https://www.cstellaphoto.com/projects daily 1.0 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5cee9b89c1727df1254a05/1532881063358-Z4XV0Y231308I3BZWVL3/Tendera-Mercado-San-Juan-Mexico-City-2017.jpg Photography - Tendera, Mercado San Juan, Mexico City (2017) Why “Markets” I grew up around good food. My mother was an excellent cook. My grandmothers, each Italian, taught me how to make pasta and hand fold cappelletti with care and reverence during the holidays. As I grew older, food became a connection to culture. My travels centered around finding good meals, and good people to share them with. The markets in Mexico City represent everything I love about food —colors, textures, and smells heaped upon one another. They are more than places to purchase necessities, they are places to gather with friends, be entertained, partake in spiritual rituals—and of course, eat. It’s strange that what is so accessible in Mexico City is hocked as a exclusive in many of our major U.S. cities: Eataly, Chelsea Market, Reading Terminal and others that skew toward artisanal eating and high-end shopping. Places to get fresh, local, high-quality goods and meals prepared with care shouldn’t be novelty—they can serve as the cornerstones of community. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5cee9b89c1727df1254a05/1532817279656-YZPAVXL8U5PEPOYM5H0D/6+Train_June+2016_Leica_.jpg Photography - Commuter, 6 Train (2016) Why “Sleep” For the last two years, I’ve been photographing people sleeping in public spaces. When I first started shooting, I was motivated by a concept that goes back to the works of Edgar Allen Poe: sleep allows us an escape from a nightmarish reality. Against the ever frantic backdrop of New York City, it was a simple narrative to apply. But the more people I photographed, the less convinced I was was the people in these photos were escaping a nightmare. Any reality in which they could slip into unconsciousness in the presence of complete strangers isn’t nightmarish or threatening: it’s nurturing. Whether the subjects of these photos hide under blankets, or nestle their heads against bus windows, door frames, and loved ones, their choice to sleep among strangers requires vulnerability, surrender to their surroundings, and an inherent trust in the people around them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5cee9b89c1727df1254a05/1543719155069-GZ54MXDSZRPL4YDM0A6N/52700001_edit.jpg Photography - Sibyl Camera: Hasselblad 500cm Film: Fuji 400h https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5cee9b89c1727df1254a05/1532822677022-BM8A56X398NSQCGMZZ1Q/Raybeez-Tribute-Moshpit-Tompkins-Square-Park-2017+4.jpg Photography - Raybeez Tribute (01) Why “Pits” From my first hardcore show, I was taken by mosh pits. As a young athlete, “the pit” was the ultimate musical playing field. It brimmed with the danger and uncertainty of a contact sport, and had the boundaries of one as well: knock a man down and help him back up, and don’t take a blow personally. The pit was place where you could let the music take over your body with a Pentecostal fervor, and dance ecstatically without judgement. The pit was a place where the music became a human drama, in its rawest and most primitive form. While I don’t slam dance or crowd surf anymore, the raw energy of the pit still inspires me to snap a few frames. https://www.cstellaphoto.com/about daily 0.75 2026-04-02