Mackenzie & Ashley’s Surprise Proposal

It was almost a month ago when Ashley called to see if I would secretly photograph his Surprise Proposal. He and I have had so much fun making plans and preparing for this special day!

Ashley and Mackenzie have been together for several years now. They have fallen head-over-heals in love. And he couldn’t wait to ask for her hand in marriage!!!

Arriving in town after a short drive from their home outside Atlanta, Ashley brought Mackenzie for a short walk to White Point Garden before dinner. Spotting them coming down Meeting Street, I quickly hid in my spot and waited…heart pounding inside! Ashley expertly manuvered Mackenzie to the exact spot we had picked out, and dropped to bended knee, asking Mackenzie to be his wife. It was such a beautiful moment!!!

Afterwards, we had a really fun AUTHENTIC Engagement Session, while we explored the beautiful historic downtown area.Ā  Then Ashley and Mackenzie headed off to a celebratory dinner at Circa 1886.

CONGRATULATIONS Mackenzie & Ashley! Cami and I wish you all the best for a beautiful new journey together. šŸ™‚

Abby’s Model Portfolio

The daughter of a friend of ours, Abby was in town to model for Charleston Fashion Week. During some down time, we photographed a portfolio session for her at the old abandoned Naval Hospital.Ā  It also gave me a chance to really test the limits of the astounding new Nikon D850!

The Charleston Naval Hospital Historic District is nationally significant as an example of the United States effort to mobilize medical support for the Navy during World Wars I and II. Now neglected and in dis-repair, it once exemplifies the Navy’s ability to create a permanent and professional medical service for Navy personnel and their dependents.Ā  The complex is an intact collection of thirty-two buildings located in the northwest corner of the former Charleston Navy Base.

Abby was so much fun to work with!Ā  She is a beautiful young lady, both inside and out!Ā  And she has a very unique look.Ā  I can see why she’s so popular on the runway!!!Ā  We had a great time exploring the area, and coming up with some killer images for her to add to her portfolio.

Hayes Family at Hampton Park

One of my favorite parts about being a photographer for so many years, is watching families grow!

I’ve known the Hayes family for many many years! I first met Connie and Richard at High-Purity Standards. At the time, their son and daughter, Scott and Megan, were in college. When Megan met Craig, I was truly honored when they asked me to photograph their wedding! When Hudson was born, it was a pleasure to meet him and photograph a NEW family portrait. This weekend, I finally got to update that portrait with the addition of their beautiful little girl, Henley!

It’s such a special feeling when my favorite friends stay in touch over the years, and allow me into their lives to capture these beautiful milestones!!!

Beetlejuice Fashion Shoot

Reid is one of my FAVORITE “creative collaborators” in Charleston!!!Ā  She is so artistic and has such a great sense of humor!

One day while out exploring on my motorcycle, I found this amazing old church ruins with a decaying piano in the middle of the sanctuary. I pitched the idea of a fun fashion shoot to Reid. She loved it!Ā  Wrangling her three beautiful daughters, Sydney, Jackie, and Trinity to model for us, the game was on. They brought their beautiful pet boa constrictors, great props like the vase of old dead roses, and some outlandish outfits from places like Goodwill and who-knows-where!

We had an absolute BLAST and came away with a fun collection of images. Many thanks to Reid and our three gorgeous models!!!

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!!!