We had an amazing time last weekent, photographing a beautiful destination wedding in Madison, Wisconsin. Since our flight home wasn’t until late the following afternoon, Cami Smith and I spent the morning enjoying the peaceful Olbrich Botanical Gardens before leaving town. What a delight!!!
* Nikon Z9, Nikkor Z 70-200 f2.8, Nikkor Z TC1.4, Nikon Z30, Nikkor Z 105 f2.8 Micro, Sony XQD cards
I try to be spontaneous when I can!
So when my good friend and amazing photographer, David Archer, messaged me the other morning to let me know he was heading over to Magnolia Gardens, I took a break from the computer and zipped out the door to join him.
Although it was a beautiful morning, we didn’t get any prize-winning photos. But we had a beautiful day and a fun time catching up. PLUS I got to play with his new Nikkor Z 400mm f2.8 TC! What an AMAZING lens!!! I also captured some images with the Nikkor 500mm f5.6 PF + FTZII, as well as the Nikkor Z 70-200 f2.8 + Nikkor Z TC-1.4x.
This week I had the great pleasure of working with the Kiawah Island Photo Club as their instructor during a private Wildlife Workshop that was held at the Center for Birds of Prey!
Under the care of Stephen Schabel (Director of Education), we had a fantastic time learning about these amazing hawks, falcons, kites, storks, kestrels, vultures, and owls. It was very rewarding for me, helping everyone figure out the best settings and techniques to capture these beautiful creatures. But the most amazing part was seeing the wonder and awe on the participant’s faces as they experienced these majestic birds up close and personal!
After a fun day together, we all set our cameras down and enjoyed an insightful behind-the-scenes tour of the operating rooms and rehabilitation facility.
Many thanks to Kimberly and Gordon from the Kiawah Island Photo Club, as well as Mandy, Stephen, and Katie from the Center for Birds of Prey for organizing this fabulous program!!!
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Sunrise at the boneyard beach on Bulls Island turned out to be meh. But Jamie Clark and I salvaged it with a fun impromptu modeling shoot for her beautiful daughter, Katie! Many thanks to my friends and amazing photogrpahers Kim McManus, Mary Wessner, and Cary McDonald for making it a fun morning. And a HUGE shout out to #coastalexpeditions for this incredible opportunity. This is the second-to-last sunrise expedition the company will be offering to Bulls Island. I feel lucky to have been able to experience this protected barrier island’s wild majesty one last time!
Beach, Boneyard, Bull Island, Bulls Island, Cape Romaine, Charleston Model Photographer, Charleston Nature Photographer, Charleston Portrait Photographer, Charleston Stock Photographer, Charleston Wildlife Photographer, D500, D850, National Wildlife Refuge, Nature, Nikkor, Nikon, Nikon Pro, Nikon USA, NWR, Off-Camera Flash, SB-5000, Wildlife, DJI, Mavic Pro, Charleston Drone Photographer, Charleston Aerial Photographer
In this video, I’ll be playing with the brand new GoPro Hero MAX 360 camera! I wanted to ask the question, is this possibly the best motovlogging setup ever? With the ability to mount the camera in one place on the motorcycle, but be able to choose any angle of view within 360-degrees, it just might be! However, is the exported resolution of 1080p worth the sacrifice? And is the added complexity of editing 360 video worth the headache? Check it out and let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
10c, 10c EVO, 10c Pro, 360 Video, Action Camera, Adventure, Adventure Motorcycle, Adventure Photographer, Aerial Photographer, CB500X, Charleston Photographer, Chris & Cami Photography, DJI, Donnelly WMA, Drone, GoPro, Hero 7, Hero 8, Hero 360, Hero MAX, Hero Session, HJC Helmet, Honda, Mavic, Mavic Pro, MAX 360, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Life, Motorcycle Vlog, Motovlog, Motovlogging, Nikkor, Nikon, Nikon Pro, Nikon USA, Photography, Roseatta, Sena, Spoonbill, Travel, Travel Photographer, Wildlife, Wilflife Management Area
This past weekend, I had the honor of leading the second annual Wildlife Photography Workshop at the Center for Birds of Prey: http://www.thecenterforbirdsofprey.org/visit/special_events/instructor-led-photography-workshop/.
We had an AMAZING time photographing these amazing creatures, learning new techniques, acquiring new skills to use in the field, and simply having a BLAST!!!
Many thanks to Kara, Natalie, and the rest of the team for all their hard work and preparation in pulling this event off! And a huge shout out to all the wonderful attendees!!!
If you missed it this year, I hope you’ll join me next fall for #3. 🙂
If you like birding, pristine hiking, beach combing, and a chance to get away from the mainland, then Bulls Island just might be for you!
On behalf of the Center for Birds of Prey, and in association with Coastal Expeditions, earlier this week I had the pleasure of photographing a fun field trip with a group of students from Cainhoy Elementary School. In spite of living in the Lowcountry, some of these kids had never seen the ocean. So, imagine the wonder and amazement in their eyes as we explored Bulls Island together, the crown jewel of the Cape Romain National Wildlife System!!!
Many thanks to Daniel at the Avian Conservation Center for getting me on this project, and Captain Nick from Coastal Expeditions who was our amazing tour guide for the day.
Last month I had the privilege of being a part of a limited number of photographers that were granted access to photograph some beautiful birds at the Center for Birds of Prey. What an INCREDIBLE experience it was to be up close and personal with these majestic creatures!!! This was not my first time. But it’s an experience that never gets old, and always holds new and exciting challenges!
This time, I went with a light-weight and portable setup. All images were shot on either a Nikon D850 or Nikon D500, using either a Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 VRII or a Nikkor 300 f4.0 PF VR lens. I didn’t use any tripods or monopods, just hand-held shots. I carried one camera on each hip using my dual Spyder Holster, which allowed me to quickly switch to the ideal focal length for the shot.
Later this fall I’ll be teaching another Wildlife Photography workshop at the center, where I’ll be sharing my tips, techniques, and settings for successfully capturing these gorgeous animals: http://www.thecenterforbirdsofprey.org/visit/special_events/instructor-led-photography-workshop/. I hope you’ll and come out to join me!
Many thanks to my good friend and fellow photographer, Ferris Kaplan, for the behind-the-scenes shots of me in action!
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.
Last week I managed to find a little time to go photograph a fun personal project!
I’ve heard of the amazing Kites of Allendale for several years, but never had a chance to get up there to photograph them. So I packed up the Nikon D500 and Nikkor 200-400 f4 VR…my favorite wildlife combo…and headed out on a road trip.
Allendale county is known to have huge fields of crops where tons of dragonflies and beetles congregate during the summer months. Swallow-tailed kites don’t normally come this far over. But during this time of year, they’ve discovered this bountiful feast-for-the-taking! Here’s some info if you’re interested in seeing this majestic scene: http://www.carolinabirdclub.org/sites/SC/allendale.html.
It’s a little late in the season. Normally July is the best time to catch them. But I managed to find a few swooping and soaring not far outside Allendale. At first I just watched in awe as these expert flyers effortlessly circled and swirled overhead, periodically diving to grab a tasty handful, then climbing back into the wind to chow down. Eventually I grabbed the camera and enjoyed playing “target practice” with these fast-moving subjects.
It was a great challenge! I’m happy with what I got for as few kites as there were, and as short a window of time I had to work with. But my resolve to return next year during peak season has been doubled!!! 🙂
The day after the new Nikon D500 arrived, I took it out to Magnolia Plantation for a test. These are the results…ranging from ISO 800 at the beginning, to ISO 1600 of the squabling family, to 3200 of the pair peering into the water, and finally on up to 12,800 of the last shot!!!
