Meaghan & Christopher's Storybook

Cami and I just finished designing Meaghan & Christopher's Storybook from their wedding this past summer. It came out AWESOME! I can't wait to see the real thing when it comes in. ;-)

Jennifer & Bobby at Blessed Sacrament

I was SO HONORED to be a part of Jennifer & Bobby's wedding last weekend. Although they now live in Atlanta, they chose to have their ceremony at the gorgeous Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church here in Charleston. Getting to know these two over the last few months through their fun engagement session at The Battery and Jennifer's AWESOME bridal shoot, I already knew their wedding was going to be one of my favorites of the year. I wasn't wrong! :-) Jennifer & Bobby had their reception at the classy Harbor Grill right on the Charleston Harbor. Everyone had an AMAZING time. CONGRATULATIONS you two!!!

Is there a Doctor in the House?

I had the honor of photographing Dr. Rahul Argula of MUSC the other day. Originally from India, he comes to Charleston via Houston. He had a very kind voice and gentle demeanor. We had a lot of fun and created a number of different images for his portfolio. This was one of my favorites. The moody background goes well with the pensive expression. At the end of the session, Dr. Argula told me I had a good "bed-side manner" and would be excellent at calming a patient's anxiety. Hmmm...I wonder if that's why all my stressed-out brides always thank me for helping them relax! :-)

Portraits with Puppies!

Patti & Dave are real troupers! In spite of it being really cold on the day of their beach shoot, they decided to go for it. And I'm so glad they did...the lighting was truly magical! We had a lot of fun. And since our Henry has four legs and fur, Honey & Houdini (their dogs) took me in right away.

Now I KNOW you're wondering how in the world I got Honey & Houdini to look out towards the ocean! Well, I'm not telling...it's a secret...shhhhh. ;-)

Sonja & Mark at St. Mary's

It may have been raining on the outside, but Sonja and Mark's wedding last weekend was PURE SUNSHINE in my heart! They were such a fun couple to work with. Their wedding was held at St. Mary's, which was the very first Catholic Church in South Carolina! The beautiful sanctuary is always a pleasure to work in. Following the ceremony, their reception was held at The Mills House where the Signers Ballroom was decorated to the hilt. Everyone had a BLAST until it was time for the happy couple to leave in their classic getaway car. CONGRATULATIONS Sonja & Mark!!!

Update: WOW! Thanks for all the kind comments!!! I've had a number of emails asking who the musical artist is. As you all know, I grew up in Zaire, now known as Congo or DRC. This song is Zing Zong by Kanda Bango Man...one of my favorite Congolese artists growing up. "Kanda Bongo Man is the Soukous superstar in the continent of Africa. His music has always been driven by optimism and happiness; it contains melodies that curl through the patterns like vines on a trellis. It’s lilting, rippling, dance groove that seems to smile from every register, with inseparable melody and rhythm. He is without a doubt one of the most famous exponents of music from Congo and, has been at the heart of the Soukous scene since the 80’s." I picked this song in honor of Sonja's beautiful mother...her name is Africa!

Portrait by a 3-Year Old

Thought you'd get a kick out of this! After that last shot of Tracie & Eric's family, their 3-year old snapped this one of me. :-) He's going to be a real gadget-guru...I can tell! I'm standing on the same rock they were on a second ago. But he's on the other side of the rock with the sun at his back. I'm literally being lit by the same SB-800 that gave them that rim-light. And "YES", I really do get THAT dirty playing in the sand during portrait sessions...HEHE!!!

Folly Beach Family Portrait

I had an AWESOME shoot the other night on Folly Beach with Tracie, Eric, and their adorable kids. We actually live in the same neighborhood, so we all caravaned out to the beach together. They've been in Charleston for a year now and have never done a family portrait. So I'm sure the grandparents are going to LOVE their Christmas gifts this year! ;-)

One of my favorites is the last image (literally the last shot I took as the light faded quickly) of them silhouetted against the glow on the horizon from the setting sun. I love the crisp pinkish purples you get in the sky this time of year as the weather gets chilly. During the summer, that would have been more of a fuzzy yellowish orange. For you techies out there, I propped an SB-800 (in CLS mode) onto the sand in front of the rock they're standing on to get that rim-light. It gives them a little extra POP and helps separate them from the background.

White House Press Coverage

I was shooting some head-shots for Anchor Commercial (one of my FAVORITE corporate clients) earlier this week. Some of the team members had a meeting that ran late, which gave me a few minutes of free time. So I pulled out my trusty old 50mm f1.4 Nikkor lens and shot some candids a-la the style of journalism you see in photos around the White House. Here's my friend and fellow Ohio transplant, Jessica. She really WAS talking to a client and was quite annoyed that I was taking her picture! Doesn't she have a great smile? ;0)

Film vs Digital

Check out this short video clip testing the quality difference between film (Nikon F5) and digital (Nikon D700). If for no other reason, you should watch it just to hear the cool British accents! :-)

I'm Flattered!

Our good friends and colleagues, Bill & Kelli Nixon, just posted a really neat wedding on their Blog. In it they have a REALLY COOL shot of the bride & groom dancing on a checkerboard floor with some dramatic lighting in the corners. I LOVED the image as soon as I saw it. Then when I read their post, I was TOTALLY FLATTERED! This image was created at Kelly & Aaron's wedding at Lowndes Grove Plantation last year. It made the cover of their Storybook Album, and I believe was also in Charleston Magazine. Bill & Kelli, I'm truly blessed to know you. I'm always getting ideas from you two as well...you guys ROCK!

Paige & Joe at St. Andrew's Episcopal

Paige & Joe joined their lives in front of a PACKED sanctuary at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Mt. Pleasant last week. Pastor Steve Woods led a spirit-filled service. The celebrations continued at the Carolina Yacht Club long into the night. As Paige & Joe made their grand escape by boat, they were treated with a surprise trail of glowing hot-air balloons in the sky. What an AWESOME day for such a COOL couple!!! :-)

ESPN Charleston Classic

Earlier this year, ESPN announced the creation of the Charleston Classic, an eight-team men's college basketball tournament that is being played this weekend. The tournament will feature 12 games, for three days, and will be the first event held at the 5,000-seat Carolina First Center on the campus of the College of Charleston. I have the privilege of being the official photographer of the event. So on Thursday I got to photograph the Welcoming Ceremony held on the historic Yorktown. General Hugh Grant gave an inspirational message to the young athletes!

OSP South Cubed

OK, this'll be the LAST post from OSP South...promise! ;-) After the morning sessions were over, Corey McNabb led a group of us outdoor enthusiasts to Charlestowne Landing for a few wildlife photos and a LOT of laughs!

David Jay showing off his prized Krispy Creme Doughnut!

Corey McNabb and his big gun.

Chimping and Sharing.

New Family Circle Cup Ad

Mike Saia, the Communications Manager at the Family Circle Cup, just shared this new add with me. It's with a photo I took of Serena Williams, last year's Champion. It appears in Play Tennis Florida, Florida's official USTA publication - distributed to approximately 60K players throughout the state. Mike is such a great guy! He writes: "Here’s one of my favorite shots from the 08 FCC in one of our first regional ads."

As you can imagine, they're gearing up for the 2009 tournament over there at the Family Circle Tennis Center. It's a TON of work. But that's an event I look forward to photographing every year!

More OSP South

Here's a few more shots from the second day of OSP South! We had an AWESOME time...

Nathan Holritz gave an excellent presentation.

Robbin Knight gives David Jay first dibs on a southern delicacy...Krispy Kreme Doughnuts! :)

Shane doing his 'thang...

Me and my friend, Juliet Jones

Amber & Nathan Holritz at Basil's Thai Restaurant.

OSP South in Charleston

OSP South is descending on Charleston this week! So if you happen to be strolling around downtown and see a gaggle, pod, or litter of photographers running around with cameras blazzing...well...that's just us having a good time! :-) Open Source Photo is an online community of friendly photographers started by David Jay. We had a great time yesterday and I'm looking forward to what today has in store!!!

Kevin Swan's presentation.

Nathan Holritz & Robbin Knight.

Corey McNabb (left), Amber Holritz (center) and the rest of the "rowdy table".


Matt McGraw photographing Juliet Jones.



Matt McGraw sharing some of his techniques.

Nick Vujicic is my New Hero!

My good friend Byron shared this with me. It is TRULY INSPIRATIONAL! How many times do we feel like giving up a dream? How many times do we wonder "is it worth it"? How often do we feel sorry for ourselves? Well...watch this for a new perspective and know that ALL things are possible...

Amy & Seth at St. Luke's Chapel

I had a BLAST last week at Amy & Seth's wedding!!! They were married at St. Luke's Chapel (one of my favorite churches in town) and had their reception at The Elk's Lodge. Their images came out AWESOME! Check it out...

The Marine Ball

Last night Cami, our friend Lynn, and I had the honor of photographing the Marine Ball. It was held at Charleston Place this year...always a classy venue. The Marines were all decked out and looking sharp. And their dates weren't holding back on any of their BLING either!

We had a great time. It was one of our Print-on-Site events. Everyone was so EXCITED to be able to see their pictures on the monitor immediately after their shoot, pick out their favorites, and get their prints back in a matter of seconds! We LOVE instant gratification in America don't we? ;-)

I have to say it's always a pleasure serving our men and women in uniform. What you do for our country...words can not express our gratitude! GOD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU SAFE!!!

Hangin' Out with Henry

Good old Henry is our faithful studio companion. He's over 13 years old now (I know...hard to believe, right?!?). So we don't rough-house with him much any more. But whenever we need a break from editing images, Cami and I will get down on the floor with him and cuddle up to all that soft fur. :-) He's been such a joy in our lives ever since we (er...should I say Cami...) adopted him through Pet Helpers. He bounced through several abusive/neglectful homes as a puppy before popping into our lives. But he's been well-loved ever since! And he's turned out to be a wonderful part of our family...

Christmas is Coming!

"Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat!" :-) I love that old holiday jingle. As you can imagine we've ramped up our schedule to cover all the extra requests we get for Holiday Portraits this time of year. Kevan-Ann was a vibrant, beautiful young lady. Her business card says "Retired", but she's far from it...always on-the-go auditing classes at the College of Charleston and working on all sorts of projects. Her friends and family are going to be DELIGHTED to open their Christmas Card this year and see one of the fun photos from her session!!!

KDM Design

Here's a few shots from a cool shoot I had last week with KDM Design. Let me tell you, this house was OVER-THE-TOP!!! The home is on Kiawah Island and it was all prepped for a house tour. So Katheryn was the designer and wanted me to photograph it for her portfolio. The home was designed by Sam Fur and built by Tracy Hutchins.

Anne & Brian at the Thomas Bennett House

Anne & Brian had a REALLY COOL wedding last weekend at the Thomas Bennett House!!! They are such a neat couple. Check it out...