This series captures the vibrant life of Haitian markets in Port-au-Prince, focusing on Marché du Canapé-Vert and Marché de Fer, or ‘Iron Market’. Each photo was taken in collaboration with local residents.

The Marché de Fer was originally intended as a railway station in Cairo. However it was brought to Haiti in 1891 by President Florvil Hyppolite. Designated a ‘historical heritage’ site, the market’s faced several challenges since then, including two fires and its partial destruction in the 2010 earthquake. It reopened a year later in 2011, around the time many of these photos were taken. Despite the earthquake and the long road to recovery, life carried on in Haiti’s markets.

On a more personal note, working in Haiti was a slow and deliberate process. Building trust with residents was essential. Western media has a well-deserved reputation for misrepresenting and taking advantage of Haiti. It was critical that I could be held accountable and that each person was an equal participant in the process. I remember sitting and peeling beans alongside a woman for days until she finally said I could take a photo — on the condition that I stop peeling beans because I was terrible at it. Once I’d earned her trust, others in the market began to welcome my camera as well. Of course I couldn’t have done any of it without my fixer, Youyou. And nearly everyone I photographed received a printed portrait of themselves, thanks to a portable printer I carried in my backpack.