Through my viewfinder.

I'm Brittany Greeson, a Photojournalism & Sociology major at Western Kentucky University. This is how I see the world. Currently based in Flint, Michigan. Website: www.brittanygreeson.com Instagram:...

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The Faces of Kentucky Healthcare:

A few weeks ago, I got the chance to meet some incredible individuals and hear their stories while on assignment for The New York Times as healthcare reporter Abby Goodnough and I covered the state of Kentucky healthcare and it’s looming future. 

See article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/28/us/kentucky-beacon-for-health-law-now-a-lab-for-its-retreat.html?_r=0

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Documenting the essence of the Bible Belt in Atlanta, Georgia, for the Reuters Wider Image blog. 

See the story here: https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/faith-and-worship-in-the-bible-belt

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Seeing at the 40th annual Mountain Workshops:

I have seen the workshops from the perspective of a labbie and a student coordinator, but this year, I was lucky enough to be a participant at Mountain Workshops in Frankfort, Kentucky. At the draw of a hat I was assigned the Lemley family, a forward thinking, environmentally conscious, organic farming family with a great awareness of their place in the world. I walked into this situation thinking the story was about the farm. I found myself getting "process-y” with my images and I worried the images lacked soul. Then, as the sun began to set behind the hills, Ella caught my attention. It was then that she pulled out her hand made halloween costume made to resemble a Phoenix. She paraded around the landscape trying it on for size. She became my character and this photo assignment became a storybook. 

The workshops couldn't have come at a better time. Lately, upon my return to school after a year working at internships and studying abroad, I’ve been finding myself in a creative rut with a relationship with my camera likened to that of a long marriage. It’s there, I’m loyal to it, but there hadn’t been a spark for a while. It’s been an ultimate low, something I haven’t experienced since a few years back when I was on the border of quitting. But like a marriage, I’m learning to work through it, doing small things to rejuvenate the mess in my head. 

So, in a sense I feel like going to Eddie Adams last week and attending Mountain this week has some weird cosmic significance. 

The combination of being forced to shoot, spending time around excited students and being inspired by incredible photographers on a daily basis has lit that spark again. I think hitting this low point and becoming so desperate almost helps you find that spark again. You just have to open yourself up completely to changing the way you think. While I accept I’m in a plateau, I’m finally putting on the boxing gloves, stepping into the ring, and glaring down my opponent - complacency. I’m not as good as I thought I was. I’ve made a lot of shitty frames at these workshops. I’ve had portfolio critiques that blew my mind and put me in my place.  I’m far from where I want to be and that in itself is thrilling. 

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Portraits from the 2015 Cowboy Fast Draw: Kentucky State Championships: 

This weekend, I had the opportunity to hang out with some folks participating in the state Cowboy Fast Draw competition in Hartford, Kentucky. Men and women came from all over to show their skills while shooting a target 21 feet away using a single action revolver. (Note: Wax bullets were used as a safety precaution)

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Masseria: 

Earlier this month, I got a tour of Masseria, a new eatery hidden in an industrial area of North East DC where chef Nick Stefanelli, 35, is making a name.

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A Day of Dirt:

A little over a week ago I got my hands dirty hanging out at the Prince George's County Yard Waste Composting Facility and Terp Farms, who uses the compost, in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. It was a cool to see a process so beneficial to the environment from start to finish. 

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Up in the Studio: 

I can’t quite describe the feeling that occurs in my brain feel when an editor tells me they need a feature ASAP to fill the metro page, but it reminds me of gears turning in an old pocket watch. That’s how I found myself at Listen Vision studios the other day and ended up meeting a group of young men trying to make it big. They called themselves STAXZ ENT and said they recently lost their friend "Peanut" to an altercation, later turned shooting, the day they were scheduled to create a music video. I followed Ernest Williams, 18, the majority of the time and he later went on to tell me just how important music was to him.  "My plan is to do some music and hopefully escalate to a higher level. It would feel great because I'm going through some things in life. My family is struggling and I know they'd be happy. I'm trying to do it for my friends that died," Williams said. 

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An evening with Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis:

A few weeks ago I spent my evening following Interim Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, 46, as he made his way through neighborhoods for a community walk, to a breaking news scene and to his favorite cigar shop. Previously the Assistant Police Chief for Prince George's County, Md., Davis has served as the Baltimore Deputy Commissioner just for a few months, starting in January of 2015. He says he has hopes to bring progress to the city of Baltimore through community interaction among officers. 

Read the story here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/baltimores-interim-police-commissioner-on-mission-to-mend-ties/2015/08/15/5cbd2310-36c2-11e5-b673-1df005a0fb28_story.html

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90th Annual Chincoteague Island Pony Swim: 

Wednesday of this week I was sent to a unique island and photograph beautiful ponies swimming across the Assateague Channel on Chincoteague Island in Virginia. It was one of the more challenging assignments I’ve had but was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever witnessed. 

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A Summer Melon Harvest: 

I was looking for a feature on my way to an assignment yesterday when I saw some figures in the distance throwing green orbs into an old school bus. With a closer look, I later found myself amongst some incredibly kind workers as they sweat in the hot sun harvesting a summer favorite, watermelons. One of the gentleman said he actually lives in Florida but comes up to the fields for a month during the summer to earn his income. I don’t think I’ll ever look at watermelons the same again knowing the hard work these guys put into their day. 

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Rooftop Yoga:

Last Tuesday evening, I got to hang out with some yoga lovers as they stretched and focused on their positive vibes on atop of the Embassy Row Hotel here in Washington, D.C. 

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Amy Has Angels:

Yesterday, I had the absolute privilege of following a team by the name of Amy’s Angels through the Mudderella Mud Run in Clarksburg, Md. Amy’s Angels was founded to raise awareness of domestic violence as Jackie Lewis, a member of the group, lost her sister, Amy, to domestic violence in February 2009. Through their participation in the event they raised $6,000 for Futures Without Violence an organization working to end violence against women. These women were an incredible inspiration and made all 5 miles in the hot sun worth it. 

Read the article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/mudderella-draws-racers-for-domestic-violence-awareness/2015/07/25/8496f12e-3300-11e5-97ae-30a30cca95d7_story.html

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An Update of Daily Work: 

Some more selects from daily assignments as I continue my internship with The Washington Post.

Captions:

1-2. Ronald Reaves, 73, of Stafford, Va., poses for a portrait at Coleman Cemetery nearby where he says the cremains of unclaimed bodies from DC were buried at an unmarked site in Alexandria, Va., on July 8, 2015

3. Sandra Klassen peers over the podium as Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks before a crowd at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in Arlington, Va., on July 9, 2015

4. Taniyah Kutcherman, 12, poses for a portrait across the street from the Carmelo Anthony Youth Development Center where she attends classes in Baltimore, Md., on Thursday, July 16, 2015. 

5. Arizapana Huayhua eats a piece of watermelon while taking a break alongside a fellow participant during the Smithsonian Folklife Festival featuring Peru at the National Mall in Washington, DC, on July 3, 2015.

6. Young men play a game of basketball while taking a break from skating at the Shaw Skate Park in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, July 7, 2015

7. Mark Lumpkins, 23, of Washington, DC, while he rests in the shade after a game of basketball at the Shaw Skate Park in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, July 7, 2015. 

8.  A young man wipes his forehead after skating at the Shaw Skate Park in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, July 7, 2015.

9. Ingrid Hall Holmes, 66, of Salisbury, Md., takes am moment to decide where to add shading to her still life oil painting at the Shenandoah Manor and Art Destination in Lexington, Va, on Saturday, June 27, 2015. 

10. Ricki Harvey, 65, poses for a portrait with her granddaughter Lilly Harvey, 3, in the forest next door to her home in McLean, Va., on June 30, 2015. Harvey, a retired elementary school principal, is currently navigating the cancer-therapy process since her diagnoses of breast cancer earlier this year. 

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Approaching those DC Tourists: 

A week or two ago I got an assignment to essentially photograph tourists in the area in a way that showed their quirks and sometimes annoying behavior. We wanted an Instagram style feel to the photographs and for me, it was a huge challenge. Still, I enjoyed touring the mall in a way that felt, well, a little touristy. 

Images processed with VSCOCam. Check out the story here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/tourists-who-descend-on-dc-are-a-7-billion-cash-cow--so-stop-griping/2015/07/04/8d890e56-2014-11e5-bf41-c23f5d3face1_story.html

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Small-town Fourth: 

Yesterday was very classic Americana when I had the privilege of hanging out with the citizens of Vienna, Va., at their first ever Independence Day Chili Dog Eating Contest. It had a cool family fun vibe with some bluegrass playing in the background. Plus, this type of environment is always a great way to play around with strobes. 

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First Breaking News Assignment: 

I woke up to a call from my editor this morning around 8 a.m. to go cover what would be my first breaking news assignment interning for The Washington Post in DC. “There are reports of a possible shooter at the navy yard,” he said. I threw on my clothes and ran out the door.

There were indeed concerns of a possible shooter at the Washington Navy Yard, a scene all too familiar since the shootings in 2013. Thankfully, police reported the scene was all clear by 10 a.m. as authorities found no shooter or any weapons. False alarm. 

Since my time in interning in Flint, Mich., where breaking news was a regular thing, I’ve learned quite a bit. However, today was a whole new challenge as I found myself competing against the wires, within a circus of media presence and without a long enough lens. Still, I feel that it was a great learning opportunity. 

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First weeks at The Washington Post: 

Some other selects from daily assignments during my first weeks at The Washington Post. 

Captions: 

1. A young girl holds up a sign alongside other residents as they gather outside of the entrance of Museum Square Apartments with national allies during a rally in protest of the possibility that the apartment building would be bulldozed into high-end condos in Washington, DC, on June 23, 2015. Around 50 residents and activists were present for the event. 

2. Lillian Cevallos, 18, waits by a window alongside her classmates before Washington-Lee High School's commencement ceremony at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, on Thursday, June 18, 2015. Cevallos will be attending Northern Virginia Community College in the Fall.

3. Students form a line before walking the stage during Washington-Lee High School's commencement ceremony at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, on Thursday, June 18, 2015. 

4. Boys bolt around the Washington Monument at sunset in Washington, DC, on Thursday, June 25, 2015.

5. Randy Wilcox, 49, of Washington, DC, waits outside by his crates of roses and bouquets for sale before Washington-Lee High School's commencement ceremony at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, on Thursday, June 18, 2015. 

6. Jennifer Woomer, 32, shows her pregnant stomach while standing on the corner of 2nd and D streets Northwest while visiting her child's father, who is currently homeless, in Washington, DC, on June 20, 2015. Woomer says she is 1-month pregnant and also has a 1-year old. The area is alleged to be an open-air drug market for K3, also referred to as spice or synthetic marijuana. 

7. Travis Rimer, 4, son of Montgomery County Councilmember, Hans Riemer, of Silver Spring, plays with a toy truck during the grand opening for the recently completed Silver Spring Library building in downtown Silver Spring, Md., on June 20, 2015.