairman Darren Armstrong’s theme of “Make Something Happen”, members had opportunities to visit directly with the Council’s staff from around the globe, build relationships with them, and deepen their understanding of the critical efforts they undertake for the US grains industry. In addition, Advisory Teams held in-depth meetings, offering the chance to provide recommendations to develop markets, enable trade and improve lives. Plus of course there was an incredible lineup of fantastic speakers, experts, and panels during the general session.

After three long but fulfilling days together, everyone left the meeting with a renewed dedication to the work at hand of promoting coarse grains and ethanol exports for US farmers. And I left with a sense of accomplishment at having faced the many challenges of dark conference rooms and grueling 12-hour days loaded down with camera gear, to come away with a collection of images that truly captured the spirit of the event!

Here are a few favorites from Day 1…

Engineering Projects for Seamon Whiteside

Over the last few weeks I’ve had the privilege of photographing a number of amazing engineering and site-design projects for Seamon Whiteside.

“SW+ IS A LEADER OF ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS, LOW-IMPACT ADVANCEMENTS IN ENGINEERING AND SITE DESIGN. WE BLEND CIVIL ENGINEERING AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE TO CREATE HOLISTIC ENVIRONMENTS.”

The assignment involved photographing key environmental, ergonomic, and human comfort aspects of properties developed by their team of engineers, including: the new Blackbaud property, Governor’s Park, the Family Circle Tennis Center, Wharf 7 Apartments, 254 Seven Farms Drive, Bridgeside at Patriots Point, Hyatt Place at Towne Center, and Oyster Point subdivision.

Drone Service for Photographers

For many photographers, passing all the FAA Certifications, and meeting the necessary requirements to fly commercially can be a daunting task! Not every photographer has the skill, the time, or the desire to jump through all those hoops.

Having passed our Part 107 FAA Certification years ago, we’ve found a niche market in partnering with other photographers! We see it as a great way to help our fellow photographers provide the additional service of aerial drone photos to their clients, without all the investments required to purchase the gear and become certified themselves. In return, it gets us involved in projects and assignments that we might otherwise have never collaborated on. And of course the clients love the additional perspectives we can provide from the air. It’s a win-win situation for everyone!!!

Here are a few images from a recent shoot that we collaborated on with our good friend and AMAZING photographer, Mic Smith!  Thank you for thinking of us, Mic!!!

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.  🙂

GOODBYE DORIAN!!!

Cami and I are safe and sound as this massive storm moves on away from us here in Charleston. Many thanks to all those who checked in on us all day. Now our thoughts and prayers turn to those still ahead of its path of destruction, as well as those left in devastation from its passing. Good night and be kind to each other…

Dilella Family on Kiawah Island

As the summer comes to an end, and schools start back up, I am critically aware that there are only a few “perfect” summer evenings left in the season. One of those was yesterday!

I met up with the Dilella Family on Kiawah Island on an absolutely perfect evening! The sun, which had baked the earth just hours before, had slipped into “Golden Hour”. And a gentle breeze was blowing off the ocean to drop the temps to “just right”.

The Dilella family was an absolute joy to work with! The grandkids were delightful and full of energy. It was such a pleasure capturing these beautiful family memories before their children head back to Cleveland.  To top it all off, as I was driving away I noticed these amazing crepuscular rays from the settings sun in the west, extending their fingers all the way to the rising moon in the east.  What a sight!!!   🙂

Mary Beth & Bryant’s Darlington Wedding

Mary Beth & Bryant are SUCH an amazing couple!!! I owe my good friend and amazing photographer, Steve, a huge “Thank You” for recommending me to these two!

I’ve had so much fun getting to know Mary Beth & Bryant in the months leading up to their special day. A few months back, they even made a special trip to Charleston, where we had a BLAST capturing some killer engagement photos for them. You can check those out at: https://chrisandcami.com/mary-beth-bryant-at-brittlebank-park/.

Last weekend the Big Day finally made it! Arriving at their house where Bryant and the guys were getting ready, everyone was laughing and joking and having a great time.  That’s the way a wedding day SHOULD be, right?  I then met up with Mary Beth and the girls at Norman Cosmetics where they were getting ready. The excitement and energy in the salon was fabulous. I could tell we were in for quite a celebration!

Mary Beth looked absolutely STUNNING in her gorgeous wedding gown! I must say, Bryant looked quite dashing, himself. The two of them enjoyed a fun First Look underneath the huge arches of the Darlington Courthouse. We also went on a creative little mini-shoot around the town square, eventually meeting up with the rest of the wedding party for some group shots. After a grand-finale in front of the famous mural, everyone headed over to the church for the main event!

Mary Beth and Bryant had chosen St. Matthews Episcopal Church to exchange their wedding vows. I absolutely love the church’s amazing stained glass windows and rich wooden interior. The wedding was simply beautiful!

Following the ceremony, everyone headed over to South of Pearl for the real celebration!!! South of Pearl is an excellent reception venue in town, a remodeled old historic home with lots of amazing architecture, and a beautifully manicured lawn in the back. There was eating, dancing, cake, cookies…you name it!  Everyone had an AMAZING time! And the dark threatening clouds even parted ways just in time for some dramatic portraits of this sweet couple at sunset.  🙂

To check out all the photos from their Big Day, visit https://chrisandcami.zenfolio.com/p522914086.

CONGRATULATIONS Mary Beth & Bryant!!! We wish you all the best as you begin this beautiful new journey together…

Field Trip to Bulls Island

If you like birding, pristine hiking, beach combing, and a chance to get away from the mainland, then Bulls Island just might be for you!

On behalf of the Center for Birds of Prey, and in association with Coastal Expeditions, earlier this week I had the pleasure of photographing a fun field trip with a group of students from Cainhoy Elementary School. In spite of living in the Lowcountry, some of these kids had never seen the ocean. So, imagine the wonder and amazement in their eyes as we explored Bulls Island together, the crown jewel of the Cape Romain National Wildlife System!!!

Many thanks to Daniel at the Avian Conservation Center for getting me on this project, and Captain Nick from Coastal Expeditions who was our amazing tour guide for the day.

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!!!