GROW OR DIE
The California drought is over...now what?
– For BuzzFeed News – In Central California, the lawn is in a state of existential crisis. For years, vibrant greenery landscaped most neighborhoods, even in the height of summer when temperatures reach 115 degrees. Between 2012-2015, a devastating drought assaulted the San Joaquin Valley, and the reluctant region was forced to change their lawn […]
View StoryBROOKLYN CRICKET
For The New York Times
For two weeks I followed the Brooklyn International High School cricket team with New York Times sports feature writer, Michael Powell. On the surface it was a story about what high school cricket looks like in New York City, but deeper it was a story about the collective struggles of immigrant kids trying to assimilate in America. […]
View StoryVALLEY OF ASH
The Golden Empire of Central California
Landlocked over two hours east of the Pacific Ocean and in the middle of California, is the San Joaquin Valley: the antithesis of the California stereotype. It is not a sprawling beach empire or a tech metropolis, but a flat, fertile valley that votes conservative and farms $30 billion of agriculture every year. Fresno is […]
View StoryCONGREGATE
A 172 year old African Methodist Episcopal church on Long Island
– On assignment for Newsday – The Bethel African Methodist Episcopal church in Huntington, NY is 172 years old this year. It was the first to serve an African-American congregation on Long Island, and in 2016 the A.M.E. denomination celebrates the 200th anniversary of its founding. I spent a day photographing the church for Newsday, but […]
View StoryIf It Is Out There
Words + Photos by Ryan C. Jones
Texas, fossils, moonshiners, Paluxy River, T. rex, Glen Rose, Pee-wee Herman, ice cream parlors, Grandmas, El Dorado Springs, Missouri & Spielbergian verisimilitude.
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