Chatham, Va. for the Washington Post

Uranium Mining in Chatham, Virginia by Ryan Stone Virginia Editorial Photographer
A while back I got to spend two days in Chatham, Va. for the Washington Post. First, I love two day assignments. When the editor says those rare words, “two days” I relish it. The first day was spent getting up to speed and making the contacts that I needed. I took a few frames, but I spent the majority of the day wrapping my head around the issue and making sure I knew what was going on before launching into it.
Chatham, Va. has a 119 million pound uranium deposit under a hill. I stood there and heard a geiger counter go bananas. The town is wrestling with whether or not to support a lift on the moratorium for uranium mining. One side is worried about long-term health effects, local economy influences and what it would mean for the area. The other side says it will bring in tax revenue, jobs and prosperity. And for now the town is left to argue amongst itself.
I spent my time photographing the parties involved. Unfortunately for me the site where the uranium currently sits is just an empty field, so I had to photograph involved parties in hopes that I put what is currently an invisible issue a face.

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Giles High V. Christiansburg High

Giles High Vs. Christiansburg High Girls
I was assigned to shoot high school football for the Roanoke Times a few weeks ago. I figured it would be your normal stuff, dark stadium, grainy pictures, you know the usual. But as I was pulling into the parking lot the students for Christiansburg High were having quite a time in the field next to the stadium. I grabbed my gear and ran over and started shooting. I ended up getting two pictures I really like and once I got started with the game the clouds rolled in. The game was cancelled eventually after an hour of lightning delays.

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