I first got to know Dr. Lori Donovan when I photographed her wedding seven years ago. Hard to believe it’s been that long…she’s just as beautiful as the day she wore her wedding gown! Now Lori, with the help of her super sweet Mom, Maxine, and indeed the whole family, has become an instant success in the field of eye care. After out-growing their original building in just a few short years, I got to do a photo shoot for them to showcase their brand new state-of-the-art facility! Check them out at www.bellehalleyecare.com.
Last weekend Tricia & Mike tied the knot at Summerall Chapel on The Citadel! Their reception followed at the Carolina Yacht Club in downtown Charleston.
Tricia is a 1st Grade teacher…and we all know I have a big heart for teachers since my parents were educational missionaries and still teach even now that they are retired! Mike traveled a lot since his Dad was a contractor for the Army… Guam, Puerto Rico, and all over the US. So we had a lot in common too. But what really struck me about these two is just how much IN LOVE they are! J I could tell they were close during their engagement session. But even on their wedding day, with all the secret letters and gifts going back and forth…Tricia & Mike are soul mates indeed! I love the story of how Mike proposed. After picking out her ring all on his own, he planned a really amazing proposal at Waterfront Park as they watched their first sunrise together, then arranged to meet ALL their family and friends that he had secretly invited to join them for breakfast afterwards. Isn’t that cool?!?
Although I primarily showcase our wedding/portrait work on here, we photograph a wide variety of subjects and genres. So I thought I’d write a post about a fun shoot I did for healer Ayal Hurst the other day. She’s a long-time client of ours and so full of positive energy. It’s always a pleasure working with her. Plus she’s a fellow artist, designing and creating beautiful jewelry and truly unique paintings with depth and dimension like you’ve never seen before! Her and her husband also run a very peaceful Bed No Breakfast downtown.
When photographing Products and art, it’s important to use feathering techniques to prevent hotspots. Feathering the light means not pointing it directly at your subject, but aiming it such that just the softer “edge” of the light source illuminates the product. Here I used a soft-box with 2 SB-800 strobes coming in from the right. Feathering gave me “almost” even illumination across the camera plane. But I added an umbrella with a single SB-800 from the left to fill in and further even out the exposure. All strobes were triggered by an SB-900 Commander on my D3, pointed backwards AWAY from the painting so as not to create any glare, and controlled via RadioPoppers.
I’ve been getting such WONDERFUL feedback from the Wireless Lighting Workshops I’ve been teaching. THANK YOU to everyone that has participated and made it such a success. I’ll be teaching my “Light Bending 411” course again on November 6th! I’ve been asked by The Aroostook F-Stops, an extremely active photography club in northern Maine, to come do a full-day program for them. The club’s fearless leader, Tom, has been so organized and fun to work with. His wife is a fellow alumni from The American School of Kinshasa (TASOK)…so we’ll have lots of catching up to do! Since Cami spent several summers in Maine and has many fond memories from this beautiful part of the country, we’ll be going up early and taking some much anticipated R&R. We’ll fly into Portland and wind our way up to Aroostook, hiking and sightseeing in places like Acadia National Park, and staying in quaint B&B’s along the way. I’m truly excited and look forward to sharing my enthusiasm with these wonderfully talented photographers in Maine!!!
I met Holly while shooting assignments for her at the Charleston Regional Business Journal. We’ve been friends ever since and I’ve had the pleasure of photographing her and Clint’s family for several years. Originally it was just their 4-legged kids, now they have a beautiful 2-legged one too. J We met at the historic Boone Hall Plantation just down the road from their house. The early morning light was just perfect and we had a great time roaming the grounds and stopping for different shots. At one point, when I had everyone set, including 2-dogs and a 1-year old girl, this huge (think grayhound) bus slowly wanders down the famous Avenue of Oaks that was my backdrop…and proceeded to stop right behind us to let it’s FULL contents of elderly tourists out behind us!!! How inconsiderate was that? They could have just as easily pulled up 15 feet closer to the mansion and been out of our shot! But that’s the fun of working in a public environment. We rolled with the punches, moved on to a new spot, and came back to that one after everyone had dispersed.
Tamarae & David finally tied the knot last weekend after about 6 years together. They met freshman year at George Mason, where Tamarae may or may not have stalked David until he made her his girlfriend. J She is such a bubbly, fun-loving extrovert, has a flare for the dramatic, and enjoys drama and art. While he is quiet and reserved…that is until you get to REALLY know him. He sings, writes music, and plays in a band. In fact, he recorded and sang the song they did their first dance to. They complement each other so well. Which made their wedding day a true joy for me to be a part of!
The wedding was held at the gorgeous Fort Johnson Baptist Church. Afterwards we went downtown for a fun photo shoot, where they were picked up by Palmetto Carriage for a quiet ride to the historic Francis Marion Hotel for their reception. I got to work with some of my favorite vendors, including Jeff Bradt Video, Cakes by Kasarda, Jay Maxwell’s Music by Request, the Mike Wolk Jazz Group, Seithel’s Florist, and of course the fabulous Caroline Bean from the Francis Marion. Tamarae’s dress came from Blush, the bridesmaids dresses were from the amazing LulaKate, and the gentleman were outfitted at Berlin’s Tuxedos. Everything went as smooth as could be. After watching the fun Music Video at www.chrisandcami.com/blog, head over to www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com to see the rest of their photos.
Tamarae & David, it was such an honor and a pleasure being part of your special day!!!
Tasha & Joe took a little R&R last week and rented a place on Folly Beach. They’re expecting TWINS! J So to celebrate, their growing family, they brought their “other” family member, Titan, out for a fun Family Portrait Session on the beach.
Yesterday Cami & I did a fun “Dual Photo Shoot” with our good friends Robbin & Leighanne of Robbin Knight Photography! We went out to Folly Beach where we took turns photographing each other for our respective Christmas Card photos. First Robbin & Leighanne would set Cami & I up with our golden retriever, Marley, and photograph us. Then we’d do the same for their family. It was a BLAST and we had a lot of fun trading who was shooting, who was watching “the kids”, and who was playing with the squeaky toy. Afterwards we took the dogs, the kids, and our tired selves to a dog-friendly restaurant on the island and had a great time relaxing on the patio with the cool evening breeze and wonderful conversation. Here’s a couple of my favorites of the Knight gang. You’ll have to wait until Christmas to see ours!!! J
It was a peaceful, sunny drive to Pawley’s Island last weekend to photograph Jessie & Phil’s wedding. I first met Jessie & Phil at Julie & Howie’s wedding last year where they were guests. We hit it off right away partly because Jessie is the owner of Pawley Paws Grooming & Supplies and loves animals as much as Cami & I do.
They met each other through Howie and mutual friends. After dating for a while, Jessie took Phil with her on an annual trip to visit her friends in New Jersey. They all knew she was serious about him when she did that. But they had no idea Phil had plans of his own…he asked her to marry him that weekend! J As they say, the rest is history. The amazing pair were married at the picturesque Precious Blood of Christ Catholic Church. And their reception was held at the gorgeous DeBordieu Colony Beach Club. Blossoms Events provided the beautiful bouquets and floral arrangements. Incredible Edibles created a fabulous wedding cake. Cape Fear Photo Booth company brought lots of fun entertainment. And the Triple Lindy Band, one of my favorite for sure, filled the air with foot-stompin’ tunes all night long! After watching their Music Video at www.chrisandcami.com/blog, head over to www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com to see the rest of their Online Gallery.
CONGRATULATIONS Jessie & Phil! You guys inspire me to be a better person and a better husband. YOU ROCK!
Monday I had a really neat opportunity to use my Creative Lighting System. The amazing folks at TranSystems, who I’d done a similar shoot for at Shaw AFB, called to ask if I’d be willing to drive to Moody AFB in Valdosta, GA for this one. Turns out they are up for an incredible award due to the efficiency and “green” design of this new dorm building. I was honored and jumped at the opportunity. I photographed all day, doing lots of Interior/Architectural images in and around the property. But of course the “money shot” was going to be at dusk. This was the last frame of the night. I had a total of 8 – SB800/SB900 flashes blazing. Each had a ½ CTO filter on it. Most were triggered by my trusty RadioPoppers (though the closer ones just used regular old line-of-sight CLS). I shot this about 20 minutes after sunset with a Nikon D3 and 14-24 f2.8 at 14mm. By the time I’d packed up and headed home, it was a very long but rewarding day!
Yesterday I had the pleasant surprise of a wonderful phone call from Mihaela, who’s wedding to Vicintiu I photographed in Romania back in July. She was in the US visiting friends and family. I was so honored that she would take the time to reach out and thank me again for being a part of their wedding! What a sweetheart!!!
So I thought I’d post a few photos from their gorgeous day. I have to say, this was by far the most surreal wedding I have ever had the privilege of photographing! It was on a beautiful, pristine, mountainside near Campulung. A light afternoon shower had cleansed the landscape and brought a crisp freshness to the air. A dreamy mist was rising from the valley below. And we weren’t alone…wild horses had also discovered the picturesque meadow we were in. They pranced and played in the background throughout the service. Then just as magically as they appeared…wandered off to an adjoining hill side just before we left. It was one of those serendipitous experiences I’ll never forget for as long as I live.
Congratulations again to “Miha & Vic”. Always remember the magic moments of your life!!!
I always enjoy organizing the monthly get-togethers for the Charleston Photographers Lunch Group. For September, we met at Iacofonos Deli in Mt. Pleasant. This is also where JLI Catering is located. The beautiful Meredith from JLI Catering brought out several AMAZING appetizers for everyone to sample. I highly recommend checking them out to cater your next event! My new friend and fellow photographer, Bob Mule, took this image of one of the tables. We had a great time!!!
