Christine Rucker Photography
I always get the most inspiration from a kid's birthday. When, as "adults" did we stop thinking it was fun to have a treasure hunt, jump on the trampoline until our hair stood up and eat candy and cake until someone took them from us? Cheers to Otto Koerber for reminding me how awesome all those things are!
Otto your birthday was electric.
Another Colorado trip in the bag. Each time is a little different. I lucked out on trading some photo work for a 5 day back country tour of the Colorado Trail with Rim Tours. I brought along my friend Jenny to experience the trip through some fresh eyes. Jenny has hardly been over the NC state line.. so a cross country road trip was a leap.
We met up with a mostly Colorado gang in a parking lot in Durango, then headed up a few thousand feet to start the trip on Engineer pass. Weather was perfect. Sky was cobalt blue. The clouds were puffy but they held their rain. The crew was hilarious and the gang at Rim Tours are amazing.
We ended up the road trip by cruising through Franklin, NC right about the time of the solar eclipse... then sitting in traffic for the next 4 hours! But no complaints!
And then to be in the sweet spot back in NC for the solar eclipse!
So. there was a small price to pay for all this magic.
I've heard lots of stories about blended families, and I'm sure it's sometimes hard to combine two different families, but Molly and John seem to have the perfect balance. Their kids seem to have aquired not only a new brother and sister, but also friends. Molly and John also have the support and love from both their families, which was very evident in their intimate back yard wedding.
May all that love and support continue to be the air under your wings as you enter into a new family!
Cheers!
For 90 years, Alcoa owned and operated an aluminum smelter along the banks the Yadkin River, specifically Badin Lake. During that time, cyanide, fluoride, PCB’s, PAH’s and other toxins, including arsenic, were generated and disposed of through Alcoa’s 13 outfall pipes into Badin Lake and outfalls into Little Mountain Creek. Hazardous materials were also buried throughout the community of Badin at 44 identified locations, without liners. Buried waste continues to contaminate ground and surface water around the old Badin smelter.
Now under new stewardship, with Cube Hydro Carolinas LLC, the river has a newpurpose, but Badin and High Rock lake still have a long way to go to heal it's waters from decades of pollution.
My shoot last month with two dancers from Helen Simoneau Danse was a stark contrast to earlier shoots I've done on the Yadkin where water flows freely.
“I felt a sense of blocking, but I was also listening to what the space once was before so much pollution and non-organic activity was there. It was as if I was trying to listen to the memory of that kind of spirit. Hoping it was still underneath, hoping it will come back in the future. So I think I was mostly focused on the little heartbeat that I heard there.”
“I felt very small in that space. The energy felt very sickly and I didn’t feel a lot of life coming out of that water. The water seemed to only be moving when humans flipped a switch to turn the movement on. So, today I did feel somewhat stifled in my movement.”
This month's "Dance for the River" shoot had us splashing through Peter's creek, which is one of the creeks in the Yadkin River watershed and it's health is directly tied to the health of our river. We started in a tunnel that runs past Brunson Elementary. It is lined with graffiti and the water runs around building material, clothes, toys and even a few shopping carts filled with debris. We ended beneath one of the old Hanes plants, where earlier this month an industrial dye spill turned the creek water red.
clothes, trash, plastic and even bicycle wheels are wedged under rocks and other building material in Peters Creek, which runs through Hanes Park and through the west end of Winston-Salem
“The city creeks of the Winston-Salem are some of the most used by our kids and animals. Whether it is the schools lining Peters Creek or the dog beach of Salem Creek, these are parts of the Yadkin watershed that people use every day. As the industrial dye spill into Peters Creek on January 24th, 2017 showed, these creeks are still threatened by industrial pollution. We owe it to our urban creeks to protect them from trash and pollution-these should be playgrounds not dumping grounds.
”
This was a fun photo experiment with a few LED lights.
When I was in photography school, the first thing we were taught about photo stories is: fewer images are more powerful. In fact, we had find photo stories and tell a complete story in no more than 5 images. That's kinda hard when in the wedding industry "more is better". When covering a wedding, there are the detail photos, group photos, wide shots that give you a sense of the venue and of course the candid photos.. which I feel are the heart of every wedding story. Gus and Hannah were the perfect wedding clients in so many ways, and .. I cannot tell their story is 5 images- Here are 5 reasons why:
1. As you see, they are adorable.
2. Hannah had an amazing sense of humor.
3. They were extremely adventurous! with every "melt your heart" image, there's a complimentary image that shows the friendship that seemed to be the foundation of their love.
4. They kept their wedding intimate, which gave me more opportunities to photograph genuine connections.
5. They never stopped dancing!! so I cannot pick just one or two of them on the dance floor!
Here's the rest of the story:
So, what’s it like to travel across the state with 13 dudes? Well, most of it would be pretty much what you expect: bodily noises, questionable jokes and impressive amounts of alcohol consumed.
Being one of two ladies along for the Solar bear ride last week (Amy Canter the other!) , I can just speak for myself, but to me, it’s like a rolling band of brothers. I grew up mostly around two brothers, my sister came around when I was a bit older, so I knew how to punch and how to roll with the punches.. and how to take a (bad) joke or two.
Fast forward (a few) years, I found myself drawn to bikes and wanted to keep up with the guys that were riding them. Any relationship I was in, had to understand that most of my friends were men and most of my weekends were spent chasing them.
I met Matt Canter when I wondered into Ken’s Bike Shop in Reynolda Village at the tender age of 22. . ( And Ken, well.. that’s another story.. I ended up marrying him)
Matt and I were instant friends and we always found ourselves together on some crazy bike adventure. Matt is not a real talkative guy, but we seemed to get each other and without many words were comfortable around each other. I was fairly naive when I first started hanging at the shop, and it wouldn’t take much to turn me a few shades of red.
But within a year or two, I figured out how to turn that around and my mind easily spiraled into the gutter. I also learned how to ride bikes faster and found riding a fun escape and a way to make life time bonds.
So last year, that life time bond talked me into riding 270 mostly flat miles to the beach with a bunch of guys for a great cause. The Solar Bear ride is a spin off from one of my husband's first charity rides for the community. The “Polar” bear was an annual New Year’s day ride that Ken’s bike shop put on to raise money for local charities.
When Cancer Services took over the Polar Bear Ride several years ago, attendance was falling and they put a lot of effort into a ride that was no longer raising much money. So a few of Ken’s customers came up with the “Solar Bear” ride , to raise more money for Cancer Services.
Scott Sexton gave it momentum and Matt took the lead for the bike shop and joined forces with a small group of guys that started growing in number over the years. I hopped on last year because.. well honestly, Matt invited me and it was something different.
While I didn’t know many of the guys in the group that well, we all shared a common bond: to cycling, to health, and to that feeling of freedom when your on a bike. And there’s also a feeling of safety when your on common ground with folks. Like a band of brothers, you know your going to be OK around them.
I'm excited to show off a sample of my new project "Dance for the River". I am collaborating with local dancers, UNCSA and the Yadkin River Keeper. I'm traveling the length of the Yadkin River and using dance to interpret the variety of the river and environmental threats to the river that is our drinking source. We "tested the waters" in the East Bend of the Yadkin, which happens to be our backyard! Ashley Ramsey is one of our neighbors, a professional dancer, yogi, and an incredible person!
There was always a process of giving up control and letting the river/environment
determine what was available. I had to accept that I could not move my body here in the
river in the same way I might move it in a studio in terms of both technique and
aesthetics. First I encountered feelings of uncertainty and acceptance. Then as I
gradually became more familiar with the anatomy and qualities of the location, I began
to explore, discover and embrace the unique experience and demands the environment
offered. Eventually surprises emerged as I began to realize how much risk I could take
or a particular way of moving that was unexpected. Stories began to form – once I was
a hunting aborigine with strong legs or a shaman. Another time I relived evolution as I
slithered up onto a rock, discovered the three-dimensional mobility of my spine and
grew legs.
Winston-Salem had a full week of bike racing. Starting with the National Championship road races, time trial, criteriums, paracyclist, tandem races and ending with a weekend full of exciting pro races. The WS Cycling Classic. I was only able to photograph the pro criterium this weekend, but it made me proud of our little town. The community came out in force to embrace this event.
Goodbye 2015. It was another epic year. Travel, work, friends and great stories kept me rolling through 2015. Here is a tour through some of my favorite moments and jobs!
