Russell Family at The Ocean Course

I did a little “rain dance” in my car on my way out to Kiawah Island last night. I was under a clearing in the sky. But all around me dark storm clouds threatened!

It must have worked because the rains held off just long enough for The Russell’s and I to squeeze in an AMAZING family portrait session at The Ocean Course! We may have had to dance around a few raindrops here and there. But the empty beach, the dramatic light, and the SPECTACULAR sunset was so worth it.

I had so much fun with the Russell Family! Their positive energy and adventurous spirit truly paid off. Lots of families would have walked away at the sight of those clouds. But they decided to go for it…and I’m so glad they did! We had an absolute BLAST and came away with some incredibly beautiful images to commemorate their time together this summer. 🙂

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Cripe Family on Kiawah Island

It rained all day…gray and dreary. But just before it was time to meet up with the Cripe Family for their family portrait session on Kiawah Island, the rain moved off and the skies cleared up!  🙂

Now living in Indianapolis, James had done his residency in Charleston at the Medical University of South Carolina years ago. So when they decided to take a little vacation, they decided to try Charleston!  The whole family had a great time relaxing on Kiawah Island, where little Caden absolutely fell in love with the ocean. We could hardly keep him out of it!

I had so much fun hanging our with this beautiful family, and capturing these fond memories of their time together. I think we’ll be seeing more of the Cripes in the future!!!

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Evans Family on Kiawah Island

Last year was the first year we had missed our annual “Evans Family Sunrise Shoot” on Kiawah Island for half a decade. It’s been so much fun watching their kids grow into young adults over the years! Having that gap last year made me realize how quickly they grow. I could hardly believe how big Quinn had gotten!!!

In the wee predawn hours, a pocket of rain rolled up the coast. But luckily the storm moved on just in time for us to enjoy a really peaceful morning! Temperatures were mild, having been cooled off by the rain. And there was a quiet calmness on the beach I hadn’t experienced in a while…almost no wind at all!

As usual, Geraldine had everyone dressed in coordinating outfits, all lined up and ready to go on schedule! From blue-hour till breakfast, we had so much fun clowning around and capturing fun images of their amazing family.  It was wonderful to experience another sunrise together!

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Nikkor 500mm f5.6E PF ED VR

My good friend and AMAZING photographer, David Archer (www.davidarcherimages.com), was kind enough to loan me his new Nikon Nikkor 500mm f5.6 PF ED VR lens for evaluation!

Unfortunately it was during a busy time of year. So I didn’t get to do a full review or a comparison video against it’s younger sibling, the 300mm f4.0E PF ED VR. Hopefully I’ll have time to get back and do that with David.

But for now, let me just say that I am VERY impressed!!! In fact, I’m probably even more impressed with this lens than when I bought the 300mm PF, which I thought was absolutely ground-breaking! This new technology Nikon is throwing into their ultra compact and light-weight Phase Fresnel series of lenses is just magnificent!!!

I really enjoyed shooting with this super lightweight, wickedly sharp, and extremely portable telephoto lens. Most of the time I used it on the Nikon D500, giving me an effective focal length of 750mm. I even tried some with the TC14eIII 1.4x converter, giving me 1050mm of reach!

300PF
300mm f4 = 420mm f5.6 with TC14eIII
300mm f4 = 450mm f4 on DX
300mm f4 = 630mm f5.6 with TC14eIII on DX

500PF
500mm f5.6 = 700mm f8 with TC14eIII
500mm f5.6 = 750mm on DX
500mm f5.6 = 1050mm f8 with TC14eIII on DX

All total, I probably only had about 90 minutes of actual shooting time with the 500mm PF in less-than-optimal lighting conditions. Here are some of the results. I can’t imagine what I’d be able to capture if this lens somehow found a permanent place in my bag…

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Kati & Brett in Beaufort, SC

Returning to the “scene of the crime” was so much fun!

While serving his country, stationed in Beaufort, Brett proposed to Kati near one of the park swings downtown at Waterfront Park. Although they now live in Ohio, they thought it would be so much fun to have their Engagement Photos made in the same park where they got engaged! 🙂

Cami and I met up with Kati, Brett, and their adorable girl, Leah, near the old historic district.  Kati looked so cool in her cowboy boots.  And Brett even got his hair cut for the big occasion…HA! We had so much fun walking around this charming southern town, capturing fun images of them as we went. We lived listening to them relive their time in Beaufort, and having them show us the spot where they got engaged. The icing on the cake happened when the skies opened up for a brilliant and dramatic sunset over the harbor!

CONGRATULATIONS Kati & Brett! We are so excited for you two, and can’t wait to be there for your wedding next year!!!

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Conaghan Family at The Ocean Course

Oddly enough, none of the Conaghan’s, nor myself, are big golf fans. With a family history from Scotland, you’d think that was kind of strange. But guess what! We all shared a passion for “The Beautiful Game” of soccer…or “true” football as it’s known overseas. 🙂

Still, the famous Ocean Course was close to their summer vacation home on Kiawah Island. And it has one of the most beautiful stretches of beach in the Charleston area! So we met there and had a FANTASTIC evening of fun and fellowship while photographing a variety of family portraits together!!!

Many thanks to the Conaghan Family for being such a kind and delightful group to work with.

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Sutton Family on Seabrook Island

I’d like to say a HUGE “Thank You” to my friend and amazing photographer, Michael Cyra, for recommending me to the Sutton Family! They were SO MUCH FUN to work with!!! 🙂

From Arden, NC, The Suttons gathered the whole family together and decided to wrap up their year of celebrating 40 years together with a beach vacation. This was their first time at Seabrook Island…and I don’t think it will be their last…everyone seemed to be having a BLAST!

Originally, Rene’ had planned for the family shoot to be a big surprise. She was going to tell the kids they would just set up a camera on a tripod and take their own picture. Then I would come swooping in to save the day…HA! But her daughter started asking about hiring a professional to do it. So Rene’ had to let the cat out of the bag. 😉

I arrived on a beautiful evening, the day after Hurricane Isaias had rolled through. Everyone was so organized, and dressed so perfectly for our beach shoot. All the kids were absolutely adorable. They couldn’t have been a nicer family to work with!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Rene’ and Kenny!!!

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Guin Family at The Sanctuary

I had so much fun photographing the Guin Family at The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island again this year. They have easily become one of my favorite repeat-families to work with!!! Everyone’s enthusiasm, encouragement, and positive energy is so refreshing! 🙂

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The Glahn Family at The Sanctuary

With only a few more weeks before school starts back, I’ve been having so much fun photographing all our repeat family beach sessions this summer. Yesterday I had the pleasure of photographing a brand new family…and they turned out to be such a delight to work with!!!
 
I met up with the Glahn Family at The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island, where they were enjoying a fun family get-away before their girls go back to school. With McKenna involved in dance, and Ryleigh into gymnastics, you can imagine how hectic this family’s life is back home! It was wonderful to see them decompressing from daily life, and truly enjoying their time together.
 
I couldn’t have asked for a prettier day. And I couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful family to spend the evening with! Many thanks to Jimmy & Jen for selecting me to be their photographer. I hope they become one of our many fabulous “boomerangs” as they return each year to create new memories together!!!
 
P.S.  As an added bonus, I got to stop and photograph Comet Neowise again on my way home.  🙂

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Grace’s Senior Portraits on Kiawah Island

When she called, Marianne sounded a bit flustered. She had nothing to wear.

Vacationing on Kiawah Island for the week, Marianne and her family hadn’t planned for family portraits. They realized what a great opportunity this was to get some beautiful and unique Senior Portraits for their daughter Grace. And I had suggested we throw in a few fun family portraits while we were at it!  So suddenly Marianne was scrambling to find outfits for everyone.

Fortunately this gave her a good excuse to do a little shopping. And everything worked out PERFECT!!! 🙂 In spite of an afternoon thunderstorm, the weather was beautiful. Selecting three outfits for her session, Grace was absolutely stunning in each one. And the family outfits Marianne had selected were awesome.  We all had a fantastic time together…even their 11-year old golden doodle, Bella.

CONGRATULATIONS Grace! You rocked it!!!

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Nester Family on Seabrook Island

I have been photographing the Nester family so long that I feel like I’m that silly Uncle every family has…you know, the one that’s always acting silly and getting the kids riled up right before bedtime!  🙂

It’s been quite a few years. But I still remember Jeff & Suzanna’s 2006 wedding like it was yesterday. Each year their family returns for summer vacation, always with something fun and new and interesting going on in their lives. This year I was sad that Suzanna’s brother, Tyler, and his family couldn’t make it due to travel constraints from the corona-virus. But hopefully next year we’ll all be back together again!

It’s only been 24 hours since their photo shoot. And I’m already looking forward to seeing the Nester’s next year! They are easily one of my all-time favorite families other than my own!!!

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Porch Portraits with the Schiff Family

I had so much fun capturing some porch portraits, or what we call “porchaits”, for the Schiff Family on Kiawah Island this morning!

Every year the Schiffs schedule this special photo shoot exclusively for the grandparents and their grand-kids. Parents can help prep the young ones, but aren’t allowed in the photos…HA! 🙂 This year because of the resurgence of corona-virus, we elected to do the photos on the porch and pool deck of their rental home instead of at the beach. It was a gorgeous setting. And the kids did great!  I can’t believe how much they’ve grown since last year.

Thank you so much to Debbie & Russell for their kindness and continued patronage! We appreciate you more than you know!!!

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