Nick & Nicole’s Secret Proposal at The Sanctuary

After weeks and weeks of planning every detail for Nick’s secret proposal, we had to call a last-minute audible!!!

Nick and I had worked so hard to come up with the perfect plan for him to ask his beautiful girlfriend, Nicole, to marry him. We had picked a pristine beach at the northern end of Kiawah Island as the backdrop. We had chosen the perfect time of day to catch that “golden hour” light before sunset. But all our plans fell apart minutes before our scheduled time when the skies opened up, pelting buckets of rain down from the sky!!!

Fortunately, Nick and Nicole’s parents had secretly flown in to surprise the couple after the proposal. Since his parents were staying at The Sanctuary, they quickly scouted out a secluded spot indoors and out of the rain. They even placed a trail of rose petals leading Nick to “the spot” where he would do his magic. It worked out PERFECTLY!!!

Arriving right on cue, Nicole said later that she could sense Nick was acting a little strange. But she wasn’t sure why? Then Nick hit his mark, turned to face the love of his life, and dropped to one knee. It was a truly magical moment. Nicole burst into a HUGE grin as she realized what was going on…and she couldn’t stop smiling the rest of the night!

Afterwar she said “Yes”, we were able to incorporate the beautiful hallways, archways, and grand staircase of the famous hotel into a fun authentic engagement shoot. I got some neat candids of Nick & Nicole’s parents surprising them and checking out Nicole’s AMAZING ring. And of course we captured a few nice family portraits to commemorate the occasion.

CONGRATULATIONS Nick & Nicole!!! We wish you all the best as you begin your new journey together!

FX Dance Performance at Queen Street Playhouse

It was both a pleasure and a challenge photographing the FX Dance Performance at the Queen Street Playhouse!

Capturing explosive movement in extremely low light conditions is probably the most difficult scanario for any camera to handle. But even with pushing the Z9 to 8,000 and 16,000 ISO, I was very impressed.

Many thanks to Allie for inviting us. She did an amazing job leading and choreographing this talented group of dancers!

Palma Family at The Sanctuary

Joy and Dr. Tim brought their beautiful family to Kiawah Island in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary! It was a pleasure photographing their family portraits on the amazing grand staircase inside The Sanctuary!!!

Richard Surprises Stephanie with Folly Beach Proposal

SHE SAID YES!!!

It was such an honor capturing Richard’s Surprise Proposal to Stephanie on Folly Beach last evening!

This amazing couple met at Southwest College, where Stephanie played hard to get at first. But before long, her and Richard became inseparable. They’ve been best friends ever since. After 5 years together, Richard FINALLY dropped to his knee at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and asked Stephanie to be his wife. 🙂

While making plans to vacation on Folly Beach together, Stephanie thought it would be fun to schedule a couple’s session. Since Richard had already bought the ring, and was trying to think of the perfect time to pop the question, he thought this could work in his favor. Together, he and I worked out a secret phrase so that half-way through their couple’s session, he would know it was time to do his magic. Richard’s brother had joined us under the ruse of “helping hold your phones and sunglasses”. Unknown to Stephanie, he was also secretly hiding the ring! At our pre-determined time of 8:00 PM, I distracted Stephanie by asking to photograph a couple shots of her by herself…giving Richard time to get the ring from David. Richard then took Stephanie’s hand and led her down the shoreline for a little privacy. Facing her with waves gently lapping at their feet, he opened his heart and asked her to marry him. It was SO AWESOME!!!

CONGRATULATIONS Richard & Stephanie! We wish you all the best as you begin this beautiful new stage in your journey together…

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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