In the flow of the market, Accra Ghana 🇬🇭 📸

#streetphotography
#streetportrait
#marketlife
#marketwoman
#accra
#ghana
#westafrica
#africanstreet
#africanportrait
#everydayafrica
#dailylife
#urbanlife
#publicspace
#documentaryphotography
#humanstories
#peoplephotography
#visualstorytelling
#culture
#tradewomen
#workingwomen
#citystreets
#africanmarkets
#lifeonstreets
#fridayvibes
#naturallight
#onassignment
#photodocumentary
#streetlife
#pixelfed

I spent a few days earlier this year in rural Washington state and St. Louis, Missouri, for a New York Times story on Doug Whitney, a man who should have died two decades ago from early-onset Alzheimer's Disease, but somehow hasn't developed any symptoms. His mother was one of 10 siblings, out of 13, in her family who died from the disease; the family carries a genetic mutation that makes them more likely to develop early-onset Alzheimer's. Doug, now in his mid-70s, is the only known person in the world to have the mutation and not have symptoms of the disease, which usually present before one reaches mid-50s. Since discovering his genetic predisposition to the disease, he has been studied by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, allowing doctors to poke, prod, scan, and do everything they need to figure out why he hasn't developed Alzheimer's. At his home, he sat with wife Ione and worked on jigsaw puzzles while I visited. In St. Louis, he underwent MRI and PET
scans, a spinal tap, blood draws, and other mental and physical examinations that he has been doing annually so the researchers can add to their long-term record of his genetics, physiological characteristics, and mental capabilities as he ages. One particular avenue of recent investigation is a significant build-up of heat-stress proteins in his brain possibly from his years working as a Navy mechanic, which some believe may make Doug less susceptible to the development of tau tangles in the brain, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. It was great to work so closely with Pulitzer-winning reporter Pam Belluck on this, whose health reporting I've sought out over the years.

A big thanks to Matt for the call on this assignment and for big play in the paper and online (with some video!)

#photography #photojournalism #news #health #science #onassignment #alzheimersdisease

Charlie Kirk made one of his "Prove Me Wrong" stops in May 2024 at the University of Washington campus in Seattle as part of his Live Free Tour across the country as the national presidential race was really getting underway before the summer's conventions. He was surrounded by a handful of bodyguards at all times during the event. I was there covering the ongoing pro-Palestine encampment nearby on the campus for the New York Times and decided to go a little early to photograph a bit of Kirk's visit that day. The photos have been resurfacing over the last week with NYT stories after Kirk's apparent assassination during a similar event in Utah. One of the Turning Point USA buttons that they were giving away that day in Seattle read "Stick to your guns / If you're not strapped Big Gov will be."

#photography #photojournalism #seattle #news #politics #onassignment #charliekirk #journalism

MIT physicist and 2017 Nobel prize winner Rainer Weiss died this week. I photographed him at home as he learned he won the award for his work detecting gravitational waves with the LIGO system he developed. Later in the day, he spoke at MIT about his research and celebrated the prize with scientific collaborators, students, and the MIT community. It was such a whirlwind, but the things I'll always remember is his wife Rebecca (seen looking in as he receives THE phone call in the first image) offering me toast as we all waited for the news so early in the morning and Rainer's infectious energy and friendliness. During one of his speeches, he told the story about how he dreamed up the idea for the gravitational wave detectors but that everyone he told about it thought he was crazy and wrote off his ideas for decades. Eventually the idea turned into reality and became the largest project funded by the National Science Foundation (and other organizations). In the first 10 or so years, no
gravitational waves were detected, but after the 2015 completion of five-year project to increase the sensitivity of its measurements, the system worked, providing the first measurable evidence that confirmed this part of Einstein's theory of general relativity, almost exactly 100 years after the theory was first presented. The research paper was published in 2016, and he won the award in 2017.

#photography #onassignment #history #physics #science #photojournalism #mit #boston #scientist #nobelprize

I've added a new story to my website, an extended look at the story I photographed for High Country News last summer (and published in the magazine in April) on the MYWY program for adopting and training wild mustangs in Washington state. Here are a few favorite outtakes that didn't make it into the magazine, but which you can see on my website. Thanks again to Bear for the challenging assignment!

Link: https://www.mscottbrauer.com/to-train-mustang/

#photojournalism #documentary #horses #pnw #pacificnorthwest #washingtonstate #wa #photography #onassignment #documentaryphotography #journalism

Shipping containers at the Port of Seattle yesterday, including quite a few from Chinese logistics companies COSCO and China Shipping, as the Trump administration's on-again-off-again tariff threats got delayed by another 90 days.

#seattle #trade #globaltrade #politics #shipping #photojournalism #onassignment #industry #industrial #tariff #politics #business

For CascadePBS' Black Arts Legacies, we profiled print artist Jite Agbro as she created multi-layered pieces that are almost like collages of etching, sewing, and monotype, in her studio in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood. Again, I helped produce the still portion of the piece for photographer Meron Menghistab (seen in image 3) and did some behind-the-scenes and detail photography. This was the fifth and final season of the series profiling living and dead Black artists who have contributed to the vibrant Seattle arts scene. Articles, videos, and photos from this and the previous seasons can be seen on the BAL and CascadePBS websites. I'm very glad to have contributed a small part to the project. Kudos to the rest of the team, many of whom worked on all five seasons, for creating such an expansive look at the history and current trajectory of Seattle's Black artists.

#seattle #arts #artist #pnw #pacificnorthwest #photojournalism #documentary #visualarts #onassignment #editorial #portrait #portraiture

As the sun sets in Portland, Maine. #OnAssignment

For CascadePBS' Black Arts Legacies, we profiled playwright and performer Andrew Lee Creech rehearsing monologues his plays in a practice space at Seattle's ACT Contemporary Theatre. I helped produce the stills portion of the shoot for photographer Meron Menghistab (seen in image 3) and photographed some details and behind-the-scenes images to fill out the final profile. Alll five seasons of the project are available on the Black Arts Legacies and CascadePBS websites.

#seattle #arts #theater #theatre #photography #onassignment #photojournalism