Exercise your right to vote!

Had a fun time with Aldwin and his fiance Christine on downtown this weekend. I'll be shooting their wedding in the fall. Now, usually if you are gonna shoot a wedding, an engagement session or bridal portrait session is first in line. So why was I taking pictures of Aldwin?

The short story is... Christine entered him into the PETA "Sexiest Vegetarian" contest on a lark. He was one of 1000 entries and he's made it to the top 10! Go Aldwin! The grand prize is A vacation to Maui.... they have a wedding coming up.... I suspect that might make a nice honeymoon.

So click here to vote for Aldwin.

A VOTE FOR ALDWIN IS A VOTE FOR LOVE (and animals).

Oyster Roast 2010

Saturday night I headed out for a bit of fun on the town at the Pet Helpers 9th Annual Oyster Roast. I love the friendly atmosphere of a Charleston Oyster Roast. Everyone always seems to act like you've been friends forever who haven't seen each other in a while. Nine years ago a Pet Helpers benefactor turned the tragedy of a losing a pet into a way to further the mission of Pet Helpers by starting this annual event. I can't think of a better way to look at life then to use difficult situations to mulitply joy and life tenfold. Thank you for the inspiration! I heard through the grapevine that there were 450 people at this year's event. Thanks everybody for supporting the organization that brought me my little Peanut!

Have a look at how it all went down...

Remember Goldie? Here she is with her new Daddy! Yay Goldie, I am so happy for you!

The Pet Helpers Gang.

If you'd like to see more pictures from the event... have a look here.

Staying True

I had the chance to meet and photograph Ms. Jenny Sanford this morning at her first talk and public interview in the Lowcountry, that she considers home, since her recent book tour. The Center for Women and the Friends of the College of Charleston Library partnered up to bring her to an eager audience to speak about her life, past and present, as well as to sign a few copies of "Staying True" her new book.

An interesting and diverse crowd gathered in the C of C auditorium to hear the former First Lady of South Carolina present her thoughts on how to stay true to yourself when it seems that all the world is vying for a piece of you. She spoke candidly of raising four young boys against a backdrop of expectations and formal traditions and how she navigated the changes her life has brought.

She also sat down with Jennett Alterman of The Center for Women for a discussion about her thoughts on women's equality, women in politics, and the culture of South Carolina that has led us to be 50th in the nation for women in government. While acknowledging hurdles, she noted the climate is indeed changing for women in business and political positions of power. Positive change in any area is possible, if you stay true to yourself.

Surfing the Runway

Ever had one of those nights that you come home, crumple into a chair, happily exhausted and think to yourself... "That was fun! Can't believe I almost skipped that one... ZZzzzz... "? That's a pretty accurate description of my internal dialog last evening after attending "Surfing the Runway". I almost missed this fashion show/ benefit for Surfer's Healing {www.surfershealing.org} because I was recovering from a full weekend and a worn out trigger finger (yeah, all you wedding photogs out there know what I mean! ) Anyway, I figured that I could peel myself up and at least grab a few snaps for a local publication. After all it was going down only a few minutes from my home. So off I went... A few snaps, a runway show, MTV's MADE and an after party later I finally made it that few minutes back home.

This is what happened in between: