Photographer Steven Wade Adams is an Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this documentary photography. From the project ‘Samavar’. To see Steven’s body of work, click on any photograph.

Market Day in Srinagar, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

Tending the Family Hearth, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

Entering a Mosque, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

The samavar is a metal pot for heating water or brewing tea. It is also a cultural symbol of hospitality and warmth, as I found the Kashmiri people. This series shows daily life in and about Srinagar within the disputed territory of Kashmir. In this beautiful place, they live between cultures and between traditional and modernity.

Carrying the Harvest, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

Dal Lake at Dawn, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

I trained first as a veterinarian and scientist. Along the way my work with the camera became serious during regular international travel, which led to partnerships with global development NGOs in India, Uganda, Myanmar, Kenya, Guatemala, and Ethiopia. This access allowed me to build an artistic practice while being part of the important work of building strong international communities. I also create short films for NGOs and recently completed my first short documentary Yo Soy Mariachero.  New work is underway: a long-term project beginning in Guatemala, a return to Japan as its own body of work, and time in Bangladesh this coming December. I focus on cultural practices that form communities of identity. Cultural identity and norms that also create barriers, which are real but not fixed. Listening and respecting these practices makes the barriers more porous but doesn't admit the full kaleidoscope of what defines a people.  My photographic practice requires patient waiting for the pose to fade and the performance to end, for the moment when what's underneath becomes briefly visible.

All images and text © Steven Wade Adams