Karson Photography Blog

Sweet Summer Wedding

2011-06-20T19:44:00.004-04:00

Erin and Jacob had the perfect intimate summer wedding complete with peonies, pies (3.14 Pies to be exact - yum!), and breathtaking views of the saltmarsh creeks in this gorgeous, private, Awandaw spot. Such a sweet couple and loving family - Congratulations Erin and Jacob!

- liz

An "Extreme" Story (warning: tearjerker)

2011-04-11T13:10:00.006-04:00

For those of you College of Charleston Magazine readers, you may have noticed a small article in the front of the Spring 2011 issue about the college's involvement in the hit reality show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. We are proud to be regular magazine contributors, and were excited to be asked to accompany the CofC folks down to Beaufort to document the emotional unveiling of the renovated house, as well as a special surprise gift from CofC.

The College of Charleston Magazine says it best:

"The Dickinsons, wiping tears from their eyes, had just been reunited through satellite uplink with the family's father, a U.S. Marine Corps staff sergeant serving in Afghanistan."

Just after they reveled the house, which was an AMAZING complete renovation of their dilapidated house, they learned that there was more...

"Host Ty Pennington next introduced President P. George Benson, who explained to the still-shaking family that the Dickinson children would receive five full, four-year scholarships to the College."

Sneak Peeeeeek...

2011-02-11T13:12:00.000-05:00

Thought I would dish up a little sneak peek of Brandon and Brittany's wedding photos for a Friday afternoon blog break. Kip just sent over these as he's working on processing images form their wedding last Saturday, and I can tell already that this is going to be a hard one to narrow down!

Congrats again Brandon and Brittany!

Happy Weekend!

- liz

Congratulations Brandon and Brittany!

2011-02-07T13:48:00.008-05:00

These two tied the knot on Saturday and we were so happy to be part of their day. It was a BEAUTIFUL wedding, so many great people, lots of love, and a ton of fun. Hope y'all are having a blast now in Jamaica, mon :)

Look for a sneak peek of their wedding photos soon!

- liz

Meredith + John: An Upper King Affair

2010-09-04T14:16:00.003-04:00

I heart Upper King. Especially on a gorgeous day in May, with a beautiful bride, in one of my favorite churches, and with a great group of people! The girls got ready in The Francis Marion Hotel, then we walked the half block down to St. Matthews Lutheran Chuch for a gorgeous ceremony, then on to the Charleston Visitor's Center Bus Shed for the party.

What a great night – we wish Meredith and John lots of love and happiness in their marriage!

- Liz

Lily of the Field

2010-07-25T21:34:00.008-04:00

We are so happy with how this shoot turned out. The weather was perfect, the location – perfect, and the bride, Lauren – gorgeous of course, and she was such a trooper!

This was a fun little adventure – we had to take a bit of a hike out to the field, and Lauren only had her gorgeous teal Louboutins, which we would absolutely not let mingle with a mile of gravel, not to mention the pain that would be incurred by Lauren's feet. So, after a charade of Chinese fire drill-like shoe swapping where I gave Lauren my flip flops, Kip gave me his shoes, and he walked in his socks (what a gentleman), we finally made it out to this little field of dreams...

Her beautiful bouquet (I LOVE the peonies!) is from the amazing Beth LeonGuerrero of WildFlowers, Inc.

- Liz

Pretty in Pink

2010-06-23T13:46:00.001-04:00

All dressed up and pretty in pink (shoes at least)...

Last month we had a blast in Greenville with Erika and Joesph, celebrating their big day. As you can tell by the photos, it was full of fun, laughter, dancing, and great people.

Christopher Ashley Salon
Poinsett Club
Whispering Winds Carriage Company

The Hills are Alive

2010-06-10T23:51:00.002-04:00

We've been waiting for a while to post these gorgeous bridal shots of Erika's in the hills of Asheville. May just be me, but they make me want to twirl around and sing at the top of my lungs like a modern day Julie Andrews, in all her stunning beauty and gumption...sans the nun robes of course. Anyone else?

I had to miss this shoot, and when I saw these I was sad I did - gorgeous setting fit for a beautiful girl...

A peek at Erika and Joseph's wedding images soon to come!

- Liz

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2010-04-12T17:13:00.001-04:00

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"Stay Classy, Charleston"

2010-03-25T23:06:00.009-04:00

I asked a client the other day, "when you say you want something 'Charleston-y', what exactly do you picture?" They said, "you know – beach, water, marsh, boats." ...which, I LOVE, don't get me wrong! But, it inspired me after showcasing one of my favorite beach weddings in an earlier post, to show a little of the classy-downtown-chic side of Charleston with an awesome venue in the heart of the Peninsula: The Mills House.

Mills House Hotel

(www.millshouse.com)

115 Meeting St.

Charleston, SC 29401

843.577.2400

- Liz

Step 1: Meet with Wedding Planners, Step 2: Feel Stress Melting Away…

2010-02-07T22:00:00.001-05:00

Confession:

yes, I am in the wedding industry.

yes, I am always the one telling our brides "relax, don't let it stress you out."

...and yes, I have to admit, I was getting just a bit overwhelmed last week.

Ok, fine, so I was totally stressed out. I have to book my venue, I have to figure out my guest list, choose my florist, cake designer, photographer (yikes), answer a million questions: band or DJ, brights or neutrals, bridesmaids or no bridesmaids? Anyone who's planned or is planning a wedding knows it's a big job.

Instantly we knew what we needed to do.

We met with Creative Extraordinaire Candice, a.k.a. The Motivator and the budget-savvy and witty Erin, a.k.a. The Organizer of Yoj Events at their fabulously colorful and inspiring office on Spring Street downtown...

(yes, Kip was there too, behind the camera...of course) We had so much fun laughing, talking, getting to know each other that I didn't even realize we had planned our next steps, figured out a budget, narrowed down the look I wanted, set up meetings with vendors – and I didn't once feel stressed!

Dear Brides,

A) You should get a wedding planner, STAT. I can't tell you how much it will change things for the duration of your wedding-planning life, relationships, and personal sanity.

B) I highly recommend talking to these amazing ladies!:

Yoj Events

(www.yojevents.com)

47A Spring St.

Charleston, SC 29403

P: 843.614.3413

Email: info@yojevents.com

Sincerely,

Liz (and Kip)

Oh the Places We’ll Go (or Have Already Gone): venues, venues, venues…

2010-02-01T12:19:00.007-05:00

As you sit prepared to go to tackle your first planning initiatives with your green tea, stack of bridal magazines, and laptop at hand, you are probably thinking the same thing we have been…what type of wedding do we want? Beach?...Church?...Waterfront?… Downtown?...

We thought we’d provide some inspiration and show you a few great ones we’ve shot in the past...

Friends, Family, Flowers and Folly (Beach) – A Beach Wedding:

Gorgeous setting, right? Makes me want to head out to Folly Beach! Next stop, downtown...

- Kip and Liz

Time to “Ring” in the New Year…

2010-02-01T12:10:00.011-05:00

Welcome to 2010! Can’t believe the first month has already flown by! This is going to be a great, exciting, and busy year…mostly because the Karson Photography Crew has officially doubled in number…we’re getting married this fall!!

Kip proposed on a freezing and romantic December 28th in Marion Square after family had just arrived for the holidays (huge thanks to our friend and fellow photographer, Lauren Germeroth for braving the cold for these!):

So, yes, your photographers are planning a wedding too! We’re so excited...for all the obvious reasons...but ALSO because it’s giving us a fresh look into the experiences that our brides are going through as well. As professional wedding photographers, you might think we know the wedding planning process backwards and forwards, and some parts we do! But it's fun and different being on this side of things and there is SO much that we’re learning in the planning process as well.

So, we thought we would share our travels to venues, cake tastings, event planner meetings, etc with you all as a resource to help with YOUR planning. Stay tuned later this week for our first step: get us a wedding planner, STAT!

- kip and liz

Merry Christmas to all our fantastic clients, vendors, and friends!

2009-12-22T20:06:00.009-05:00

CHARLIE

2009-12-02T21:43:00.001-05:00

CHARLIE’s Holiday Gift Guide

Posted using ShareThis

Stage Surfing at the Charleston Visitors Center Bus Shed

2009-11-25T21:43:00.004-05:00

We shot an event for "The Stray Dog Society" last month. This is a good group of alumni and non-alumni who share a love for all things Citadel, you should check them out. I was told they wanted a photographer to get out there, explore the space and take shots as crazy and fun as the crowd was and it was a fun crowd. They later dubbed us their official photographers.., apparently the images met their criteria. Here is a shot of me, thanks to Liz, surfing the stage which was moving about 6 inches in all directions. Then a couple of what I was shooting.

Elizabeth and Michael's Engagement Session

2009-10-28T22:38:00.004-04:00

I love letting the couples pick their favorite images-it shows so much of their personalities. Yeah we did the cute cuddly shots, the romantic/sexy shots, the artsy shots where they look strait into the camera, eyes penetrating the viewers soul. But really the images below just capture these guys perfectly, they're the image I shot while pretending not to be taking pictures, the images in between the posed shots. Here are Elizabeth and Michael's favorites from their engagement session out on riverfront park. We all agreed the last one is our favorite.

An Afternoon With Benjamin.

2009-10-15T02:21:00.004-04:00

I can't help but to laugh when I look at these. I like how they go from a very energetic, combed haired, clean little boy--- to a sleepy, sweaty, dirty little boy passed out in him moms arms by the end of the shoot. We had a fun time playing on this shoot and Benjamin's mom is very happy to have some pictures on her wall of Benjamin being Benjamin.

Caleb's Senior Photo Session at Folly Beach

2009-10-12T21:27:00.006-04:00

So I asked Caleb "What are the three biggest things that you're into right now" his response "My Truck, My Music and The Beach"---nice, I am going to like this shoot. The dude says he has like 15 guitars at his house, crazy! Below is Caleb's Photo Shoot at Folly Beach. I don't know weather to call it a Senior Session or Musician's Headshots or Album Cover Photoshoot since we pretty much covered all three. Well we had fun as usual and shot some great stuff, and who wants to be labeled anyway.

The Greene Family's Lifestyle Session

2009-10-06T01:23:00.005-04:00

Early one morning at the crack of 11 am I ventured over west of the Ashley river to the Greene's house for a family lifestyle session. As I pulled up the drive I was excited to see that the house had a fantastic view of the Charleston harbor from its backyard. The Greenes invited me in, offered me food and drink and made me feel as welcome as if I were part of the family. We made our way to the back porch where we spent some time talking about each others family history over coffee and diet cokes. By the time we had finished discussing our Charlestonian roots I had already begun shooting images for the Greene's laid-back lifestyle session. Here is a view of the photo-book we made for them.

Lindsey and Petar's Engagements Session on the Riverfront

2009-10-03T13:26:00.007-04:00

Lindsey and Petar drove all the way down from Atlanta to have us shoot their engagement session, so the pressure was on to make it worth their travel. These two made it easy for us to capture some great emotion, they were cutting up and having just as much fun in front of the camera as we were behind the lens. We wanted to mix things up for the shoot so we decided to photograph just after sunset on the water to get those cool saturated colors of the evening sky highlighted by the street lights in the distance. Despite the bugs not being so cooperative we had a great time shooting that evening on the Cooper River and we got some fantastic shots for Lindsey and Petar's engagement.

Deborah Bordeau's Bridal Portraits

2009-09-16T20:32:00.003-04:00

These are just.., well beautiful, so I'm going to let the images speak for themselves.

Bonnie and Preston Ferrell's Maternity Shoot with soon to be Cole Preston Ferrell

2009-09-02T21:10:00.002-04:00

This is a special post that I'm really excited to put up. I wanted to congratulate Bonnie and Preston Ferrell on the birth of their little man Cole Preston Ferrell. He was born two weeks early at 8lbs 13oz 20 1/2 inches long at 11pm August 26th. If he would have waited until his due date I think he would have arrived with a mustache and an NFL contract. Anyway here he was just a few weeks earlier still cookin in the oven.

Charleston Strobist Gathering on Folly Beach

2009-08-22T01:36:00.007-04:00

A few other local photographers put together a "Strobist Gathering" at Folly Beach. A strobist gathering is where photographers trade tips and techniques about off camera flash and it's just a good time to hang out and talk shop. One other purposes of the meet-up was to bring awareness to the local photographer community of a great mentoring program, Charleston Kids With Cameras. www.charlestonkidswithcameras.org. Okay I know there is a potential that I may leave someone out and I shouldn't list names but I'm going to anyway just to say thanks to all the presenters who weren't afraid to share with us some of their trade secrets: Charlie Thiel, thanks for putting this together; Chris Smiths, I'm heading to the hardware store tomorrow to find those bungee cords; and thanks to Robbin Knight who cleaned my camera sensor for free.

Editorial shoot for Charlie Magazine at Seacoast Church

2009-08-14T19:11:00.006-04:00

I'm really glad I was able to grab this assignment for Charlie Magazine (twitter.com/readCharlie) on contemporary worship music in charleston churches that highlighted my church Seacoast.

Francesca Toney's Bridal Shoot at Middleton Place Plantation

2009-08-12T07:52:00.008-04:00

Oh man I have been wanting to show you guys these for months now but needed to keep the dress a secret until after the wedding which we just shot on Aug. 1st. We took these images on a gorgeous spring afternoon at Middleton Place Plantation which is such a beautiful location for a wedding or a bridal shoot that it is almost overwhelming. A big thanks goes to the staff at the Middleton Place Restaurant who were so helpful and accommodating.

A few images from the NAPP/Adobe Worldwide Photowalk in Charleston SC

2009-07-25T13:13:00.006-04:00

Last week I had the opportunity to hang out with some great local photographers and be a tourist in our own town for the 2nd Annual Scott Kelby's (the Adobe/NAPP photoshop guru guy) Worldwide Photowalk here in Charleston. It is great to break the standard workflow, shooting style and subject matter and to throw ones-self into new shooting paradigms; it really exercises the creative muscles. No alcohol was involved in the production of these image (that came later). We also posted some images on flickr to the photowalk charleston sc pool.

Wish We could have shot this Wedding Ceremony.

2009-07-24T11:01:00.006-04:00

My friend Daniel Nadeau (@dnadeau on twitter) found this youtube video of a wedding ceremony in Saint Paul, Minnesota and posted it on his blog yesterday. Man I we could have photographed this wedding. If this is the ceremony could you imagine the craziness at the reception! And speaking of wedding photographers check out the one in this video, I don't think he was really into all that was going on, guess he's not a techno lover.

North Charleston Art Walk at Karson Photography Studio and Gallery

2009-07-22T14:24:00.007-04:00

I just found these images of our show here at our gallery and Aunt Bea's during the North Charleston Art Walk (part of the North Charleston Arts Festival). It was a great show and we had a lot of fun putting it together and getting to hang out with all of you. I need to give a big thank you Mayor Keith Summey, Judge Debbie Summey and LoAnn for letting us use Aunt Bea's for this even (especially since we made them stay up way past their bed time to lock up the place after we did the take down of the show that night). Thanks also to the artist Alex and Sarah Radin and Jen Snyder and to Liz Bartoccini for designing the posters, flyers, and email campaigns for the show. Okay so let me share some of the images with you, Awh nostalgia.

A Sneak Peak at Hugh and Meredith's Wedding at St. Philips Church and The Mills House

2009-07-09T19:21:00.004-04:00

Drum roll please..., And here it is!

Charleston Writer Roger Saltsman gets "Agony Hill" hot off the presses

2009-07-01T15:35:00.004-04:00

We blogged last month about producing the design and photos for Roger Saltsman's new book "Agony Hill", well I got a knock on the door of the studio about 30 minutes ago and in walks Roger gripping his freshly printed literary creation. Good going Roger, I a proud of you for realizing your dream! Now go sell some copies and make a million.

Andrea's Head-Shots

2009-06-23T09:20:00.003-04:00

We had the privilege of photographing the gifted actress Andrea Catangay's head-shots a few weeks ago. Andrea, along with here husband Michael Catangay, are the founders of Deuce Theatre who will be performing "The 24 Hour Play" at South of Broadway Theatre July 31st-Aug 1st.

The New Book "Agony Hill" by Roger Saltsman

2009-06-10T13:19:00.005-04:00

Liz and I had the pleasure of photographing and designing the cover of Roger Saltsman's new book "Agony Hill" (a novel about a high school runner in Brevard N.C.) Roger just called the studio to let us know that the book was in the final stages and ready to go to print. Let me give you guys the links so you can preview the his book: http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=108442293452&h=i86_6&u=nlwCZ&ref=mf

Some Editorial/Corporate Head-shots of Marcus Debiasi

2009-06-03T12:52:00.002-04:00

A Sneak Peak of Kim and Aaron's Wedding on Folly Beach

2009-05-26T23:11:00.003-04:00

Meredith and Hugh's Engagement Portrait Session in Noisette

2009-05-25T14:19:00.006-04:00

The Return of "Season to Season" for Piccolo Spoleto

2009-05-20T15:55:00.002-04:00

I had the privilege of photographing Contemporary Theatre Lab's final performance of "Season to Season" at South of Broad Theatre here in the Old Village of P.C. The cast will now be moving the performance downtown for Piccolo Spoleto at the Footlight Players Theatre, 20 Queen St. Charleston, SC.

Andy Chrien's Bath-time

2009-05-16T17:46:00.003-04:00

Daniel New in his first Family Portrait Session

2009-05-14T12:20:00.005-04:00

Daniel and I had a great time playing around and taking pictures in the studio the other day - we even got his parents to pose for a couple of shots.

Downtown Charleston Family The Prioleau's

2009-04-22T23:54:00.003-04:00

Rachel Prioleau was kind enough to let us photograph her, her husband Robert and her beautiful daughter with an equally beautiful name Isabella, for the aquarium project. An awesome looking family, thanks for your time guys.

Joseph Fields Farm Providing Charleston with Locally Grown Organic Produce

2009-04-18T02:19:00.007-04:00

Continuing with my project for the South Carolina Aquarium I had the pleasure of photographing Joseph Field of Field Farms. Joseph Fields farm provides many of Charleston's great restaurants with organic produce. Joseph and his wife said they would love for you to come out to 3129 River Road, Johns Island between May and August to sample some of their great produce.

Charleston Commercial Fisherman Mark Marhefka

2009-04-08T22:34:00.006-04:00

I love my job! I know I say that a lot but really I do. One reason is that I get to meet and hang out with some of the most interesting people and learn about their lives and careers. I recently finished a project for the south carolina aquarium where I had the pleasure of photographing several people who call the lowcountry their home.

Mark Marhefka is one of the few commercial long-liners left here in Charleston. As a boy I remember cruising in the boston whaler down to Shem Creek to look at all the fishing boats come in with their daily catch. The fishing fleet on Shem Creek is a lot thinner these days but Mark is fighting back from the decks of his long-liner boat "Amy Marie" along with many others striving to offer fresh local sustainable seafood to the Charleston Area.

They are coming to take me away!!!

2009-03-25T12:49:00.003-04:00

So today at 1 p.m. the North Charleston Police are throwing me in jail until I raise the $2800 bail for Jerry's Kid and the MDA. If you would like to help bail me out check out the MDA site to drop a few bucks for my freedom. More pictures and info to come.

The Penguins Are Here!!!

2009-03-05T23:11:00.003-05:00

Check out my new friends at www.scaquarium.org/PenguinPlanet

Sweet Shots

2009-02-11T17:25:00.005-05:00

I had the privilege of photographing Molly Lawson's head-shots last week for her new website dlishdessert.com. Molly's company "d'lish" specializes in wedding cakes, specialty cakes and individually designed dessert menus for small catered events. If you need a sugar fix or if you just enjoy gourmet baked goods you can find some of her signature mini cakes, cupcakes and designer shortbread cookies at Etcetera Gourmet on Daniel Island. You can also come by the studio where I'll now have a steady supply of the mini strawberry cupcakes, my favorite. So real quick, how I came in contact with Molly is we were shooting a wedding at the SC Aquarium and I saw one of the coolest cake ever. The bride described the cake as looking as if it had hit a giant sunflower while speeding in a convertible on the highway. The cake was fun, frivolous, laid-back and happy which is exactly what the bride and groom wanted. Then I looked to see a huge spread of cupcakes decorated in the bride and grooms colors. Molly had taken the time to get to know her client's likes and personalities and produced delicious creations that reflected them. Seeing someone taking the same care and attention to their clients needs as we do in our photography business Liz and I knew we had to meet this artist. We got Mollys card from the planner and contacted her the next week. Okay enough story telling let me show some pictures. I'll also include the pictures of the sunflower cake and cupcakes.

Photoshoot with Tom Brokaw

2009-02-10T14:22:00.005-05:00

I did a photo-shoot with my friend and fellow photographer Brianna Stello at Gucci in the Charleston Place Hotel. The event was hosted by Roper St. Francis, held in the upper ballroom of the hotel, in appreciation of the generous contributions of all the donors who were attending. The special guest and speaker of the evening was former anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, Tom Brokaw. Mr. Brokaw was a total professional and a trooper, holding out for more than 120 posed shots. Yeah I'm not sure I could have held out that long. You go Tom. Unfortunately I can't show you all the images but I did want to share the setup and one of the personal shots we snuck in with Mr. Brokaw.

Check out the sweet setup for the shoot on the showroom floor of Gucci.

Brianna Stello hangin with Tom Brokaw. Yeah as usual I was stuck behind the camera where I like it.

Summer in the City

2009-02-10T00:57:00.003-05:00

"Summer in the City" is a project by South of Broad Theatre Company to send talented teens to New York City for a month of intensive training and auditions. The cost of the trip is partially paid with scholarships and the rest of the $5300 is to be raised by the students. We had several of the past years attendees, and next years hopefuls come into the studio for a headshot blitz one Saturday afternoon to capture some image to promote the program. We ended up getting a lot of great shots and snuck in a preview of Nick Smith new documentary film on the Summer in the City project.

Headshot for Bella Bella

2009-02-04T17:44:00.005-05:00

We did some headshot for Bella Bella Beauty Boutiqe today. This is some of Nicole Spencer's fantastic work with model Nancy.

Digitel.com Debutante Ball

2009-02-02T11:21:00.003-05:00

TheDigitel.com debutante ball; old friends, new friends, good times. Check out their site to keep up with Charleston.

Step Up Photography Workshop

2009-02-01T17:20:00.004-05:00

I just finished a pretty intense photography workshop this week. Shane Snider hosted one of his three day "Step Up" workshops on Folly Beach. I wanted to share with you a few of the images I shot.

The Mountains

2009-01-27T00:04:00.003-05:00

I was able to spend some time in the mountains of North Carolina last week. It was perfect timing since Asheville received 4 inches of snow while we were there. It was so cold, several times I couldn't feel my fingers and had to rely on muscle memory to press the shutter button on my camera. It was totally worth it though and the triple espresso from Double Decker Coffee Co. in Asheville warmed me up enough.

Baby Chase Bryndal

2009-01-22T00:52:00.003-05:00

Look what I found in the sink this afternoon.., seems these guys are everywhere these days.

Cotton Field

2009-01-14T23:20:00.003-05:00

While hiking in the Fracis Beidler forest, on my surprise birthday excursion organize by Liz, we saw this cool cotton field and had to stop for a couple of shots.

Battle of Secessionville

2009-01-14T01:52:00.006-05:00

I had the pleasure of being hired to photograph the Battle of Secessionville at Boon Hall this year. These were some of the friendliest and most hospitable people that I have ever met. I went with the idea of spending a few hours covering the event and then heading home later in the afternoon but with five offerers to stay around for lunch and then dinner and then there was a ballroom dance, well I ended up staying until early the next morning. Here are some of the images. (sorry about the music, I only had one good song that would work with the images so it repeats a few times)

Brandon and his guitar

2009-01-13T18:41:00.004-05:00

Loved this shoot. Brandon is a musician here in Charleston playing a lot of local gigs. The last place I remember seeing him play was the Village Tavern over in Mt. P. Anyway, Brandon wanted to get some promo shots before he left to go to a worship arts college in Florida so we shot these the day before he left. We had so much fun shooting we didn't realize that we had been shooting for hours. He said it was a great way to spend his afternoon before he left for college, "Time flies when you're having fun."

Thuy, Russ and Baby Patterson

2009-01-13T16:58:00.003-05:00

We had a great time photographing Thuy and Russ Patterson's maternity session the other day. Thuy is a fantastic floral designer. Her company Jade Water Designs is right here in the Park Circle area. I remember I had just gotten a bad cold the night before and was pretty loopy the first part of this shoot. They were so nice and totally put up with my slower than usual pace and somewhat obscure banter while we were shooting. They even laughed at all my jokes, so sweet. Despite the sickness we got some beautiful images and Thuy and Russ loved them. Baby Lillian Patterson was born two weeks after the shoot, good timing.

"Epiphany" Opera in Park Circle

2009-01-12T01:00:00.005-05:00

So I received a call from Mary Gould, of South of Broadway Theatre Company, a few weeks back and she tells me "I just got the call, we have the front page of the Preview on Christmas Day and need a promo shot by noon tomorrow." I love a challenge and in media "noon" means in the a.m. if you want to keep your spot on the front page. We wanted to highlight the upcoming opera "Epiphany" which would be opening on January 31st to bring in the new year as well as introduce the new program Opera Zone, a lecture series held at the Charleston County Public Library. So the next morning we had our coffee, set up some light, and shot this image for the paper. Thank you to Marcus over at the P&C Preview for getting the work out about the thriving art scene here in North Charleston and especially in Park Circle.

The Theatre Thrives in Park Circle at "South of Broadway"

2009-01-09T02:20:00.012-05:00

My friend Mary Gould the founder and producer of South of Broadway Theatre Company keeps us pretty busy here at the studio trying to keep up with her lightening pace of new art events and theatrical presentations. This non-profit performing arts studio has been an anchor of the arts community in the park circle area for the past five years and seems to be even now picking up its pace with at least three new offerings this year as well as growing the reach of past performances. Here is a recent press release from Mary highlighting some of the new offerings to take place at South of Broadway GPC%20Press%20release2.doc.

Working in the studio

2009-01-06T23:31:00.005-05:00

We're doing some table top product photography in the studio tonight. I took a break and started shooting the setup. Yeah for my break I picked up another camera and started taking picture, what I love taking pictures. It was a non-work designated camera. I also had a cup of coffee with no cream because I forgot to go to quisqueya deli before they closed this evening.

Kind of a tight shot.

Here is what the shot looked like. These images will be used as finish samples for a catalog.

Okay break over back to work.

New Years Day Traditions

2009-01-03T23:03:00.005-05:00

A lot of my friends who are new to Charleston ask me about all of our southern culinary traditions on New Years day. So I decided to post some picture and descriptions of our traditional New Years dinner.

First we have Hoppin' John, a dish consisting of rice and beans with some onions added for flavor. The rice, which swells up while cooking symbolizes the swelling of your fortune in the year to come. The peas in the dish symbolize coins. The legumes a lot of people put in their Hoppin' John are black-eyed peas but my family uses field peas because well, that is our tradition and we leave the black-eyes for a dish all to themselves. One tradition that our family used to practice but fortunately gave up on is the hiding of a coin in the bowl of Hoppin' John. The person who finds the coin in their dish receives an extra helping of good financial luck which will be necessary to cover all of the medical bills for the treatment of hepatitis or the surgery to remove the coin from your esophagus.

Black-eyed peas are probably the most famous New Years food in the south. Each pea eaten represents a dollar. For the best chance at financial prosperity one needs to eat 365 peas on New Years day, one for each day of the year. Bacon and a ham hock are added for good luck as well as for flavor.

On New Years one should not eat chicken or turkey since they scratch backwards in the dirt, and one should not eat beef since they just stand around in the field all day, but a pig roots forward looking for its meal so if you want to be prosperous and move forward in the year to come you should eat your fill of ham and barbecue (oh yeah in the south "barbecue" is pork and cooking that is done on the grill is called well, "grilling").

Cornbread symbolizes gold and hey can't wrong with having a little gold stashed away for a rainy day.

And my favorite Greens. Greens represent green backs, folding money, cash. The greens on the left are a mix of mustard and turnips and the ones on the right are collards. They are all delicious especially when sprinkles with some white vinegar pepper sauce.

You can buy pepper sauce at the store but the best is our home made pepper sauce in a mason jar.

My Favorite Model

2009-01-01T12:34:00.002-05:00

Great range of emotion she has, it just happens that todays emotion was annoyed.

Happy New Year!!!

2009-01-01T02:16:00.006-05:00

Happy New Year Everyone!!! I am excited to see what the new year brings, the first thing it has brought me is some champagne and explosions.

Oooh

Ahhh

Ohhh

Wow

Yeah

Musician Ryan Bailey

2008-12-19T13:25:00.005-05:00

This is my man Ryan Bailey. If you have been around Charleston for any length of time you have probably heard him play at one of your local hangouts, really I swear the guy is everywhere.

Ryan has definitely found his voice with his rock/folk style reminiscent of Petty or Young.

Ryan played a few set for us at the last show in December. He sounded great down there in Aunt Bee's and drew in a crowd as usual. You should check out his stuff out on myspace and his website ryanbailey.com. Thanks for playing for us at the show Ryan! See you at your next gig.

Oh, by the way this image of Ryan was taken by my friend and fellow photographer Jeanne Browder of Holy City Photography who does some sweet band promo and documentary photography.

Media

2008-12-12T16:29:00.005-05:00

Wohoo, so far the show has been mentioned in the "Editors Pics" of the Post and Courier Preview, the Charleston City Paper calendar of events, my park circle calendar of events, and WTMA 1250. Thank you very much for getting the word out everyone.

~Kip

John E. Battles "Chocolatier"

2008-12-10T22:59:00.010-05:00

Mmm, I love edible art. Go ahead and try thinking this guy's creations are not art, and I invite you to walk across the street with me to Evo Pizza one night and partake in the mad gastronomic creations such as, star anise and rose peppercorn dark chocolate, maple smoked bacon dark chocolate, or parmesan sweet basil white chocolate. Georges Braque himself could not have synthesized more radical yet cohesive elements. My Liz put it best when asked how I should describe Johnny's creations, "just tell them they are the most amazing truffles in the world". Well said Liz.

So I have to apologize to Mr. Battles for incorrectly naming his company in the advertisements for the show on Dec. 13th. In an effort to correct my mistake let me list his information (correctly) here.

Johnny Battles

Chocolatier

"SweetTeeth Confections"

Providing single origin, handmade, local, and very, very slow-food! His products are gluten free and vegan by request. You can place an order through his website, by email (ilovejohnnyschocolates@gmail.com, or by phone @ 843-532-6408. Johnny's truffles can be found in many of the finer restaurants in the Charleston area (like Evo and O'Hara and Flynn). You can also pick up his special "six pack" of truffles at the show on Saturday. I have also heard talk of samples the night of the show but don't hold me to it (insert smile here). If you would like some more details about Johnny's process check out James T. Sears article here.

Oh by the way Johnny's cool profile picture above I cannot take credit for but I do have to give kudos to the photographer, great shot! I'll find out who's shot it is and post it later.

Jewelry designer Amy Brock of Imani Collections

2008-12-09T12:05:00.007-05:00

So this is my friend and jewelry designer Amy Brock of Imani Collections who I had to coerce into letting me photograph her for this artist profile. Please feel free to comment on how great she looks in the picture.

Amy has an awesome story of how she began Imani Collections. I am not the greatest of writers but I will do my best to tell the story of how Amy's design business came to be.

Amy began designing and making her jewelry as a means to fund a trip to Kenya Africa one year. Her attractive and creative designs caught on so well she was able to fund her trip on which she met and became close friends with a little girl in the villiage she was visiting named Mary. Mary attended a school for Aids orphans in Kenya. Mary's father had died of Aids and her mother was HIV positive. There were 8 children in Mary's family that would be left without providers. Realizing that the older children would have to somehow support the others Amy decided to teach one of Mary's sisters Naomi the craft that had provided the opportunity for Amy to come to Kenya. Naomi's natural affinity for jewelry design shown through in her creations. Amy saw Naomi's potential and knew that if the girls had the opportunity and finances to go to secondary school they would have the skills they needed to take care of their entire family. This is when Amy decided to begin Imani Collections in order to raise money to help further the girls education. Imani means "faith" in Kiswahili. Amy says "My hope is to bless the families of others as God has blessed me." Naomi has now begun attending a trade school to further her design career and Mary is attending Christ's Gift Academy.

You can meet Amy and see some of her and Naomi's work at our next show on December 13th from 4-9 p.m. at the studio located at 1050 East Montague Ave. in the old village of park circle.

Lunch Break with Alex Radin

2008-12-08T04:06:00.007-05:00

I had the privilege of getting to sit down with painter Alex Radin for a little three hour lunch at Evo Pizza last Tuesday, yeah there was some good conversation going on. Man this guy is on fire with passion about his work. His current series, "Through the Eyes of A Child," was inspired by his four year old daughter Ellianna, a budding artist herself, who is cute as a button and wise beyond her years. Alex recounted of how he was watching Ellianna draw on the kitchen table and noticed she had produced five or six pictures in about as many minutes, drawing everything around her, free of preplanning or concern for the viewer. She just drew what she saw, how she saw it because she like it. This was teh genesis of Alex's new series. You can check out his stuff at www.truthillustrations.com. You can also meet Alex and see some of his work at our next show on December 13th at the studio from 4-9 p.m. along with several other local artists. Should be a great time, hope to see you there!

Karson Photography Studio and Gallery

2008-12-07T21:45:00.014-05:00

So here is our studio, it is located at 1050-B East Montague Ave. North Charleston SC 29405 in the Old Village of North Charleston just above the restaurant "Aunt B's". I find that a lot of people know this area because they have been to one of the fantastic restaurants around us here in Park Circle. So here are some of our favorite restaurants with in walking distance to the studio: Evo, Madra Rua, The Mill, Sesame, The Chart, Park Circle Coffee and More, and The Barbecue Joint and of course Aunt B's. If you have ever been to one of these places you have probably walked by the studio. We are available for viewing by appointment right now from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Just send me a quick email or call me (843-224-4001) to set up a time. Most of the time someone is here but we are wedding and commercial photographers so if we are not here we are probably out on a shoot.

Here is our front door with the Huge flower pot beside it. I am not really a green thumb so Marty from Dukes Garden Center across the street takes care of our plants for us; great guy Marty.

Here is my office all IKEAed out with the latest from the forests of Sweden.

The studio. Love being able to shoot indoors when it is cold, raining, or 90 degrees w/ 100% humidity out side (which is often in Charleston).

Oh this is me cutting mats for a show.

And here is Elizabeth and Eloise framing some of our newest work.

What a beautiful sight to see all those finished pieces. Thank you College of Charleston photography department for teaching us how to mat and frame a whole show the night before our event. Actually they frowned on that kind of thing and tried to get us to manage our time better but hey we were in college and had social events to attend. I like the coffee cup on the mat cutting table, yep was a late night and early morning I am sure.

Nice, gallery walls full, love it. This is from our "Alaska" series. Man I love that series.

Another show ready for viewing. Ooh and more Alaska pictures.