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ENVIRONS (Click image to view enlarged) an exploration of people in their surroundings
People give form to countries; borders, law, societies are all man-made. My travels focus on meeting the locals, who provide a far greater insight into the culture than old stones or landscapes—beautiful as those may be. A history book could not truly prepare me for the young Ethiopian woman who suddenly broke our impromptu Amharic lesson to feed me by hand and cry out, "My love!" News articles did not tell me the Syrian men treating me to a soda and smoke in their tire shop would wearily joke that their inability to procure American visas was obviously due to their terrorist tendencies. The photos in "Environs" showcase people from my travels; some that I've befriended and some mere passerby. In a few cases people are not shown but rather the effects of people: domesticated animals, tire tracks, signs. I strive to show how people—whether creating a home from a cave in Jordan or rebelling in small ways against the repressive culture of Japan—affect and are affected by their surroundings.
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