You can't make this stuff up...

I'm just getting around to posting pictures of what I did last weekend. I'm doing this so my mama can get a good laugh. You see...my husband is a thirty something trapped in the body of a sixty something year old. His hobby is gold prospecting, and he even has a website where he sells gold dirt (a.k.a. concentrates). No kidding.

Well...Brian talked me into going camping/prospecting with him in North Carolina. Technically, we had a room - not a tent. But there was no room service or restauraunt on site, and accommodations were sparse...close enough to camping for me!

Friday night we arrived in time to say hello to some of Brian's friends that were there and then we headed out for Mexican. (Okay...I confess...I'm not really a camper.) But we did come back and make s'mores around the campfire of our friends who were actually camping.

Sometimes - it doesn't take much to amuse me - I had some fun playing with a slow shutter speed and Conley's glow sticks.




Here is proof that I really did do some prospecting. This may not be a shocker for some of you...but I don't exactly like to get dirty. Just for frame of reference...do you remember the plaster of paris hand print that every child makes growing up? Well...I'm probably the only person who made it to adulthood without one. I don't remember this, but apparently I don't have one because I refused to put my hands in the gooey, green plaster when I was four years old in Vacation Bible School. :)

The contraption in front of me is called a highbanker. We shoveled a HUGE pile of dirt into it. After almost three hours of shoveling - we were left with an impressive amount of gold.


This is the Broad river that runs along Heather Grove. After we finished running the highbanker, we headed down to the river so Brian could run his dredge.


I walked down the river and looked for things to take pictures of. I found some clover...


...and some prettyugly texture on an old bridge. (I made up the word prettyugly.)




This is Brian's five inch dredge. It is like a big vaccum cleaner. It has a big hose that he uses under water to suck up dirt. It dumps the water out in the sluice box and the concentrates with gold are left behind.


I didn't take part in the dredging. It looked like a lot of hard work. You have to throw lots of rocks out of the water to get to the dirt.


The river was full of people dredging. This girl was dredging for the first time. They use regulators so that they can go deep and stay under water for a long time.


Crazy, huh? But I swear it's true. I'll have to get a picture of the gold that we found.
If you want to know more about gold prospecting, be sure to check out Brian's Gold Grubbin' site. He even has a link to his popular gold forum on the site.

Photographers on the Run!

I finally got an ipod about a month ago after I lost my Creative mp3 player. Yesterday I went out and bought some Nike+ shoes and the sport kit. Now - I'm ready for a challenge. In case you don't know how it works...

Runners can place a small sensor under their shoe insole and connect a receiver to their iPod nano to track statistics during and after their workout. Your workout progress and statistics such as pace, total time, and total distance are updated on-screen and with audio cues through your headphones. When you return to your desktop, sync your iPod nano and upload to Nike to track your progress over time and compare with friends.

The experience begins during your workout, but doesn't end there. You can connect to the Nike+ website and track your running statistics and improvement over time, tracking your individual goals along the way. You can share your training information with others, and setup virtual races with friends to compare your times over the same course.

I did my first run this morning to try it out - I can't believe how accurate it is. Anyway...I logged into Nike.com and set up a challenge. I set up a challenge to run 50 miles and would love to have some company.

If people sign up - this first challenge could be a trial run. After this challenge we could come up with fun things to do and maybe even a prize for the winner.

If you are interested - let me know and I will add your name to the challenge. You don't have to be a photographer - you can be a photographer's friend! :) Let me know if you have any questions about what you need to get started. You can also click on the button below to sign up!

Shalyn & Kevin at the Palmer House

Shalyn and Kevin were married last weekend (June 16th) at the Palmer Home at 5 East Battery in Charleston. The Palmer Home is a beautiful place for intimate weddings and offers a spectacular view of the Charleston Harbour.



Shalyn's dress was covered in exquisite beading.


Her shoes perched on one of the antique chairs in the guest room...


Brooklyn (a.k.a. the flower girl) gives Shalyn's sister a helping hand as they get ready for the ceremony...


The beautiful bride...


The handsome groom...


The scrumptious wedding cake...


Shalyn looks so much like her dad.


The sand ceremony was very sweet...but also very funny for those of us with a front row view!


And...a sweet shot of Mr. and Mrs. Jackson....


Congrats Shalyn and Kevin! I enjoyed spending time with you.
You may view all of their photos here and make purchases if you wish.

Congrats to Jaime & Jay!

Congrats to Jaime and Jay! One of their wedding photos is the opening announcement image in the June issue of Charleston Magazine. They were married at Boone Hall in March.



Jaime and Jay are on the left...in the big picture of them under the oak tree.

~~~ Party Time ~~~

My friend Lea had a going away party for Brian and me last night. It was so much fun. The party was held at the Property Owners Beach House at Wild Dunes so we had a great view of the beach. The place looked so cute because Lea had it decorated with lots of cute flip flop stuff. Lea's dad made super delicious lasagna and there was even vegetarian lasanga for me! Yum. Thanks Lea!!! And thanks to all of our wonderful friends who came!

Lea, Me, Brian

Kelli's Bridal Session at Cypress Gardens

Kelli was married in October and we photographed a bridal session for her Saturday morning at Cypress Gardens. It is so much fun to have a session after the wedding so you don't have to worry about getting the dress dirty!

Kelli hopped in a boat and paddled out in the swamp.


There were gators everywhere!


Kelli dared them to mess with her! :) ha
















It was fun Kelli! You can see the slideshow here!

Deanna & Matthew's Wedding Album

Deanna and Matthew were married on May 5th at Skidaway Island. You can click here to see their wedding album design. The first image shows the front and back cover design. The second image will be the first page. The remaining images will show two page spreads.

Getting Trashed at Isle of Palms

A photographer friend has launced a new site: Let's Get Trashed that will be a photographer showcase for fun photos of seniors/teens. Don't worry - it is not what you might think! In fact, we would love to create a new meaning for the term! This is a teen version of Trash the Dress - a website for bridal sessions. The basic concept is;

"You’ve endured 12 (or more) years of hard work. You’ve spent many late nights cramming for exams. You’ve spent many weekends finishing up homework instead of hanging out with friends. You have arrived. This is your Senior Year. It all comes down to this. It’s 12th and Life…enjoy it while you can. Go to Homecoming, Go to Prom, Walk down the Aisle to get your diploma- and when it’s all said and done, get the memories that you deserve. Get Trashed! No, we aren’t talking about getting wasted, we’re talking about taking the material things that represent this milestone, and release some pure deep energy by drowning the gown, trashing the tux, and destroying the dress (or at least just get them dirty!) While your at it, get some great memories to hold on to by hooking up with an artistic photographer to create some stunning art together. These are your memories- make them count."

So...I headed to the beach at Isle of Palms to meet Mariah, Alex, and Elizabeth to trash their dresses. It was a very windy day at the beach - but it felt great outside!

We eased into the trashing by starting out with portraits that just involved sitting in places they would not normally sit for fear of getting their dresses dirty.






It didn't take long for the girls to venture out in the water. I love this first shot of Alex getting smashed by the waves.



Elizabeth in the sand...




Mariah in the sand...


More water shots...



These girls look fierce! And I mean that in a good way! :)



And then it was time to really get in the water and make some waves!








The beach was quite crowded - I wish you could have seen the looks of amazement that some beach goers had when they saw the girls in the water with their dresses!

You can check out their slideshow here or make purchases here.

Melissa and Ike at Sullivan's Island

After the photo session with Kelli & Matt - I had another session with Melissa and Ike. They were fun also, and I had a great time!

Melissa...


Ike...


These two laughed a lot too - lots of fun!


A walk down the beach...








The sunset was pretty and orange!




A quick silhouette shot before we left.


Thanks Melissa and Ike. Maybe next time we'll get the "other" shot. hahahaha :)

You can see Melissa and Ike's slideshow here.

You can make purchases here.
(Photos will be ready on 6-12)