Ongoing Projects
US Farmer’s Markets
The average American sources his or her diet from that same long distance-2,100 kilometers away. It’s not the mileage itself, say environmentalists and some health experts. It’s that the farther the food travels, the less fresh it is and the more fuel is used to transport it. But many people are changing their ways, going to local farmers’ markets to handpick fresher produce. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that as of 2006 there were 4,385 organized farmers’ markets in the country, up from to 2,410 a decade earlier.
A 2006 department survey showed that 25 percent of the vendors interviewed said they relied on farmers’ markets as their sole source of farm-based income. Average sales at individual farmers’ markets in 2005 totaled about $245,000; average annual sales per vendor totaled $7,108.
Read article here.
Auto-Art
This is an ongoing project, that I began in 2005, to photograph the interiors of auto rickshaws in India. I started this project on a whimsical note while commuting to work and back home in these rickshaws, but after I observed the rich colors, texture and patterns in the initial photos I began to take more interest. I temporarily had to stop this project after I immigrated to the US in late 2006. I plan to continue when I am in India.
Thousands of autorickshaws ply across most Indian cities and towns, and are one of the most popular means of public transportation. The rickshaws are also a window to the culture of a place – painted in vibrant colors, many of them are decorated with religious motifs, Bollywood actors, and local art and talisman. They provide a good canvas to study the iconography of a region.