Brickyard Plantation for Seamon Whiteside

I learned a lot while photographing Brickyard Plantation for Seamon Whiteside this week. I had no idea there was so much history in this Mt. Pleasant neighborhood!

“Brickyard Plantation is a portion of the vast Boone Hall Plantation. The soils that cover much of the tract contain dense red clay and sand making it suitable for brick production. In 1817, a plantation with a Brick Yard established thereon called Boon Hall was purchased by John and Henry Horlbeck. The brothers were partners in the construction industry having built several notable structures in Charleston such as the St John’s Lutheran Church and St. Stephen’s Chapel. The Horlbecks developed the brick yard into a major enterprise. From 1850 to 1860, twenty five million bricks were produced at a profit of $170,000. The brick yard operated throughout the nineteenth century and was later known as the Horlbeck Brick and Tile Company. The facility consisted of several kilns, workshops, drying areas, a brick lined cistern, a commissary, and a steam boiler.”

Only one of the boiler’s brick chimneys is left standing today. It’s the only one of its kind in the area, and is beautifully preserved in the back of the neighborhood.

DJI Mavic 2 Pro
Nikon D850 + Nikkor 24-70 f2.8
Nikon D5 + Nikkor 70-200 f2.8

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Lowcountry Endoscopy Center for SMHa

Last week I had the pleasure of photographing the new Lowcountry Endoscopy Center in Goose Creek. The assignment was for SMHa Architects. They truly do an AMAZING job and take great care with every detail!!!

DJI Mavic 2 Pro
Nikon D850 + Nikkor 14-24 f2.8
Nikon D5 + Nikkor 70-200 f2.8

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DJI Mavic 2 Pro

After many years with the DJI Mavic Pro, lately I’ve been working with the new Mavic 2 Pro.

I’ve been extremely impressed with this model. The 20MP camera shows far more detail than the previous 12MP camera. And the larger sensor creates much cleaner images with lower noise. I particularly like that the new camera shoots in a 2:3 aspect ratio, as opposed to the 4:3 ratio of the original drone. This ratio matches my Nikon DSLR images and fits my shooting style better.

However, the new camera can’t flip into portrait orientation, which I miss. The older model could do this, allowing me to photograph 6 or 7 vertical images to easily merge into a high resolution panoramic photo. I can still shoot multiple images to creat panoarmics, however I have to shoot 9 horizontal images to accomplish the same task. I do like that the control sticks are now removable and store inside the unit for easy transportation, which is a thoughtful touch.

Overall, I’m very pleased with the upgrade and highly recommend the new Mavic 2 Pro! I used it on this assignment for an engineering client that was instrumental in the development of the Hamlin Plantation neighborhood.

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Beavers Family at The Biltmore

About 6 or 7 years ago I had several delightful beach photo sessions with The Beavers Family during their vacations to Charleston.

Even though it’s been a few years, I was ecstatic when I saw Christi’s email asking if I was available to photograph their family again this year. Knowing how much fun they were, I jumped at the chance. The icing on the cake was, they wanted to do it at a gorgeous location in Asheville! How cool is that?!?

Their family had season passes and arrived early to tour the mansion, which had recently been decorated for the holidays. After their tour, I met up with them at Guest Services, where we began exploring the grounds together. It was so cool to see how grown up Christi’s kids had gotten. Plus it was a pleasure meeting her sister, Tammi, who brought her adorable daughter. To round out the ensemble, the grandparents joined in as well!

We had an absolute BLAST, and came away with a huge variety of wonderful images to commemorate this time in their lives! THANK YOU, Christi for all your hard work coordinating this amazing experience!!!

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Holmes Family at Timbers Kiawah

It’s been a whole year since I saw the Holmes Family. I’m always AMAZED at how fast kids grow up!!!  🙂

It was so much fun catching up with them at their home-away-from home. The Timbers on Kiawah Island is an absolutely breathtaking location. It has so many great backdrops and photo opportunities. Plus when you add three adorable kids, two proud parents, and two doting grandparents…it’s a recipe for beautiful family portraits!!!

Join me in wishing this wonderful family a Happy Thanksgiving as they spend this special time together…

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Benton Family Christmas Photos

I love the holidays!!! This time of year is all about family, fun, and togetherness!

When Brittany, my beautiful friend and AMAZING model, asked if I could photograph her family Christmas photos this year, I jumped at the chance! Brittany is super creative and always comes up with such amazing photo ideas. Plus she has a delightful family that is so much fun to be around!

We had a BLAST working together at Hampton Park to capture this special time in their lives. 🙂

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Kelsey and Alex are Engaged!!!

I’ve had so much fun over the last few weeks getting to know Alex via emails and phone calls.

We were working out the final plans for his surprise proposal at The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island to his beautiful girlfriend, Kelsey. I loved how every detail was so important to him. He truly wanted this to be a special moment for Kelsey.

The funny thing is, that truly magical and spontaneous moment hit him when he and Kelsey were putting up Christmas decorations in their new house. With holiday music in the background, fond childhood memories flowing through their heads, a that feeling of being “in the moment” surrounding them…he knew the timing was right! So just a few days before their trip to Kiawah, Alex asked Kelsey to be his bride…and she said “YES”!!! 🙂

The best part was, they still wanted to have their engagement photos with me on the beautiful sandy beach in front of The Ocean Course, just like Alex had originally planned. So it worked out PERFECTLY! We had so much fun together, and came away with some beautiful memories of this special time in their lives.  They are such an amazing couple!!!

Help me in saying CONGRATULATIONS to Alex & Kelsey…

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Alex’ Secret Proposal to Bumi at The Ocean Course

I have a confession to make! Alex and I have been secretly going behind his girlfriend’s back to plan his surprise proposal at The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island. 🙂

Alex loves tennis. And he’s really good at it! He plays in some amazing USTA open tournaments around the country. When he found out he’d be playing in one on Kiawah Island this weekend, he asked his girlfriend to come with him and make a fun vacation out of it. In fact, he thought it would be the perfect place to ask Bumi to marry him!!!

I was absolutely delighted that he called me to ask if I would do the honors of photographing this special occasion for them. It was an absolutely GORGEOUS fall day. Alex and Bumi couldn’t have been more amazing to work with. And getting to know them during our time together, I can tell they are absolutely PERFECT for each other!!!

CONGRATULATIONS Alex & Bumi! We wish you all the happiness in the world as you begin your new journey together…

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Jeremy & Kyle’s Folly Beach Wedding

We’ve known Kyle from back when we were neighbors down the street from his amazing parents, Cathy & Gary. Some of our fondest memories include dinners out with their family, handing out candy together on Halloween, and sitting on their porch late into the evening on lazy summer days.  We are honored to call Cathy & Gary our friends!

When Kyle told us he and Jeremy had gotten engaged, we were SO EXCITED for them! Their relationship has blossomed and matured over the last few years. They are such a great couple. And we love seeing how incredibly happy they are together! 🙂

Although their big wedding plans got curtailed due to the pandemic, they just couldn’t wait to get married! They are saving the “BIG PARTY” for next year when things get back to normal. But last weekend they shifted their ceremony to an intimate beach-house venue on Folly Beach. While their closest family and friends gathered around them in love and support, they exchanged their vows on a gorgeous fall afternoon. With bare feet and bow-ties, touching hand-written vows, tears of joy, and the Atlantic ocean as the backdrop, it truly was a beautiful ceremony!!!

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

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Headshots for Weeks & Irvine Law Firm

I’ve really enjoyed working with Weeks & Irvine Law Firm over the last few years. They are a great group of people who truly go out of their way to help their clients!

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of photographing updated head-shots for the newest members of their growing team.

You would never guess it, but we photographed these in a room they have set aside at their office as a “children’s play room” for when the adults need to talk. Yup, we were surrounded by squeaky toys, bean bags, and choo choo trains!!! 😉

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Seamon Whiteside – Greenville Office

Following up on my earlier shoots for Seamon Whiteside at the Mt. Pleasant, Summerville, and Charlotte offices, this week I had the pleasure of photographing new headshots for the Greenville office!

I had so much fun meeting and photographing everyone. Even Haley’s dog, Roper, jumped in a few! How can you NOT photograph a sweet face like that, right?!? 🙂  There are so many cool backgrounds and scenes to choose from around the Greenville office.  Here are just a few of my favorites from the day.

Many thanks to Haley, Lia, and the rest of the team for organizing everything!

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Wildlife Workshop at Center for Birds of Prey

I had the pleasure of leading another fun workshop at The Center for Birds of Prey last weekend! 🙂 Many thanks to Mandy Feavel for all her hard work putting it together. And what a treat to work with the amazing educators, Jessie Curry and Natalie Hendrickson, again!!!

https://www.thecenterforbirdsofprey.org/visit/special_events/instructor-led-photography-workshop/

“Join expert photographer, Chris Smith of Chris & Cami Photography, for an in-depth workshop focusing on the photographic study of birds of prey, both in motion and while perching.”

A special thank you also goes to THINK TANK PHOTO and RetouchUp for their support with some generous door prizes. And a HUGE shout out to all the attendees. You guys were AWESOME!!!

I’ve included a bunch of the behind-the-scenes shots from the day. Please feel free to share, tag yourselves, and enjoy these images of you in action!

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