AVP Volleyball

Today, I was invited by Mike Saia, Media Director of the Family Circle Cup, to get exclusive coverage of a major press conference at their facility. The AVP Professional Beach Volleyball Tour announced that Charleston would be the LATEST addition to the circuit. That's PRETTY COOL!!! Mayor Joe Riley was there to welcome the tour. And super stars Holly McPeak and Stein Metzger flew in to say a few words and pose for a few photos. You can see several other photos from the conference on the FCC website here and on the Beach Volleyball Magazine website here. In addition to being given exclusive coverage of a private shoot with Holly & Stein on Stadium Center Court, I was invited to photograph the tournament when it arrives June 14-17. I grew up playing volleyball, and even played competitively my freshman year in college. So this is a HUGE TREAT for me to see some of my idols like Misty May, Karch Kiraly, & Kerri Walsh in action!

Healthcare Heroes

Many thanks to my good friend and fellow photographer, Gary Coleman. Since he was unable to photograph the annual Healthcare Heroes Banquet for the Charleston Regional Business Journal, he passed the assignment on to me. I've worked with the CRBJ on many projects before, but this was probably one of the most classy affairs I've covered for them. Everyone was dressed to impress and the venue, the Charleston Performing Arts Center, was decorated no different. The ever upbeat and always-entertaining Dean Stephens, of ABC News Channel 4 fame, was the Master of Ceremonies. I also have to tip my hat to Ruthie Sullivan for doing an impeccable job of organizing and keeping everyone on schedule!

It's a Personal Thing

One question I get a lot is "since photography is your profession, what do you do for a hobby?" Well...PHOTOGRPHY...what else?!? :-) On my day off or when I get all my work caught up and I have a couple extra hours to go "play", I often grab my camera and find something to photograph for FUN! This particular Sunday, I heard about a Civil War Reenactment of the Battle of Secessionville being held at Boone Hall Plantation. Sounded interesting, so off I went! I sure am glad I did...these folks put on a first class show. Every detail is authentic, right down to their belt buckles and muskets. I HIGHLY encourage you to visit their website and mark next year's event on your calendar - you won't regret it!

Window Light

The term Photography comes from the Greek words photos (light) and graphos (drawing). So we often hear this art form described as "drawing with light". There are a number of ways to light a subject to create an image. One of my favorites is through the use of window light. This type of lighting was often used by classic painters like Rembrandt from the 1600's. Yet even today, artists all over the world continue to light their subjects by window light because of the soft three-dimensionality it imparts. I created this image at Jennifer & Troy's wedding this weekend in Alhambra Hall as she watched the seagulls glide in the air over Charleston Bay. They had a BEAUTIFUL service outside underneath the oak tree, followed by a wonderful reception upstairs. Congratulations Jennifer & Troy!

It's Game Time

This weekend I had a fun time with our Greenscreen Technology at Winn's Bar Mitzvah. Winn is the son of Larry Lipov, president of Pearlstine Distributors, Inc. So you can believe this was a "pull-out-all-the-stops" party! Held at their huge distribution center on Daniel Island, the theme of the party was "It's Game Time". So we used a variety of sports related computer-generated backgrounds to support this. The Wave Rider magazine cover was a HUGE HIT...that's Larry in the front steering the surfboard. :-) The lovely Tara Geurard, of Soiree, did a fantastic job organizing everything. And our friends Ben & Sharon Hough of Artistic Eye Productions were there to create a memorable video of the entire event for the Lipov's. Congratulations Winn!!! It was a PLEASURE being a part of your big day!

Class Reunion

As many of you know, I grew up in Zaire (now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo). This is the large country in central Africa, which you may be aware of through such movies as "Gorillas in the Mist" and books like "The Heart of Darkness". My parents were missionaries for International Ministries and my three brothers and I attended The American School of Kinshasa. It was such an eclectic group of international students, which I'm very thankful for. I believe the diversity gave me a keen appreciation and understanding for other cultures, races, and creeds. Anyway, periodically different students from the school organize class reunions. This month I attended one in Buffalo, TX. We had an AWESOME time catching up on each other's lives, reminiscing about old times, and rekindling our friendships. This shot was taken around the huge bonfire we had one night. That's Eric Lindland in the middle, one of my good friends who helped organize the event. Many thanks to him and Lora Swanson for all their work in putting this reunion together! Zaire Oye!!!

Politics

My Dad is a professor of African History and is very well informed on local and world politics. I, on the other hand, tend to shy away from such matters. So I thought it ironic that I ended up covering Senator John Kerry's visit to Charleston in support of Randy Maata's run for Congress. Many thanks to Yve Assad, my friend and fellow photographer, for recommending me for the assignment. It was also nice to bump into Wade Spees again, photographer for the Post and Courier.