Fulcrum Staffing

“Helping you hire the best talent so you can get the most leverage possible for your business.” – www.fulcrumstaffing.com
Founded in 2008 by Charleston native, and Clemson graduate, Jamiel Kadri, Fulcrum Staffing specializes in accounting and finance recruiting. The firm has built it’s reputation on a foundation of professionalism, honesty, and integrity.
It was a pleasure working with Jamiel and his awesome team to capture some new headshots and marketing photos. Many thanks to Sarah for helping coordinate everyone’s schedules, and to Kim for the kind referral!

Aiken Eye Care

Ever since I photographed her wedding many years ago, it’s been such a pleasure having Dr. Lori in our lives!

Not only did we photograph her wedding, we’ve photographed family portraits for her family, and marketing photos for her practice at Belle Hall Eye Care. She’s such a great person, and so knowledgeable about her profession, that soon we were also clients of HERS!!! Being that my eyes are an integral part of what I do, I don’t trust my eye care to just anyone!

So when she decided to move to Aiken, Cami and I were delighted when she asked if we’d travel to photograph marketing photos for her new practice! And we were even more delighted when she agreed to continue as our eye doctor!!!  If you’re anywhere near Aiken, check her out at www.aikeneyecare.com.

We had so much fun catching up with Dr. Lori, photographing images for her website, and marketing material, plus of course getting a “clean bill of health” on our eyes. 🙂

Speedlight Magic

Last week I found myself on an assignment in the dark recesses of a 911 call center. Given extremely limited time to work with, I channeled my inner Joe McNally, placed a single SB5000 with a blue gel on it in the background, and hid a single SB5000 with a CTO gel behind the bank of monitors. Click…click…click…and I was escorted back out so as not to distract them any further from their high-stress jobs!

(Before and after with Nikon Z9, 24-70 f2.8 S, ISO 1600, f2.8, 1/40s, WR-R11 transmitter, 2x SB5000 flashes)

Dorchester County Marketing Photos

I always enjoy getting out and meeting people. It’s one of the best parts about my job!!!
 
Last week I had an assignment to photograph a variety of faces and different departs for the Dorchester County Government. Michelle was so organized, and so fun to work with! We traveled all over the county, getting to know interesting individuals, and creating a variety of images for their newsletter, website, social media outlets, and marketing material. Plus I got to have a glimpse behind the scenes of some unique places like the 911 dispatch center! It was SO COOL!!!
 
(Nikon Z9, 14-30 f4 S, 24-70 f2.8 S, SB-5000 Speedlights, DJI Mavic 2 Pro Drone)

WARNING: Not for Sensetive Viewers

After capturing a beautiful proposal at White Point Gardens, I had a few extra minutes. So I decided to stay and photograph the famous Black-crowned Night Herons. I wish I hadn’t!!!
 
During each hot and humid Charleston summer, the live oaks in White Point Gardens (also known as Battery Park) become the nesting grounds for Black-crowned Night Herons. Seemingly unafraid of the public, they start acting like they own the place, making them easy to approach and photograph. Even though the park is said to be haunted, the night herons don’t seem to mind. In fact they nest in the very trees that the pirate Stede Bonnet and his men were hanged from!
 
In all my years photographing wildlife, I’ve only ever witnessed one other occasion so brutal and violent. While I was wandering around, a major disturbance began unfolding overhead. A mother decided to reject one of her chicks. Ejecting it out of the nest, pecking it to near death in the branches, and then pushing it out of the tree…the poor chick plunging to certain death below. The mother then returned to tend to it’s other chicks as if nothing had happened.
 
Why do birds reject babies? The main reason is to enhance the survival probability of her other chicks. It’s believed that the mother senses something is wrong in the development of that chick. Or they realize they don’t have the resources to raise all of their young successfully. Eliminating one mouth to feed is their only solution.
 
Knowing this doesn’t make it any easier to witness such a seemingly violent act. But such are the laws of nature! Fortunately, I was able to ease the conflict in my soul by photographing a few other herons peacefully preening as the sun began to fade.
 
(Nikon Z9 + FTZII + 500mm PF)

Tres Surprises Keri with a Secret Proposal

I owe a HUGE “Thank You” to Tres’ mom, who called to vet photographers in Charleston for her son, and decided we were worthy of this special event!

Tres and Keri met online and have been inseparable since. Tres has known for a while that Keri was “the one”. In fact, he’s had her engagement ring since August!!! He wanted to wait for the right moment, and to make sure Keri had a very special proposal. I would say he pulled that off in spades!

Tres is from Alabama. But he and Keri now live in Charlotte. This weekend, they planned a fun “get-away” for a few days in Port Royal, with a side-trip to historic Charleston. It’s been so much fun working with Tres the last couple months, secretly scheming about how to make his proposal absolutely perfect!

Arriving at White Point Garden early, I scouted our location under the avenue of oak trees, and placed two branches in an “X” formation so Tres knew the right spot. I took my position on the curb, hid my cameras under a towel, and pretended to be a tourist reading a map. Arriving right on cue, Tres led Keri to the beautiful location he had picked, dropped to his knee underneath the gorgeous cathedral of oaks, and asked Keri to be his wife!!! 🙂

Getting to know Tres & Keri afterwards, as we walked around historic downtown, was so much fun! We captured a ton of fun engagement photos for them. These were “authentic” engagement photos because they weren’t staged months later, but actually took place moments after she said YES!!!

Eventually it was time for this amazing couple to head off to the next part of Tres’ surprise…a fantastic dinner cruise around Charleston Harbor.

Please help me in saying CONGRATULATIONS to Tres & Keri!!! We wish you all the best as you begin this new journey together…

Glenda & Larry’s Wedding at Taylor Ranch

Love is patient. Love is kind. Love always perseveres!

What an HONOR it was for Cami and I to photograph Glenda & Larry’s beautiful wedding! Glenda & Cami have been friends for close to 20 years. When Glenda moved away from Charleston for her new job, she had no idea what was in store for her! One day as she arrived for services at Biltmore Church, she met an amazing man named Larry. They soon fell in love. Larry proposed to Glenda in front of all their friends one morning during their small-group gathering before church!

Their wedding was held at Taylor Ranch in Fletcher, NC. It was a picture-perfect day with mild temperatures, and clear blue skies. Glenda was absolutely stunning in her elegant wedding gown, complete with adorable lace-toped tennis shoes. Larry was quite dashing in his embroidered guayaberas Sunday shirt with tan blazer. Led by their good friend Kelvin, the ceremony was heartfelt and spirit-led. A casual reception in the open-air pavilion, overlooking the lake, was the perfect place for everyone to relax and celebrate with the newlyweds!

CONGRATULATIONS Glenda & Larry!!! We wish you all the best as you begin your new journey together…

Powell Family on Kiawah Island

I think it’s simply fantastic when extended families, who now live in different parts of the country, travel long distances to spend time catching up with one another. When Courtney called to say they were celebrating their mother’s birthday with a trip to Kiawah Island and wanted to schedule a family session for her, I was delighted to be a part of it! 🙂
Meeting up with The Powells at The Sanctuary last evening, we had so much fun capturing tons of fun images together!!!
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Dorchester County Headshots

Michelle at Dorchester County has been an absolute pleasure to work with the last couple of weeks.

We’ve been photographing lots of department photos, team group shots, and various properties around the county for use in their marketing and promotional material. Yesterday we photographed headshots for a number of key staff members, as well as group shots of their board of directors.

Wanting the photos to have a cheerful “outdoorsy” feel, we elected to set up at The Pavilion inside the new Ashley River Park. It’s a GEORGEOUS park with tons to offer. And The Pavilion is definitely an architectural highlight! Everyone was so much fun to work with and we had a great time!

(Nikon D5, Sony XQD Cards, Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 VRII, 3 Speedlights in a Westcott Apollo 50″ softbox for main light, 1 bare bulb Speedlight as a kicker, Manfrotto tripod and stands, BoaBags to hold everything in place during wind gusts.)

Mande Calhoun Art

It was an absolute pleasure working with Mande of Mande Calhoun Art, to create a new series of images for her social media marketing and promotional material. She’s an incredibly talented landscape artist with a very unique style! I highly recommend checking her out at www.mandecalhounart.com.

Glenda & Larry’s Rehearsal Dinner

Glenda & Larry’s private room at The Season’s, located at The Highland Lake Inn & Resort, was filled with gales of laughter, tears of joy, stories of love, and sentiments of lives filled with blessings.

We were celebrating Glenda & Larry’s Rehearsal Dinner Party! Friends and family were gathered together to fellowship, and to bless the lives of this amazing couple as they prepared for their wedding day. A short rehearsal was followed by a delicious meal, then a time of sharing and showering Larry & Glenda with stories that exemplified their undying love, kindness, and faithfulness.

The evening closed with a GORGEOUS sunset as we all parted ways with great anticipation for the special day ahead!

Boone Hall Plantation

I had the privilege of being at Boone Hall Plantation after hours this weekend. It was neat to basically have the place to myself…so peaceful and beauituful without all the tourists running around. 🙂

(Nikon Z9 + Nikkor 24-120 f4 S)