Charleston Wedding Officiant

While photographing Mary & Gary's intimate service at St. Luke's Chapel, I had the pleasure of working with Doug Farmer of Charleston Wedding Officiant. He did such an AMAZING job that I asked him for his contact information to put on our Recommended Vendor List. If you're getting married this year and need someone to perform the service, I HIGHLY recommend calling Doug! He's an eloquent speaker, very professional, and takes a personal interest in making your ceremony about YOU. Who knows, you might even have a little fun!!! :-)

Tara & Matt Are Married

Tara & Matt's wedding was my last one for 2008. And what a WONDERFUL CELEBRATION to end the year on! Tara & Matt came to us as referrals from Robbie & Kelli Irvine...two of our favorite clients EVER! And Robbie and Matt are cousins. So I knew we were going to have a lot of fun together. Plus Tara was STUNNING in her bridal portraits that I photographed earlier this year. So I knew what a beautiful bride she was going to be on her wedding day. All of my preconceptions came true last weekend. It was an AWESOME day!

Tara & Matt held their ceremony at Sunrise Presbyterian Church on Sullivan's Island. Their reception was at Alhambra Hall. It was just a fantastic experience, capturing all the joy and excitement of their day...and being in the presence of the love and commitment these two share with each other. What an HONOR! Congratulations Tara & Matt...

Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours...we wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS and PEACE in your hearts and lives throughout the New Year!!!

Seth & Katelyn Are In Love

Seth & Katelyn have known each other for quite a while. In fact their families are neighbors. So Seth is literally "the boy next door"! They've been dating for about six years now and have a BEAUTIFUL relationship together. I CAN'T WAIT to photograph their wedding this summer! While they're back in town for the Holidays, we met up downtown and had a really neat time creating some gorgeous images that reflect their feelings for each other.

Mary & Gary Are Married

Mary & Gary had a romantic, intimate destination wedding at St. Luke's Chapel in downtown Charleston this week. They came down from Wisconsin for a quiet get-away and to share their vows with each other. It was just Mary & Gary, Missie the planner, Doug the officiant, Gregory the guitarist, and myself. They are such a neat couple that they made us all feel like family by the end. I really enjoyed spending a few hours with them creating these beautiful memories they'll be able to enjoy for years to come. CONGRATULATIONS you guys!!! :-)

Photographer's Christmas Party

It seems we've gone to more Christmas Parties this year than ever before! I LOVE IT!!! ;-) Cami and I have a wonderful group of fellow photographers in town that all get together about once a month for lunch at a local restaurant. We all chat about the latest technology, share inspiration and ideas, and just support and encourage each other in our art. We always have a great time! For our December meeting, Kate McKinley was kind enough to open her beautiful home and have us all over there. She really went all out...it was an AWESOME party. Here are a few snapshots. I hope you're all having a wonderful Christmas Season as well...

Cami taking a break from helping Kate set out all the food.

Rod & Tara's beautiful daughter giving us ukulele lessons. ;-)

Rod snuck this one of me while playing with my D3...sneaky!

Andy looks a little mischievous to me!

Cindy with her new "right arm", Stephanie.

"Mahmood having a good laugh...at SOMEONE's expense I'm sure."

Julie & Howie Love Each Other

I had a lot of fun photographing Julie & Howie's Engagement Session. They are both as easy-going as I am. :-) And they're very excited about their up-coming wedding. We had a GORGEOUS day to work with, culminating at the beach on Seabrook Island with a dramatic sunset. But as we turned to head in, we saw this HUGE moon rising in the east. It was my old friend SERENDIPITY...and we took advantage. Later I found out the moon was closer to the earth that day than it will be any other time in it's orbit! How cool is THAT?!?

Glasspro

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Paul & Jeff at Glasspro on this really cool shoot. Jeff just came back from the international competition in Germany where he WON the WORLD TITLE as the best auto-glass installation specialist ON THE PLANET! Pretty cool, huh? He had previously won the National Title here in the US. They're a great group of folks at Glasspro. So if you need your windshield replaced, give them a call!

Ashley River Christmas Party

Our Sunday School class at Ashley River had a CRAZY 80's Christmas Party! It was HILARIOUS to see all the hideous 80's outfits. :-) We had Bessinger's BBQ...THE BEST in town. Plus everyone brought tons of other munchies and sweets. Entertainment included designing our own Christmas tree ornaments, fun fellowship, and several guessing games. I won the jar of Hershey's kisses and traded it for the jar of Peanut M&M's...my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE candy. So if you're looking for ideas on what to send me as a stocking stuffer...there you go! Hehe!!! (You can see more pictures on my Facebook Page.)

Susan & Eddie's Storybook

Susan & Eddie's wedding at The Riviera was such a treat for me. And since Cami & I have been "in the creative groove" all week, we are SUPER excited to share one of the spreads from their storybook with you. In case it's too small to tell, the image on the right is a close-up of their rings, settled into the hilt of his saber, with a candle glowing in the background to set the mood. The text in the upper right is from their First Dance song, and was woven throughout their book to tie the storyline together. It came out AWESOME!

Working with Friends

Working with friends is always so much fun! When our good friends and colleagues, Bill & Kelli Nixon came up with this great idea of "trading shoots", we jumped on it. So Cami and I loaded up our 13 year old dog, Henry, and met up with the Nixon Crew at Boone Hall. Here are some of the shots I took. Didn't Kelli do a GREAT job picking out outfits?!? :-) And that last shot of the boys hugging their legs was Kelli's idea...I LOVE IT! Later I'll share some of the ones they took of Cami and I with good ol' Henry. They're SO CUTE!

Millicent & Derien's Storybook

Millicent & Derien's Storybook really came out BEAUTIFULLY! As an artist, when you're designing or creating book designs, there are times when you just feel like you're "in the groove". This was one of those times and we're very happy with the results. The book really showcases Millicent & Derien's wedding day in an elegant way!

PUG Christmas Party

Last night was the Christmas Party for the Charleston Chapter of our PUG (or Pictage Users Group). Our friends Rob & Liz Duren hosted the event. They have SUCH a beautiful home and are such wonderful people. We had so much fun!!!

Rob & Liz with one of their 4 fantastic children.

Kelli Nixon and Cami share a laugh.

Charlie Thiel and his beautiful bride share a squeeze. ;-)

Earnest F. Hollings NWR

Sunday is typically our day off. So after church Cami and I enjoyed a nice matinee movie, complete with popcorn and Cheri Coke. After we got home it was just so pretty out that I decided to head down to the Earnest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge for a stroll. It's a BEAUTIFUL place and I was rewarded with some amazing light and a peaceful experience. I was the ONLY person there the entire afternoon. I hope you get a chance to go visit.

Santa & The Grinch

Cami & I were out walking Henry the other day and who should we bump into by Santa Clause and The Grinch. They driving around in their convertible handing out candy to the kids in our neighborhood. So I snagged a couple shots before the zipped on down the road with their beards flappin' in the chilly breeze. :-)

Naomi & Mickey at Azalia Drive Church

I've been looking forward to Naomi and Mickey's wedding for quite some time. By the pure joy on their faces in these photos, I suppose they have as well! They were married at Azalea Drive Church where they were pronounced Mr. & Mrs. Naomi...I mean Mickey Walker. :-) In spite of the moody weather, they braved a trip to Waterfront Park where we got some AWESOME images. Their reception was held at the Charleston Club on the Air Force Base. Everyone had a GREAT time and I am SO GRATEFUL to Naomi & Mickey for allowing me to share in these special moments of their lives. Congratulations you guys!!!

Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving was AWESOME this year! Cami and I had taken a few extra days off and just relaxed and had fun visiting with her family near Hilton Head. Henry was with us as well, of course. But that's not him in the photo. The Thanksgiving Meal was at Scott & Jan's house (Cami's brother and sis-in-law). They have a BEAUTIFUL new home they just built. So that's their golden retriever, Mojo. Scott is an AMAZING chef and you just can't imagine how good the food was. However, you CAN imagine how much I enjoyed my little after-dinner nap in front of the fireplace...HA! But that's OK, the next morning I ran the local 5k Turkey Trot to work it off. :-) I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving as well...

If I Could Fly

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to FLY?!? The limitless freedom, the amazing view, the rush of the wind...ah it must be grand! :-) Cami and I took a couple days off for Thanksgiving and went to visit with her family near Hilton Head. One evening I snuck out for a "walk-about" with my camera and found a pond where birds were coming in to roost. After finding a good spot where I could catch them coming in, I was able to get tons of great in-flight images like these. The beautiful evening light was perfect!!!

Elise is in da House

I can't belive I've never photographed Elise before. She is a SUPER STAR as far as I'm concerned!!! :-) She was so much fun to work with and totally at ease in front of the camera. Here's just a few of my MANY favorites from her shoot. Now that Elise and I are "bff's" maybe she'll stop by and see me more often!

Just Jennifer

Here's a neat slideshow from Jennifer's Bridal Shoot! You can check out her and Bobby's wedding photos by scrolling back a few posts. What a BEAUTIFUL bride!!! :-)

Dancing Around The World

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night or really early in the morning with your head just WHIRLING with thoughts and feelings? This morning was one of those times for me. I was thinking about how CRAZY our world seems to have become. Is it just me or do you all think this too!?! I mean people are killing each other over the STUPIDEST things these days. The most recent one that just shook my brain was the rampant murdering of Albino men and women in Tanzania to use their body parts in superstitious rituals. Of course we all know about the nutty conflict in Darfur. Then there are the MILLIONS dying in the raping and pillaging for all the mineral wealth in the country of my birth, the Congo (DRC). These are JUST a few examples on ONE continent!!! I'm not even going to get into the hatred among peoples of different countries, religions, and sects in the Middle East. And then on a more personal level, over Thanksgiving I hear about a young man close to where Cami's parents live who was beaten nearly to death in has own back yard by three neighborhood boys while grilling with his family! HUH?!?

So let me ask you this...what would happen if we all just dropped the blinders from our eyes, melted our boarders, tore down our walls, put our differences aside, and realized that we are all just brothers and sister on this beautiful planet? What if we all learned to dance TOGETHER!?!

The Nikon D3x Has Arrived!

The new Nikon D3x was officially announced this morning. It's basically a D3 body with a brand new sensor, giving it an effective 24.5 megapixels, and this silicon makes it the highest resolution camera in the Nikon lineup. With a total of three FX cameras (Nikon D3, D700 and now the Nikon D3x) Nikon offers a serious line of FX-based DSLR cameras for the professional user. Add to that the Nikon D300 DX-sensored camera, and you are looking at four pro cameras with excellent build, high dynamic range, extremely fast speed, and amazing low light ISO handling! Check out the details on NikonUSA or DPReview.