Soul Candy

August 25, 2017 in environmental photography

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.

Peters Creek, clean water begins in the watersheds.

January 26, 2017 in Fine Art, Documentary photography, environmental photography

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.

”

— Will Scott, Yadkin Riverkeeper

This was a fun photo experiment with a few LED lights.

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!