A photographer finds a path forward through grief, and artistic inspiration at the farmers market.

Mina Afshari became known in the photographic community because of her still life images posted on Instagram.

During the pandemic, Carmel-based Afshari started a delivery service from her beloved Carmel farmers market to people’s homes. It made her see the inner drama of a pomegranate, the weirdness of kohlrabi and to view darkening pears in a new light – the low light of her dim Carmel apartment, to be more precise. There, after many hours in the company of produce, she started to photograph fruits and vegetables and flowers, using just the light from her single window.

Afshari is not afraid of portraying the life cycle of her models and muses, accepting them past their peak freshness, weakening, full of imperfections. Often, she inserts herself in her art, posing with a smile of watermelon in her hand, or holding cascades of grapes.

“My photography is a direct reflection of my journey through the ups and downs of life,” she wrote on her website. “The darkness in my images, like the depth I have experienced, makes the quality of light so luminous like what I find within.”

Despite her growing enthusiasm for photography, Afshari has another serious passion: economics. Now a student at UC Berkeley, she is considering pursuing a PhD in corporate finance. But those are the most recent chapters in a fascinating life story that started in Iran, with Afshari’s mother falling ill and seeking care for cancer in the U.S. She died shortly after her daughter, a math nerd and a member of Young Mathematicians Club, arrived in California at the age of 20.

Weekly: You didn’t want to go back to Iran?

Afshari: It’s pretty scary for a woman to be there. I felt abused. You can get arrested at a gunpoint for just a little bit of hair visible. I guess I always was a little bit of a rebel. But it took me a while to stop hurting [after my mother’s death], to start working as a fitness instructor and go back to school.

How did you end up in Carmel?

My first American hostess took me here in 2016. I loved everything about it. I thought: “Maybe one day I could live here.” And at some point, living in the Bay Area, I realized I’d rather be in Carmel.

It’s a shopping service you started that led you to photography.

Yes. During the pandemic, people were not showing up for curbside pickup, so I started to deliver food to them. At first, I was doing photos for the farmers market. But I’m a perfectionist and I always get a bit obsessed about what I do.

What is your process?

Sometimes it takes me several days before I do the work, with veggies rotting. And I can’t eat them before I take the photos. But I wait until the time is just right and do it from the heart. I use a Canon 5D Mark IV and I have a couple of lenses. Yes, it’s the whole style on social media – dark photography.

But your dark produce is not the only thing you are passionate about.

I intend to pursue a PhD in corporate and behavioral finance [the study of the effects of psychology on investors and markets]. During the pandemic, I got really interested in corporate resilience and I would like to do more research on what makes certain companies, like people, make it through.

Could you pick an image from your Instagram account and tell us its story and why you like this one?

[Shows a photo of tromboncino squashes, snake-shaped summer sqaushes.] This is one of my favorite photographs for a couple of reasons. One is that it captures the beauty and inspiration I find at the farmers market every week. Tromboncino squashes are one of my favorite veggies to photograph. Their dramatic shapes spark my creativity.

Second, it is a good representation of my style: I just love creating evocative still-life photos by using an intense expression of color and light, while playing with shapes and composition.

Do you see yourself taking photos in, let’s say, 10 years from now, when you are a full-time economist?

Of course. I want art to be a big part of my life. Maybe one day I can be a full-time artist and part-time economist. In the meantime, I want to keep learning and improving my technique.

View Mina Afshari’s work at fromourmarket.com or instagram.com/fromourmarket