Whether they know it or not, most people in Denver who take dining seriously already like Jeff Fierberg’s work. If you’ve scrolled past an unusually well-composed image while looking at pages for The Wolf’s Tailor, MAKfam or Tequilería Alteño and immediately got hungry, there’s a good chance you’ve seen his stuff.
The Denver-born photographer has dedicated his career to shooting food, supporting restaurants and communities, and thinking deeply about the commerce and relationships that bond humanity to the land and to each other. His keen eye has landed him gigs across the United States and as far as Japan, where he’s done projects that highlight culture and cuisine. Locally, he’s shot for the likes of Margot, Hop Alley, Run for the Roses, Semiprecious, Florence Supper Club and SHEEP.
In October 2025, he released Markets Vol 1, the first book of a three-work series he plans to release in full over the next few years.
The book features hundreds of photos from wet markets, tianguis and bazaars from here to Bac Ha, alongside his own writings and essays from friends and colleagues in the worlds of cooking, fermentation science and food journalism. Appearances by Molino Chido’s Michael Diaz de Leon and Id Est Hospitality Group’s Mara King ground the book’s global scale with a decidedly Denver viewpoint.
To create this debut, Fierberg spent a year visiting, shooting and cataloguing fourteen different markets. His journey took him to Mexico and Angola, to Hong Kong, England and India.
At each location, Fierberg would arrive early to shoot, before usually meeting up with the chapter’s coauthor for a meal. “A lot of these markets, because I showed up before the writer, I entered cold,” said Fierberg, noting that being unfamiliar allowed him to capture the place’s essence more freely.
Fierberg clearly loves his subject matter, and snaps an endless array of vibrant locales with compassion and intrigue. “He frames both the goods and the gazes, and documents all the human ties that are strengthened and tested daily in these spaces,” writes Roads & Kingdoms CEO Nathan Thornburgh in the foreword.
The book is full of merchandise and moments, with Fierberg’s trademark knack for framing in full effect. “Markets are the last places where culture refuses to sit quietly in a museum,” writes the author.
Markets is more than just a savvy collection of international oddities. Rather, Fierberg uses the book as a call to action. While it can work as a fine coffee table book for anyone who loves to roam, Markets aims to inspire people to consider their buying habits and encourages those same folks to get out and explore. “In too large a generality, markets are endangered,” said Fierberg. “The meeting of commerce and agriculture is changing, shrinking and becoming commercialized.
Whether in Denver or Hanoi, Fierberg clearly believes that food is the great connector. Pick up his book and keep it somewhere visible, as it can provide a daily reminder that the more we engage, the more we get back.
Jeff Fierberg’s Markets, Volume 1 is available here. It can also be purchased locally at Carbon Knife Co.
Photos courtesy of Jeff Fierberg.
