Keith Summey Library for DWG

The Keith Summey North Charleston Library was opened in 2023 to replace a smaller facility erected more than seventy years earlier. The original structure was conceived in 1946, and dedicated to the “memory of the men and women of Cooper River District who died in service during World War II.” Use of the building was initially limited to White citizens. This and other branches of the CCPL system were opened to African Americans in 1963.

It took a bit of planning. But finally we were able to arrange a day and time to photograph the new Keith Summey Library outside of opening hours so that we had complete access without interfering with patrons!

DWG Consulting Engineers had done a fantastic job on this project! And I was excited to be selected to photograph it for them. Many thanks to Cate Smolinsky for all her hard work coordinating everyone’s schedules, and arranging for someone to to get me unfettered access!

A Day in the Beauty of Dorchester County

Dorchester county is rich in history and filled with unbelievable beauty!

Last week I was assigned the task of taking a single day to explore and capture as much of the county’s diverse nature, scenic beauty, and significant history as possible. I covered everything from the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest, the Rosenwald School in St. George, Indian Field and Shady Grove campgrounds, Givhans Ferry State Park and the Edisto River that runs through it, Colonial Dorchester County Park, Middleton Place Plantation, and several stops in between.

It was a tough challenge, since I could have easily spent an entire day at each location! But I successfully completed the task and came away with a wonderfully diverse collection of images that showcase a day in the beauty of Dorchester County!

Dorchester County Marketing Photos

This has been a busy year for Dorchester County! With the new fire station, new ems vehicles, new mobile command station, all kinds of new streets and road repairs going in, and of course new employees constantly joining their growing team…I’ve been busy! It’s been a pleasure working with Michelle, the county’s Public Information Officer, to come up with new marketing photos to help promote transparency and keep their constituents informed of what’s been going on. A highlight of this week’s assignment included headshots of the Command Staff at the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office! Michelle works really hard and does an amazing job. I’m honored to be part of her team!!!

Lupus Clinical Investigators Network Conference

Lupus is debilitating. It affects each person differently. Which, for doctors and researchers, makes the disease very challenging. Lupus is one of the more complex autoimmune diseases known to science. And for years, the world’s best minds have worked tirelessly to find a cure.

“The Lupus Research Alliance is going to take the very thing that infuriates us about the disease and make it the one thing that becomes its cure. Decades of pioneering research has brought us to this moment. We’ve advanced science to the point that will allow us to look at each patient as a single case, to study their individual immune system and analyze the complexities of the disease as it exists within them. In the future, this will allow us to better treat that patient with precision medicine — giving the right treatment for the right person. The root of the problem has become the pathway to the cure.”

It was my pleasure to photograph the annual LuCIN Meeting (Lupus Clinical Investigators Network) at the Wild Dunes Resort on Isle of Palms this week. The conference was held at the beautiful new Sweetgrass Inn. The program was brought to fruition by Lupus Therapeutics and the Lupus Research Alliance. You can find out more about this awful disease, and the passionate men and women who are striving to find a cure, at https://www.lupusresearch.org/.

* Nikon Z9 (x2), Nikkor Z 14-24 f4, Nikkor Z 24-70 f2.8, Nikkor Z 70-200 f2.8, DJI Mini 3 Pro, ThinkTank cases, Flashpoint flashes, Manfrotto supports, and Sony XQD cards *

CTAR Women’s Council Spring Social

What a beautiful day for a Spring Social!!!

The Women’s Council from the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors held their annual Spring Social at The Ritual Rooftop Restaurant & Lounge yesterday. This beautiful venue has great views of downtown, overlooking Marion Square. The weather was perfect. The food was terrific.  And everyone had an AMAZING time!!!

Many thanks to Clair and Jessie for all their hard work putting this great event together!

* DJI Mini 3 Pro, Nikon Z9 (x2), Nikkor Z 14-30 f4, Nikkor Z 24-120 f4 *

Park West Recreation Complex

It was another fun day to be outside, flying the drone, and capturing photos of a fantastic Mt. Pleasant park!

Seamon Whiteside did an AMAZING job, engineering this space to incorporate so many different sports fields. The Park West Recreation Complex has been around for a few years. But they just resurfaced the track and made a few additions. So I was asked to get some updated drone shots and still photos of the facility.  It was fun to see people out enjoying the sunshine!!!

* Nikon Z9, Nikkor Z 14-30 f4, Nikkor Z 24-120 f4, DJI Mavic 2 Pro

The Battery Soccer Stadium

Soccer holds a special place in my heart! I grew up playing soccer in Zaire (DRC), played midfield for the TASOK team that won the Kinshasa championships, and went on to receive a scholarship to play at Spring Arbor University.

So it was with great excitement that I received the request to photograph the new Charleston Battery Soccer Stadium for Seamon Whiteside!!!  While I was there, I got to meat Christian, the head coach of the College of Charleston women’s team.  So that was pretty cool. But other than him, I had the place to myself!

If you haven’t been to a game at the new facility, it’s pretty awesome.

The Hawks Nest – A New Public Park in Hannahan!

What a GORGEOUS spring day!!! The sun was out. The sky was blue with giant puffy clouds floating through. And the new public park in Hanahan was my “playground” for the day!

I had the honor of spending the day photographing The Hawks Nest, which is a new sports complex and public park in Berkeley County, SC. Seamon Whiteside is the engineering firm behind this picturesque park. They were responsible for designing the park and all it’s amazing amenities.

I got to photograph a wide variety of shots to showcase the many aspects of this beautiful property, as well as showcase how much the public is loving it!

Credit One Charleston Open – Day 6

It was another EXCITING year for me to be covering the Credit One Charleston Open!!!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that over the years have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. Much has changed over the years. But to this day, the tournament remains the largest women’s only tennis tournament in North America. This year’s roster included 5 of the Top 10 women on tour, 5 past champions, and 5 Grand Slam champions. Previous winners include notable names like Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, Tracy Austin, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Nadia Petrova, Madison Keys…and so many more!

By Day 6, the player field is getting narrowed down. That gave me more time to capture the subtle nuances of each match…plus I could slip in more shots of fans, press conferences, TV appearances, autograph sessions, and VIP suite visits. Oh, and I finally had time to capture a few shots with the drone!

US Foods Awards Banquet

The US Foods Lexington held their annual Awards Banquet at The Sweetgrass Inn within Wild Dunes Resort last week. It was such an honor to be a part of this special celebration of last year’s impressive achievements, and the amazing individual accomplishments of their team members.

Many thanks to Parke for all her help organizing this event.  CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners!!!

* DJI Mavic 3 Pro, Nikon Z9 (x2), Nikkor Z 14-30 f4, Nikkor Z 24-70 f2.8, Nikkor Z 70-200 f2.8, Flashpoint Li-on R2 (x6), Manfrotto supports

Paulina & Ben’s Greek Orthodox Wedding

Two weeks before the Covid-19 “shutdown”, I had the pleasure of photographing Sommer & Frank’s wedding. Several years before that, I had the privilege of photographing Sommer’s sister’s wedding, when Sarah & Trent got married. Now…3 years later…after the pandemic bans on public gatherings have been lifted…it was my GREAT PLEASURE to photograph Frank’s sister’s wedding!  Paulina & Ben tied the knot on a beautiful blue-sky afternoon at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity!!!

If you haven’t already, check out the beautiful story of their Secret Proposal here:  https://chrisandcami.com/ben-proposes-to-paulina-at-the-holiday-festival-of-lights/.

When the big day arrived, I met up with Paulina and the girls on the top floor of the Harbour Club at Westedge, where they were all getting ready.  The atmosphere was fun and festive.  And Paulina looked stunning!  I absolutely LOVED the pride and joy in her Dad’s eyes when he came in for that “First Look” with his little girl!

Meanwhile, my good friend Robbin caught up with Ben and the guys, who were all getting ready at the Courtyard by Marriott Charleston Waterfront. I think one of the most special moments of the day was when the trolley was taking Ben the guys over to the church, and he had them stop so he could come up, lean his head on the outside of the door, hold Paulina’s hand, and tell her how much he was looking forward to marrying her!

Once everyone was at the church, a beautiful, warm, candlelit sanctuary welcomed friends and family from far and wide. The ceremony was FILLED with so many special moments…from Paulina and Ben’s brothers laying out the aisle runner, to Ben’s mom singing a soulful rendition of Ave Maria…from Paulina’s Dad singing in the choir, to her godfather being the Koumbaros and assisting with the Exchanging of Rings and The Crowning ceremony. Father Ari led a touching heartfelt ceremony. And Ms. Cleo did an amazing job of keeping everyone on schedule. It truly was a special ceremony I’ll never forget!

A highlight for me personally was getting to spend a few minutes in a private session with Paulina & Ben at Brittlebank Park on our way to the reception.  The vibrant orange glow from the final rays of sunshine, and the transitioning sky as “blue hour” set in, provided a dynamic backdrop for a few dramatic portraits of the gorgeous couple!

Then it was on to the reception back at the Harbour Club at Westedge.  Robbin had already covered the cocktail hour.  So once Paulina and Ben had gotten a few minutes to catch their breath (while he changed into a suit and she put her hair up), it was time for the Main Event!!!  After an enthusiastic welcome for the wedding party, Paulina & Ben’s first dance as husband and wife, and some touching toasts, DJ David kicked things into high gear!  I always love the energy and enthusiasm of Greek dancing.  And WOW…did this group know how to do it right?!?  Everyone had a BLAST, while Robbin and I captured all the excitement of the evening!

Many thanks to Ashleigh with Everything After the Ring for the beautiful florals, and for keeping everyone organized throughout the day.

CONGRATULATIONS Ben & Paulina!!!  You are so perfect for each other!  We wish you all the best as you begin this new chapter in your lives…

Dorchester County Council

I’ve never been to a “swearing in” ceremony before. So when Michelle asked me to stay a few minutes at the end of our photo shoot to capture a few action shots of new Council Members taking their oath of office, I was absolutely delighted!

We had just wrapped up photographing a variety of drone shots, group photos, and headshots for various departments at the Dorchester County office building in Summerville. We had also photographed headshots, group photos, and some interior marketing shots of the Council Chambers. So to be able to stick around and see the government in action was pretty neat!

Many thanks to PIO Michelle for her hard work organizing and scheduling these photo shoots. I always enjoy working with her, and appreciate all the fun challenges she throws at me!