Columbia instagram photo walk.

I had a great time today hanging out with my fellow instagramers here in Columbia. You can checkout everyone's photos by searching the #igcolumbiasc hash tag.
Here are a few from my images.

New World Outlook

I'm very excited to finally get my copies of New World Outlook! It's a Christian publication done by United Methodist Global ministries. They were doing a story about Killingsworth home in Columbia. Killingsworth is a home for women that provides support, empowers and advocates for women recovering from various life crises within a safe, nurturing, Christian environment.

I was really excited to get to spend some time with the girls, get to know them and help tell their story. As a Methodist myself, I feel like I have a close connection to Killingsworth through the United Methodist Church.

Instagram - iPhoneography

One of the things that happens when you are a professional photographer is that you can get a little bogged down in the day to day photo taking. Don't get me wrong, I love shooting. I can't think of anything more fun, but there are times when you just don't want to carry all your gear. There are also times when it's not appropriate to have thousands of dollars of camera equipment hanging on your neck. In those cases I would normally just not have a camera. However, what if something happens? What if that great shot happens to be there and your camera isn't?

It's no secret that the iPhone is a popular camera. It's a device I always have with me. It not not be the most stellar camera from a quality stand point, but it can sure be fun. With a lot of the photo apps out there now, taking iPhone photos, or iPhonography as the hipsters call it can be a blast! It helps keep me out of the rut and taking photos that are for me and just for fun, verses taking them for a client.

So over the last few months I've been shooting a lot of iPhone photos with a local group that meets to hangout and take photos with their iPhones and post them using social photography app called Instagram. Instagram allows you to take a photo, apply some fun effects and post to social networking sites like twitter and facebook. As well as posting the photo to Instagram where fellow users can comment and like it.

For all of my iPhoneography you can view the gallery, but here are a few of my favorites from the last few weeks.

Hot Air Balloon

I love getting out and shooting new things. I've always liked Hot Air Balloons, but never really saw any up close before. A while back I had the chance to photograph a local balloon festival. It was a great experience and I came away with a lot of good images. 

As I watched the balloons floating off into the sky, I had a vision of a photograph that I really wanted. I wanted the balloon silhouetted against the sun. As it turns out it was harder to get than I thought. In order to get the shot I wanted I had to have a clean background. Idealing I wanted it to just be sky. Since I was on the ground, my vantage point was somewhat limited. I tracked 5 or 6 balloons across the skyline, but none of them where crossing the sun in the right way. Finally after being patient and thinking I just wasn't going to get the shot, this last balloon sailed every so nicely across the sun and created the shot I was after. I was ready, in the right place, I knew my camera settings and click! Two or three seconds later the balloon had moved on and the shot was gone. Is it the best shot of the day? I don't really know. You can judge that for yourself. It was however a shot I felt like told the story of the day and it was a shot I really had to work to get. 

You can see more of my hot air balloon photos on my flickr stream

USC Flag after 2nd College World Series National Championship

As a Univeristy of South Carolina Alum, I'm a huge Gamecock fan. Last year the Gamecock baseball team won the 2010 College world series. To honor the USC Baseball team the Gamecock flag was flown over the statehouse. It was one of my most popular images both in searches online and for sale. This year the Gamecock baseball team did something even more amazing. They won the college world series back to back. Again to honor our baseball team the USC flag was flown over the State House. I couldn't help but make a trip to the capital building again to get another historic photo of the flag flying high. Here are a few of my favorites. Both of these images are for sale or license for anyone who is interested in them.