Secret Engagement Session :: Saint Helena Island, SC

To say I was honored to have been asked to capture their love is an understatement. To walk and learn with them in this place, taking in its history and import, and simply enjoying the lovely wildness of it - was an honor. To bear witness to their connection and easy, effortless affection for one another was a joy.

Photographing friends is always fun for me, it never gets old. So when Tanorria asked if I’d shoot a couple’s session with her and Tay, I (literally) jumped at the thought of it. We settled on the Penn Center on Saint Helena Island, home to one of the South’s first schools for freed West African slaves. Tanorria’s request to shoot in a location that carries historical significance to the Gullah-Geechie culture and community was what led us to this remarkable place. We walked the grounds for over an hour, stopping to snap photos along the way, learning, laughing, dancing, exploring, appreciating. Like a steady heartbeat, their love for one another kept us quiet company the whole way through, making my job so very easy.