Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Green.
Hi Emily, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Before I ever picked up a camera, I used to sit with my grandfather’s stacks of National Geographic magazines and get completely lost in them. I was mesmerized by the photographs of people and animals from all over the world.
I started taking pictures in high school with a simple 35mm point and shoot. I can’t really say why it interested me. It just kind of called to me. What hooked me was the darkroom. I loved the whole process of developing and printing my own images and watching something appear out of the solution.
Not long after, I was given my grandfather’s Canon AE-1, and that was a game changer. Somewhere around that time, my mom came in from the barn carrying a box and said she wanted to show me something. I had no idea she’d ever taken photos, but she opened the box and there were these beautiful photographs she had shot and developed herself after taking a few classes in college. That inspired me so much. She told me once to think about what I was photographing and why, to take the time to compose it well, and not to just take a picture of anything, because film wasn’t cheap and she didn’t want me wasting money.
After high school I got involved with an international missions organization, and I was captivated by the cultures I experienced. The people were so photogenic, and being there inspired me to keep shooting.
I grew up in the country, so I’ve always been around horses and had a bit of a western bent. Today, I’m most drawn to the raw, gritty stories that live in that lifestyle, and I’ve photographed for a lot of nonprofits, including farms, ranches, and horse rescues. I’ve also always loved to write, and recently I’ve discovered how fulfilling it is to write the stories that go along with my photographs. My work has been published in several magazines, including Kickin Up Dust, an international publication out of Australia.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not, haha. If photography were music, I’d say it’s taken me a long time to find my sound, and even now I’m always learning and growing.
I began my photography journey on film and in the darkroom, and then had to relearn everything and keep up with digital. I miss the old days often. Now there’s also the constant effort of keeping up with social media and the battle with algorithms. Today it seems like to get your work out there, you have to be some kind of influencer or content creator, and honestly, that’s exhausting. I miss the days when creating something beautiful and moving was enough to captivate someone. I miss the slower pace, the deep personal connection that photography brings, and the language it once was.
I’ve also battled an autoimmune condition since I was 19, and being in and out of hospitals through my twenties brought a lot of financial burden. I spent a lot of days sick, working any job I could just to pay my bills, so my time and energy went elsewhere instead of into my art. I’ve struggled with ADHD and depression too, which can make getting inspired challenging. Learning new things can be difficult for me, and it often takes many hours of hands on practice and a lot of mistakes.
But because I’ve experienced so much pain myself, my eyes have been opened to others walking through their own hardships. Through my own encounters with suffering, I’m able to hold space for others when I’m asked to capture something very heavy or emotional. And it’s through the darkness of these challenges that inspiring art can be created.
Making a full time living has been hard, and I’ve often fought insecurity. Even so, photography has taken me places I never imagined and brought amazing people into my life along the way, and that’s what keeps me going.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a storyteller. I capture the world happening around me, and I’m drawn to deep emotion. I’ve been present for both joyful and tragic moments, capturing life, death, and all the stories in between. I’ve photographed birth, both human and animal, as well as loss, the dying, and the dead. I’ve documented starving horses being rescued and their journey back to health, and I’ve photographed children growing up through the years. For eight years, I photographed thousands of people at an annual event in Washington, DC. I’ve traveled, met people, and told their stories.
My images have helped organizations grow their platforms and engagement. Some have even replaced me, maybe to save money, only to rehire me when they realized something was missing. They told me I capture the emotion and the heart of what they do like no one else. That’s probably what sets me apart.
The piece I’m most proud of is my published story Cow Camp, which has been featured in Range Magazine, Buckaroo, and Kickin Up Dust. It follows a trip I took from Central Oregon to Colorado to ride with a woman who was running cattle alone on a mountain, told through both my writing and gritty documentary images. We arrived the same day a cowboy lost his life in a horse accident. What started as an adventure became a story about grief, fear, and finding peace, and a reminder that life is a fragile gift. My photographs have also been featured in 1859 Oregon’s Magazine, including one of their covers. I’m also proud of Experience the Wonder, a piece about letting go of my heart horse, told alongside the many photographs I took of him through the years. And I’m really excited about Riding the Clarence, a story about The Ranch on Clarence in New South Wales, Australia, and the images I made there. Every one of these stories has left a mark on me, and I hope they leave one on the people who see and read them.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
I’m mostly self taught and have learned a lot through trial and error. In 2008 I took a three month crash course in digital photography, which helped me make the transition from film.
Within the last five years, my biggest encourager has been my friend Ellen with Morningstar Films. She’s helped me build confidence in my work and truly find my sound.
My aunt has also been a huge support, helping me edit pages and pages of my writing. And honestly, the encouraging comments from people on social media mean so much to me. Knowing there are people who want to follow along on my journeys and are excited to see and read what comes next inspires me to keep creating.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imemilygreen.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imemilygreen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emily.green.7528
- Other: https://substack.com/@imemilygreen
