Zugunruhefest at the Center for Birds of Prey

I recently had the pleasure of photographing this AMAZING event at the Center for Birds of Prey:

“Welcome to Zugunruhefest – the Southeast’s most comprehensive migration-focused birding festival. Zugunruhe (zu – gun – rue) is a German word derived from Zug (move, migration) and Unruhe (restlessness). This state of restlessness is commonly noted in migratory animals, especially birds.

As fall approaches and instincts prevail, birds are compelled by this silent call to take flight to their wintering grounds. As part of the Atlantic Flyway, the Lowcountry serves as a predictable thoroughfare for migrating raptors and shore birds during fall migration passage. Exploiting the Center’s strategic location, Zugunruhefest will afford numerous opportunities for observers, both novice and advanced, to experience fall migration from an exceptional vantage point.

In addition to onsite vendors and children’s activities, the festival will include three days filled with naturalists, ornithologists, and educators leading bird walks, flight demonstrations, informative lectures and programs, and more. The festival will culminate with a panel of avian experts in a round-table discussion and reception.
Significantly, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which provides over-arching legal protection for all migratory birds, is marking its Centennial this year, a fitting context and milestone to recognize as we celebrate the wonders of migration.”

I hope you’ll consider coming out for this incredible festival next year!!!

Alex’ Bachelorette Weekend

A few weeks ago I had the BEST TIME photographing Alex’ Bachelorette Weekend!!!

When her sister, Blaine, contacted me about covering it for them, I loved all the fun, creative ideas she had! The weekend started out with a welcome dinner and a party-dress-up at Edmond’s Oast. From there we hit up several bars on King Street for live music and fun partying. The next morning found the girls on Pedicab tours that ended with Lingerie Luncheon at The Watch Rooftop Kitchen. Then after a little siesta time back at The Mills House, we hit up Candlefish for their scented-candle-making party.

The whole weekend was just perfect! All the ladies were a BLAST to work with! And Alex was absolutely the sweetest young lady on the planet!!!

US Grains Council Board of Delegates Meeting

Last month I had the honor of photographing the US Grains Council‘s 56th Annual Board of Delegates Meeting in Louisville, KY. It’s been such a privilege to be a part of this wonderful organization!!!

First Corporate Event with the Nikon D500

I’ve had the new Nikon D500 for a couple weeks now. It’s been fun putting it through its paces on a battery of personal projects to make sure it was good to go for paid assignments. (I NEVER shoot an assignment for a client with a new piece of equipment without testing it thoroughly first.) Here are a few images from my very first outing with the D500 with ISO ranges from 800 to 12,800:  https://chrisandcami.com/first-shoot-with-the-nikon-d500/.  In the end, I was very pleased with the performance and the results from this little camera!!!

Here are a few shots from this event using the D500. If you’d like to see the full spectrum of images, and compare how it stacked up against the D4, check out this post: https://chrisandcami.com/withit-professional-womens-conference/.  I doubt you’d be able to spot any difference without some serious pixel peeping at 100% enlargement.

I knew that photographing in the Gold Ballroom at the Francis Marion Hotel was going to be a great challenge for this little crop-sensor camera. It’s a very dim conference room. Most of these shots were done at ISO ranges of 1600-3200…yet were completely usable! There is definitely a stop or so difference between this camera and the legendary D4 in terms of noise at these higher ISO settings. But that’s pretty impressive considering the D4 is a 16MP FX camera, and the D500 is a 21MP DX camera!

My kit for the last decade or so has usually comprised two identical full-frame flagship cameras, and one crop-sensor camera. I like shooting with two identical cameras with different focal lengths to make sure I never miss a moment. But I also like having a third camera that has a different set of “skills”, which I often use as a remote camera or a telephoto camera. Ever since the days of the D3/D300 combo, I’ve tried mixing in the D7100, D7200, and D810 as my third camera body. But none of them truly resonated with me. Now I feel like my third camera body has that magic mojo again!!!

For this event, I started out with a D4 + 70-200 f2.8, D4 + 24-70 f2.8, and D500 + 14-24 f2.8. For corporate events, I find the 14-24 is just TOO wide. I’ve often wished Nikon had a 16-35 f2.8 like Canon does. I do have Nikon’s 16-35 f4 VR as well. But it just isn’t as sharp, or as fast as the legendary 14-24. By mounting the 14-24 on the D500 crop-sensor body, I effectively make it a 21-36mm…which is a much more useful range for general event coverage.

Since this was a relatively small event, the D4 + 70-200 combo gave me PLENTY of telephoto power. But in the larger corporate events I shoot, I’m often yearning for more reach to get a tight crop of the speaker, for example. This is where the real benefit of the D500 comes in! Switching the 70-200 to the D500 gave me an effective focal length of 105-300 f2.8!!! Plus, the 14-24 goes back on the D4, allowing me to have those super-wide shots if I want them.

I haven’t even mentioned the phenomenal new focusing system in the D500, the super clean files, the spot-on white balance, the wicked fast processing engine, the whisper quiet shutter sound, the cranking 10fps, and the speed of the XQD cards. In the end, I was VERY pleased with the Nikon D500. It is definitely here to stay! Eventually I’ll probably replace the D4 bodies with D5 bodies. I think the D5/D500 combo will be a formidable setup indeed!!!

Withit Professional Women’s Conference

Retool. Restyle. Recharge. These were the themes at the Withit Professional Women’t Conference I photographed earlier this week.

The two-day event was held at the beautiful Francis Marion Hotel in downtown Charleston. The conference offered industry professionals at all stages of their careers the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally, develop leadership skills, and connect with industry peers.  This was also my first event incorporating the new Nikon D500 into the mix.

It was an honor and a pleasure to photograph this outstanding event!

Hotel Room Head-shots

While photographing the Withit Women’s Conference at the historic Francis Marion Hotel this week, part of my assignment included creating head-shots for the professional ladies attending the program.

The motivational conference was held in the elegant Gold Ballroom. So as not to distract from the speakers, and to give each lady the time and privacy they deserved for their photo session, I was asked to setup in one of the hotel rooms down the hall. The point of this post is to show that with a little knowledge, a smart selection of compact lighting tools, and some beautiful subjects to work with, professional portraits can be created just about anywhere!!!

My entire portable studio setup included 6 Nikon SB-800 speedlights, 4 Manfrotto light stands, 2 60″ Westcott shoot-through umbrellas, and a white pop-up style background. Utilizing the given space to suite my purpose, I arranged everything around using the white doors as a reflector for extra fill. A couple of the flashes were used as background lights to create the modern high-key look I wanted. A couple flashes were used to evenly disperse light through one umbrella as the main light source. And the last two were used similarly through the other umbrella as a fill light. This entire lighting kit fits into a large Manfrotto tripod bag for compact portability!

All the flashes were triggered through RadioPoppers, using a Nikon SB910 as the Master flash. The images were photographed with a Nikon D4, and a Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 VRII, tethered to my laptop. After each client’s portrait session, we reviewed the images together to make sure there was something in there that they LOVED!!!  🙂

AM Conservation Group National Sales Meeting

Last week the AM Conservation Group held their annual National Sales Meeting at Palmetto Hall in Wild Dunes Resort on Isle of Palms.

I’ve had the honor and pleasure of working with this amazing company for the last few years. The AM Conservation Group is a world leader in Water Conservation Products, Energy Efficient Products, Energy Efficient Lighting, Weatherization Products, and more.

I arrived early at the event and set up a portable studio where attendees could get their head-shots and business portraits made during the various breaks. When I wasn’t photographing those, I covered the president’s address, keynote speakers, experts in their field, and panel discussions to document the entire event.

Photographing such corporate events, company meetings, and awards ceremonies is one of our specialties. But doing so for companies like the AM Conservation Group who are doing their best to help our planet, makes it even more enjoyable!

Charleston Trident Association of Realtors at Edmunds Oast

Yesterday I had the pleasure of photographing a fantastic corporate event at Edmunds Oast for the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors! They are a great client, and we ALWAYS enjoy working with Claire and all the fabulous Charleston area realtors!!!

Volvo Car Open – VIP Welcome Reception at The Cedar Room

As the Official Photographer of the Volvo Car Open, my job isn’t just to cover on-court action! Here are a few scenes from this year’s amazing VIP Welcome Reception.

This was the first year it was held at the Cedar Room. I must say, this venue at the beautifully restored old Cigar Factory is absolutely incredible! Many thanks to Graham, Lauren, and all the talented folks that made this year’s event such a huge success!

Of course the usual VIP’s from Meredith came out in full force. This year also saw all the incredible folks from Volvo, as well as other great sponsors like Lisette, in attendance. Tennis celebrities like Pam Shriver, Cliff Drysdale, Rennae Stubbs, and Lisa Raymond were there. Even the one and only Martha Stewart made an appearance!

There are many behind-the-scenes parties and events that I have the pleasure of photographing…but the VIP Welcome Reception is always one of my favorites!

AM Conservation Group at The Riviera Theater

I always enjoy photographing corporate events…especially the holiday gala’s that are so fun and festive. One of my favorites each year is the AM Conservation Group’s Christmas Party!!! 🙂

As each couple arrives, I photograph a nice Christmas portrait of them. Using our state-of-the-art dye sublimation photo printers, we instantly print them a beautiful 5×7 photo, delivered to their table in an elegant folio for them to take home as a memento of the evening. The instant gratification of this print-on-site service is always a HUGE HIT!!!

Once everyone has arrived and had a cocktail or two, I cover the president’s address. His message is always poignant, and always made memorable with a magic trick or two! Everyone then gathers for a fun group shot before dinner. The remainder of the evening is filled with merriment as everyone enjoys dinner, dancing, and the always-popular gift exchange!

I’ve been photographing this event for 3 years now. Already I’m looking forward to NEXT YEAR’s big party!!!

T-Mobile “In Crowd” Awards Banquet

Last night was the annual T-Mobile Awards Banquet in Charleston. It’s always one of my favorite corporate events of the year!

While I photographed the banquet, award recipients, and general event coverage, Gary and Cami handle the setup and operation of the print-on-site “Fashion Booth”. Gary is a MACHINE when it comes to print-on-site service. By the time the award ceremony was over, he and Cami already had beautiful 5×7 prints, nicely matted in elegant folios, ready for the winners to pick up. They printed and delivered 430 photos to this lively and fun-loving bunch!!!

Congratulations to all the top performers and award winners! We’ll see you all again next year!!! 🙂

Toyota Southeast Comtrollers’ Conference

I drive a Toyota Highlander. So it was quite fitting that my good friend and crazy-cool photographer, Gary Coleman, asked me to cover this really fun event for Toyota!
The 2015 Southeast Toyota Comtrollers’ Conference was held at the Charleston Marriott. But their main corporate event was held at the Cotton Dock at Boone Hall Plantation. The fine folks at Absolutely Charleston made sure everything for the event was “absolutely” perfect.  And The Bushels brought fine tunes and merriment to the occasion. 
It was a pleasure being a part of another fantastic gala at this beautiful and historic venue!