Retirement Ceremony Honoring Major Alexandrea Richards, United States Air Force

It was an absolute honor to be the official photographer at Major Alexandrea Richards’ Retirement Ceremony.

With countless awards and commendations to her name, Major Richards has dedicated her life in service to her country! A beautiful ceremony, honoring her accomplishments, was held at The Charleston Club on Joint Base Charleston. She was surrounded by close colleagues, family, and friends. She will certainly be missed. But it’s time for her to begin a NEW chapter in her life!

CONGRATULATIONS Major Richards! And thank you for your service!!!

Kristin & Phil’s Wedding at The Estate at Sunset Farm

Photographing every wedding is ALWAYS special to me. But they are TRULY meaningful when it’s for family!!! This weekend I had the incredible honor of photographing my beautiful niece, Kristin, as she married her best friend, Phil, in a gorgeous ceremony at The Estate at Sunset Farm! Here are a few of my favorites from their amazing day. CONGRATULATIONS Kristin & Phil! We wish you all the happiness in the world as you begin your new journey together…

South Carolina Aquarium Boeing Learning Lab for Trident Construction

Last year I had the pleasure of photographing the International African American Museum for Seamon Whiteside. This year I got to photograph the beautifully renovated property right next to it for Trident Construction!

The multimillion-dollar renovation of the Charleston Maritime Center will usher in a new chapter for the building, part of which will serve as a waterfront marine-life educational hub, sponsored by Boeing, and managed by The S.C. Aquarium. The project broke ground in July 2023. Now, it’s complete and gearing up to welcome students. But Trident Construction had me scheduled to photograph the finished building today before students arrived.

Since the property has a prime view of Charleston Harbor and the rising sun, I arrived at dawn to catch the warm glow of early morning light skimming across the water. It was a beatiful, misty sunrise. I captured a variety of aerial angles with my DJI Mavic 3 drone. Then I switched to the Nikon Z9 for the remaining shots. About the time I was wrapping up the exterior photos, Sarah, Mariah, and the rest of the staff from the SC Aquarium arrived to show me around the interior. And Grace arrived from Trident Construction to guide me to some of the key elements of the design that they wanted to feature in the photos.

It was an absolute pleasure being a part of this amazing new project!!!

Cyrus Family on Kiawah Island

This was the 7th Year in a row that I’ve had the pleasure of photographing the Cyrus family during their annual vacation to Kiawah Island! Back when we started, little Emma wasn’t even born…and Mason was less than a year old. My have they grown!!! 🙂

We kept to our tradition of meeting at The Ocean Course at sunset. The skies had an etherial haze…apparently from the massive forest fires enveloping Canada this summer! But with the unseasonably mild temperatures, and beautiful warm light, we didn’t complain. It was so much fun to catch up with this beautiful family! We had a BLAST and came away with tons of great shots to commemorate another year…

Industrial Warehouses for Seamon Whiteside

Seamon Whiteside not only does the engineering for large apartment complexes, family communities, and multi-use facilities…they also provide their services for industrial warehouse spaces. It was so cool to photograph some of these MASSIVE buildings this weekend!!!

(Nikon Z9, Nikkor Z 14-30, Nikkor Z 24-120, DJI Mavic 3 Pro)

The Beckett Apartments for Seamon Whiteside

It was a beautiful morning to photograph The Beckett for the engineering firm of Seamon Whiteside.

“Nestled in the heart of Bees Ferry, we invite you to find your hive – where community and comfort are built into every moment. Our luxury one and two bedroom apartments boast stunning features that make home feel like a retreat, from private balconies to quartz countertops. Our location combines the tranquility of its serene setting with the convenience of West Ashley. Experience the celebration of community at The Beckett – where each day goes smoothly and every moment is sweet.”

(Nikon Z9, Nikkor Z 14-30, Nikkor Z 24-120, DJI Mavic 3 Pro)

River Landing Condos for Glick Boehm Architecture

It’s always sad to hear when families are having to sue the companies that built their home. On April 29, 2019, only one week before the trial of a lawsuit against the builders of River Landing Condos, The Post and Courier published an extensive article titled, “40 Charleston Area Condo and Apartment Buildings Involved in Lawsuits Over Defects”. The article by David Slade discusses alleged construction defects with multi-family buildings and lawsuits related to these alleged defects.

Fortunately, the team at Glick Boem Architecture knows how to do things right! And they have a ton of experience with fixing other’s mistakes. GBA was founded in 1981 as a multi-disciplinary firm specializing in Architecture, Planning and Interior Design. Providing professional services throughout the Southeast, the firm has received major national and local design awards, as well as extensive coverage in professional publications.

GBA wase brought in to fix the water damage, insulation deficiencies, and mold issues at the River Landing Apartments on Daniel Island. They in turn brought me in to photograph some before/after photos mid-way through the renovation process.  The difference is absolutely remarkable!!! Hopefully this massive undertaking makes these families whole again, allowing them to live the peaceful lives they dreamed their move to Daniel Island would be…

Tideline CPA Group for Rush Dixon Architects

I’ve had the pleasure of photographing projects for Rush Dixon Architects for several years now. Rush and Judy are the nicest people in the world. And they are always super organized…which makes my job easy! Their designs are always incredibly practical, unique, and interesting. I was particularly impressed with the way they worked the layout of the new building for Tideline around the beautiful giant live oak tree on the property!!!

Once Rush & Judy have reviewed the proofs, we’ll send their favorites off to our retouching team to remove those ugly powerlines!  🙂

(Nikon Z9, Nikkor 14-24Z, Nikkor 24-120Z, DJI Mavic 3 Pro)

Country Club of Charleston – 100 Year Anniversary Gala

What an AMAZING EVENT!!! This weekend I had the pleasure of photographing the Country Club of Charleston’s 100 Year Anniversary Gala!

The club is actually 125 years old. However, on the night of the big gala, it had been at its current location on the Wappoo Cut for exactly 100 years! My friend Fran has been working hard on the planning committee for over a year to organize this incredible party. Since the club would have opened at its current location in 1925, the committee decided to go with a “Roaring Twenties” theme. They spent 3 days completely changing EVERYTHING inside the club…right down to swapping out the chandeliers. They even created a speakeasy downstairs for the “after party”. The place looked incredible!!!

The guests looked fabulous as well! Everyone took the theme to heart and really dolled up in 1920s outfits, accessories, hair styles, and shoes. The food was fantastic. There was a full brass band, keeping the dance floor hopping. And the Speakeasy had a colorful piano player who took requests and got everyone to sing along.

CONGRATULATIONS to the Country Club of Charleston for 100 years of history! Here’s to another century of success…

Headshots for Seamon Whiteside in Greenville

I work a lot with the engineering firm of Seamon Whiteside here in Charleston. But occasionally they request I travel to one of their other offices to photograph a project they’ve been working on, marketing photos, or headshots for new team members. Last week I had the privilege of driving to their new office in Greenville to photograph several new employees. We all had a great time! The guys seemed to enjoy hamming it up for the camera. And the photos turned out fantastic!!!

(Nikon Z9, Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 Z, Godox AD200Pro, Glow softbox, and Manfrotto supports)

Sophia’s Senior Portraits

I had a lovely conversation with Sophia’s mom, who was looking for some fun family photos, as well as senior portratis of her oldest daughter before she headed off to college. We decided to meet at Waterfront Park downtown, exploring the surrounding French Quarter and nearby Rainbow Row. The previous day’s rain had cooled things off nicely. So we ended up with a PERFECT day!!!

Sophia was absolutely stunning! Plus she was on the cheer team. So she was adventurous enough to handle all kinds of fun poses with ease. My favorite is the one from the drone, with her laying down on the cobblestone surface of Middle Atlantic Wharf. Her three sisters were a ton of fun as well. And I could tell Jen and Nick were incredibly proud of all their girls!

CONGRATULATIONS Sophia!!! We wish you all the best as you embark on this new chapter in your life…

Savannah’s Graduation Photos at Clemson University

We’ve been photographing Kristin’s family photos since her girls were knee high to a grasshopper! It’s incredibly hard to believe these giggling little girls are all grown up!!!

Last week Savannah graduated Summa Cum Laude from Clemson University. She had just returned from a semester abroad, studying in Australia. So she had an AMAZING tan! 🙂 It was such a pleasure exploring her campus and capturing a variety of portraits to commemorate her time at Clemson. I know she’s going to miss it, and all the friends she’s made there. But we are super excited for whatever the next chapter in life brings Savannah’s way…