Sunrise Shoot in Cartagena, Colombia

While in Cartagena, Colombia, I had the opportunity to photograph an AMAZING sunrise photo shoot with my good friends and gorgeous models, Heidi and Stella!
Arriving on the deserted beach in front of the Hilton Cartagena before dawn, I saw a bunch of birds circling overhead in the dim light. Rounding the rock jetty, I saw they were keen on picking off the remnants of a boat full of fisherman. It was fun watching the men work the nets and show off their catch with glee. The egrets, herons, and frigat birds fought for the scraps around the perimeter.

When Heidi and Stella arrived, we headed over to the rock jetty and the dilapidated lifeguard stand. One of my favorite shots is the one of them in the doorway of the faded structure up on its wooden stilts. Shooting with a Nikon D850 and a Nikkor 16-35 f4 VR, I placed a Nikon SB-5000 flash behind them inside the room, and covered it with a CTO warming gel to create a warm silhouette against that electric blue sky. The great white heron perched on top was just icing on the cake!

The rest of the shoot was done with a Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 VRII, often mixing in the SB-5000 flash, mounted on a Manfrotto 5001 nano stand as either a rim light, kicker light, or an off-camera main light. I love Nikon’s new Advanced Wireless Lighting (AWL) system, which allows me to control the flash directly from the camera’s menu.

I had an absolute BLAST with Heidi and Stella as we enjoyed our final morning in Cartagena together! These two adventurous ladies were heading out to an island off the coast later that morning, as Cami and I boarded a plane for our flight back to America. 🙂

Headshots at The Cigar Factory

I love using interesting old brick walls and unique backgrounds for corporate photo shoots and head-shots! Here are a few from last week where I used part of the exposed brick walls at The Cigar Factory.

Congratulations to all the new members of the amazing team at Lee & Associates!!!

Andrew & Melissa’s Kiawah Island Proposal

CONGRATULATIONS Melissa & Andrew!!!

 I had so much fun yesterday, capturing Andrew’s surprise wedding proposal out on the beach in front of The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island!  It was an absolutely gorgeous day to get engaged.  Andrew & Melissa are the sweetest, kindest, happiest couple you could ever hope to meet.  We had a BLAST hanging out and creating some fun images after she said “YES”!!!  🙂  What an honor and a privilege it was to be there for these guys, preserving this special moment in their lives forever!

Many thanks to Delaney and Jacob for all their hard work planning and organizing every detail.  You guys are THE BEST!!!

Loryssa & Tony’s Secret Proposal at Middleton Place Plantation

Yesterday I had the privilege of photographing Tony’s surprise marriage proposal to his longtime girlfriend, Loryssa, at beautiful Middleton Place Plantation!

Tony and I had been planning this surprise together for months! We had worked out every detail, and thought of every contingency…except the weather. The days leading up to the big event found torrential rains bombarding Charleston. But on the morning in question, the clouds magically drifted out to sea, and the sunshine rained down on a gorgeous spring day!

Arriving at Middleton Plantation extra early, I had time to set up a remote camera with a secondary angle to the one I was shooting from. Then I get hidden in place to wait for their arrival. Tony had done his research, and hit his mark perfectly!  It was a picture-perfect moment.  Hiding under my camouflage cover, my heart melted, and I may have shed a tear.  What a blessing to be able to witness this gesture of true love.

Here’s a little sneak peek of some of my favorite images. You can find the rest in their Online Gallery at: http://chrisandcami.zenfolio.com/loryssaandtony.

South Atlantic Bank

South Atlantic Bank’s new regional headquarters in Mount Pleasant is beginning to take shape. The in-ground items, including plumbing and electricity are in place and the concrete has been poured for the first floor. We will see the building “go vertical” as framing gets underway.

The 8,000 square foot, two-story building will house a full-service banking office on the first floor with space for tenants on the second floor.

It was a pleasure photographing head-shots for Michael Tawes the other day. He was responsible for locating and appraising the site of the new bank!  The setup consisted of 6 Nikon SB-800 Speedlights, 1 Nikon SB-5000, 2 Wesctott 60″ umbrellas, 1 Nikon D4, 1 Nikon 70-200 VRII, 1 Lenovo Yoga, and 7 RadioPopper Px units.

Charleston Center for Birds of Prey

Beautiful weather…beautiful birds…I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day at the Center for Birds of Prey!

I’ve been attending their Photography Day events for several years now. These events sell out fast, and never disappoint!

Most of these were shot with the new Nikkor 300mm f4 PF on either a Nikon D500 or a Nikon D4.

Kudos to the staff and volunteers at the Center for Birds of Prey for putting on such an AMAZING opportunity for us photographers to get up close and personal with these incredible creature.