The good, the bad and the beautiful. 2016

December 28, 2016

Life really is made up of little moments, and those little moments can create a beautiful tapestry of community. I took a step back in 2016 and followed stories that had weight to things I felt were important, as well as stories that just made my heart sing. I've realized that we are sometimes removed from people or cultures we don't understand. Black, white, brown and everything in between, we are all part of the melting pot called 'Merica. And my hope this year was to do my best to reflect that through my camera and capture all the little moments that make us a community and connect us.

A traditional river baptism on Hilton Head Island, SC. The Gullah, a civilization living on the Sea Islands of South Carolina have upheld its West African legacy for more than 100 years through cherished traditions in spirituality, music, food and l… — A traditional river baptism on Hilton Head Island, SC. The Gullah, a civilization living on the Sea Islands of South Carolina have upheld its West African legacy for more than 100 years through cherished traditions in spirituality, music, food and language.

A cooking class taught by refugee families, summer concerts, bike racing, explorations in the woods, water fights , a wedding , family gatherings, music, dance, the fair,-Using my camera to reflect all the little moments that connect us helped to created my 2016 tapestry of community photojournalism.

I also launched a new project called "Dance for the River" , which is a collaboration with UNCSA, the Yadkin Riverkeeper and other local dance groups to create an environmental message about our river through the art of dance.

The Dixie Classic Fair

Women from Syria and Somalia donate their time during a luncheon and cooking class in a West End home in WS, NC

A hug goes a long way when you can't get out of your home very often. Senior Services provides hugs, meals and many other services for the Elderly of Forsyth county.

I even managed to survive a mountain bike trip through the Swiss Alps and come home to find an orphaned fawn that adopted us.

A UNCSA dancers leaps, fluid and beautiful, against backdrop of a Duke Energy coal ash pond that borders the backyard of a Dukeville, NC home. Unlined ponds leaked into the groundwater contaminating many wells in this community. This is part of a bigger series called "Dance for the River"

Biking through the Swiss Alps was no joke. Made me want to take up hiking.

"Farrah", our resident fawn follows one of our guests looking for more treats.

2016 ended with the loss of so many great people and new political challenges to try and understand and navigate. My hope for 2017 is to create stories that give voice to our fears and to communities that we may not understand. I live in East Bend. It's about as rural America as you can get- My hope is to bring some of the stories from here to life as well as continue to explore the lives of recent refugees as they try to make this country home. You don't always have to travel far to try and create change in understanding.

Yea. Tree climbing was one of my favorite past times as a kid too. I still love it, although it's tricky getting back down sometimes.

Preparation for baptism of teenagers at Hilton Head Island, SC

So, here's my 2016 in a nutshell. I hope you enjoy and find a little inspiration!

Dance for the River Fall shoot

November 09, 2016 in Fine Art, Documentary photography

It's always amazing out here on the river when seasons change. And Fall is my favorite with the fog coming off the river and colors changing. It's really very magical. Add some dancers with an incredible spirit for adventure and it just raises the bar. This project is important for many reasons, but it has been my muse for the past few months, reconnecting me tomy craft and adding a much needed fuel for creativity and purpose. I hope you feel a little of the magic in a few of my favorite images this last shoot.

“Dancing “for the river” reminded me of why I wanted to pursue dance in the first place: because the movement naturally flows out of me and I feel so beautiful whenever I dance. I felt like myself. It was such an adventurous and rewarding experience!”

— Natalie Kirk

““Dance for the River” allows dancers to explore, interact, and draw inspiration from the Yadkin River. In this process, a deep connectivity of, beauty, respect and dependence is unearthed between the moving river and moving body. If nothing else, I hope this project will show that there is more power in us coming together to create than destroy. ”

— Garrett Parker

Dance for the River, Shoals to Donnaha.

July 06, 2016 in Fine Art, Documentary photography

In the second shoot of Dance for the River project, my focus on what this project means to me and how it will relate to the Yadkin River gets more fine tuned. This past Sunday, I worked with Helen Simoneau and two of her dancers, and while it was amazing to see what these dancers were capable of in such a new and challenging environment , it was also their first experience on the river. Will Scott, the Yadkin River Keeper, was along to help paddle canoes and experience one of the first shoots for the project.

Will Scott, Center is surrounded by Helen Simoneau, on right and her dancers Jule and Julianne. Will's dogs dash and new addition, Dobbs were along for the ride as well as his girlfriend Ashley (in background)

I see this project as fine art meets environmentalism. My intention is to not only create images that reflect the beauty of the river and the human form, but to also bring attention to the fragility and environmental threats to our drinking source.

Words are not my medium, images are. I think Will encompassed the project best in his statement: " "Even though over 700,000 people get their drinking water from the Yadkin River, few realize the threats-from agricultural pollution to Stormwater runoff to millions of tons of toxic coal ash-that face North Carolina's second largest river basin. This project will give human scale to the enormous problems that face the river today."

Helen and Jule, Little Yadkin near Donnaha.

Julianne Harper, Shoals. " It was my first time on the Yadkin, and my first time paddling a canoe--I was able to check a few things off my "never have I ever" list. I enjoyed all of the locations, but I guess my favorite was the tree growing out of … — Julianne Harper, Shoals. " It was my first time on the Yadkin, and my first time paddling a canoe--I was able to check a few things off my "never have I ever" list. I enjoyed all of the locations, but I guess my favorite was the tree growing out of the rock. I liked having the goal of trying to match the tree's lines/shape, and exploring the other parts of the rock on that mini island. I was just thinking about being another tree, but there were moments when I felt like a mermaid too."

Helen: "It was an exciting and overwhelming day to shoot in so many locations while trying to soak in the beauty and majestic landscape of the river. I had never been to the river in all my time living in Winston-Salem. It was powerful and made me f… — Helen: "It was an exciting and overwhelming day to shoot in so many locations while trying to soak in the beauty and majestic landscape of the river. I had never been to the river in all my time living in Winston-Salem. It was powerful and made me feel like the sky and the earth were connected in a way I had never considered.”

This will be a challenging but important project that will blend our Arts community and local River community together. I can't wait until the next shoot! Here are a few out takes from Sunday, enjoy!