Geocent

Geocent is an award winning business, providing technology and engineering solutions that help their clients improve their performance and achieve their goals. Since 1992,ā€‹ through experience, innovation, commitment, and reliability, they have steadily earned their clientsā€™ trust. Each member of the Geocent team strives to be an invaluable part of their clientā€™s organizations, advancing them beyond their expectations!

This morning it was my priviledge to photograph three core members of the Charleston team. Using a natural lifestyle aproach to their images, we created a number of headshots and executive portraits to be used in various marketing, social media, and promotional material. Each individual was a pleasure to work with, and their personalities really shone through!

THANK YOU Valerie, Hal, and Andie for your positive energy and friendly hospitality!!!

Tim Waters for SCCLF

Earlier this week I had the distinct honor of photographing visionary (and a persistent one at that I might ad) Tim Waters at the future site of his healthy food retail store. I was truly blessed to spend time with this humble hero!

Check out the excellent article at http://sccommunityloanfund.org/blog/2017/10/25/loan-closing-elijah-craig/. Here are a few excerpts to give you some context:

The North Dargan Street and Darlington Street corridor, a neighborhood in Florence, SC, is deemed ā€œblightedā€ by city officials. It is also located in a food desert, meaning residents lack access to fresh and nutritious foods. Tim Waters, owner of Elijah Craig, LLC and a lifelong resident of the neighborhood, wanted to help his community by bringing a full-service grocery store to the area. However, Tim struggled to secure financing and lacked the specialized experience grocery store operators need to secure a franchise deal.

The Elijah Craig, LLC Save-A-Lot will initially create 20 new jobs for community members, 12 of which will be full time and the number of employees will increase to 30 as the store grows. Families in the North Dargan Street community will finally have the ability to purchase fresh, healthy food in their neighborhood. Further, a neighborhood currently defined by the city as blighted will have a revitalization effort led in part by a lifelong resident with a vision of community change. ā€œI see the store as building up the community in a healthy way,ā€ says Tim. ā€œI want it to be a beacon for healthy change.ā€

Many thanks to the SC Community Loan Fund for this amazing opportunity!

Peteā€™s Mobile Auto and Truck Repairs

I had the honor of photographing Pet’s Mobile Auto and Truck Repairs as part of a project for the SC Community Loan Fund. Their story will be featured in the SCCLF Annual Report.

“An older repair shop in Columbiaā€™s Percival Road community has remained an eyesore to residents after falling into disrepair and shuttering its doors over a year ago. The closing of this facility left the community without a full-service automotive repair shop. Meanwhile, Peteā€™s Auto & Truck Repairs, LLC, a South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) was leasing a building in the Columbia area but the owners had a dream of purchasing their own shop. Once Peteā€™s owners Melvin & Sandra Wells discovered the Percival Road site, they sought to leverage Mr. Wellsā€™ 40 years of experience in the automotive repair industry to attract the financing to purchase and renovate the shop.”

Congratulations to Sandra, Melvin, and their boys, who plan to one day carry on their father’s legacy as they continue to run the family business.

Zaw Family at Hampton Park

The Zaw Family has been in Charleston for 15 years. But they are originally from Myanmar (Burma). In the next few months, they will be traveling back to their home country to introduce Bennett to the rest of their extended family. Before they left, they wanted to capture some fun family portraits in their NEW home of Charleston!Ā  How cool is that?Ā  I had so much fun working with Bennett.Ā  He is still in his oh-so-adorable age! Is he not the CUTEST KID EVER?!?Ā  šŸ™‚Ā  It was an honor and a pleasure to meet his parents, his grandmother, and his three amazing uncles!

Katie & Tom’s Secret Proposal at White Point Gardens

Under adverse conditions, with dreary weather, LOVE PERSEVERED!!!

It was such a pleasure to photograph Tom’s Secret Proposal to his beautiful girlfriend, Katie. The two of them have been inseparable for 4 years now, having met each other for the for the first time under a Christmas Tree.Ā  At least that’s the story, and they’re sticking to it!Ā  šŸ˜‰Ā  They currently live and work in Washington D.C., where they raise the most adorable warm and fuzzy rabbits!

Tom initially connected with me about a month ago. We had so much fun covertly planning every detail of the moment when he would ask Katie to be his wife. When the Big Day finally arrived, and the weather moved in, I think I was JUST as nervous as he was!!!Ā  We went back and forth by text, and came up with a “Plan B”.

By the time our meeting point had arrived, the showers eased up, the gazebo emptied out, and everything came together perfectly. KATIE SAID YES!!! šŸ™‚

Congratulations to Katie & Tom. May your new life together be full and free!!!

Turner Family in Australia

Cami and I have had so much fun hanging out with the Turner Family in Australia!!!

Cami and Kylie became instant life-long friends when they met at a CISV exchange program in their formative years. They stayed in touch, visiting each other whenever they could, even though they lived half-way around the world. Cami came back to stay with Kylie’s family in Australia over Christmas break one year. Kylie came to stay with Cami’s family in Ohio for a semester of high-school another year. And Kylie even came back to the US to be the maid of honor in our wedding!

It’s been some 25 years! But we finally made it to Australia so Cami and Kylie could be reunited, and so I could meet Kylie’s family. šŸ™‚

While we were together, I took the opportunity to photograph some fun family portraits! Kylie’s daughter, Hayley, is an absolutely GORGEOUS young lady, both inside and out. As she said during the family shoot “we know who the REAL talent is in this family”…HA! It was a funny moment, but so very true. Hayley took to the camera like the superstar that she is!

Cami and I had a BLAST in Australia and can’t wait to come back for more!!!

Lucy’s Newborn Photos

Having photographed her older sister’s newborn session a couple years ago, it was a distinct honor to be able to finally meet little Lucy, and photograph HER newborn portraits this week! šŸ™‚ CONGRATULATIONS Claire & Doug. She is absolutely beautiful!!!

Hadden Family at Washington Square Park

Check out the AMAZING time I had with the Hadden’s last weekend!!! šŸ™‚

It’s been my honor to photograph this beautiful family since capturing Lisa & Clay’s gorgeous wedding celebration at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church several years ago. For this session, we decided to start out in front of St. Michael’s with its beautiful black iron gates and those old red brick walls.Ā  The circle is complete!

We then headed over to historic Washington Square Park for the natural greenery and the amazing late-afternoon light that comes flooding through that eccentric park in the heart of downtown.

For the grand finale, we couldn’t pass up the longest cobblestone street in Charleston! Chalmers Street provided a charming backdrop for some fun moments and fond memories.

CONGRATULATIONS Lisa & Clay! Your growing family gets even more precious every time I see them!!! šŸ™‚

Boucher Family at Charlestowne Landing

I got to spend Saturday morning with one of my all-time-favorite wedding couples!

That’s right, just a few short years since Catie & Justin’s AMAZING Boone Hall Plantation wedding, I got to meet the newest addition to their family! We met up at the historic Charlestowne Landing, on a beautiful fall day. This is the same historic location where Catie had her beautiful Bridal Shoot. So it was fitting that this would be the same picturesque setting for Savvy’s 6-month old session!Ā  šŸ™‚

Savvy is an absolutely ADORABLE 6-month old girl.Ā  She’s a bouncing, bubbling, bundle of joy.Ā  With her mom’s beautiful blue eyes, and her dad’s funny sense of humor, she’s just a delight to be around!

CONGRATULATIONS Catie & Justin! You guys are going to be the BEST parents ever!!!

Amelia’s Senior Portraits

We’ve been best friends with Byron & Kathleen for a looong time. We don’t want to date ourselves, but we’ve known them since the BAE…”Before Amelia Era”!!! šŸ˜‰

As you can imagine, it’s been a real joy of ours to watch Amelia grow from adorable baby, to cute little girl, and now into the beautiful young lady she’s become! We couldn’t be more proud of the amazing, kind, and giving human being she’s grown into!!!

For something fun and different, Byron, Kathleen, and Amelia joined us for a weekend get-away in Maggie Valley to photograph Amelia’s Senior Portraits. True to the White/Smith tradition, IT RAINED! You see, the number of camping trips and expeditions we’ve been on together, it’s astounding how often it rains. It was only fitting that it rain on this one too. But we don’t think of it as a curse. We think of it as an adventure!

And so, with an ADVENTURE in mind, we forged ahead with our plans to meet in picturesque Cataloochee Valley to photograph Amelia. As a bonus, we got to see a herd of elk grazing in one of the fields. But the real thrill was hanging out with this wonderful family, and capturing beautiful images of their amazing daughter!!!

Thanks for another great expedition, Byron, Kathleen, and Amelia. We can’t wait to see what great things God has in store for you, Amelia! We are so proud of you.

Rogers Family at Hampton Park

It’s been 5 years since I last had the honor of photographing the Rogers Family. My oh my have Lucas & Tessa grown!!!

We met up for a fun family session at Hampton Park. It was a beautiful afternoon with gorgeous light and perfect temperatures. We had SO MUCH FUN!!!

I’m thrilled to be able to share some of my favorite shots from my time this adorable family. šŸ™‚