The photographs in the “Eat” series represent contradictions I see in the way we buy and eat food in the 21st century. Growing up, I ate from a large garden, and multiple generations on both sides of my family made a living as fruit and vegetable farmers. The consistent perfection of food available in grocery stores does not represent the reality of what crops look like, even when healthy, edible, and full of excellent flavor. Commercial food photography often also hides the strangeness of eating food and how half-eaten food appears.

To create this series, I am photographing up-close and focus-stacking (a method that allows me to achieve infinite focus in an image so everything is depicted at peak sharpness) food crops from my garden, items I’ve foraged in the wild, and groceries bought from stores. My hope for this work is to transform, in part, the perceptions we hav eabout what quality food looks like, and challenge the notion of evaluating foods from perception alone.