Florida Soup: Putting History On the Table

(ISBN 978-0-615-81236-6) Foreword by Adam Putnam, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture. Three-year travel, research and production (history, lifestyle, industrial diversity, foodways, ethnography) for book offering a compelling look at historic cooking habits, food production and recipes that define the family and community in rural and small-town Florida.

"Our state has such a rich history. For 500 years, cultures ranging from Cracker to Hispanic to Minorcan and more have spiced up our melting pot. And a big part of that is our food. Food is not just sustenance here; it’s a way of life. Florida Soup is for the native and newcomer alike. Eric Dusenbery speaks to those of us who love a good story, long for slower clocks and fold memories into meals like so much butter and flour."
Adam Putnam, Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture in the Foreword to the book, Florida Soup: Putting History On the Table (ISB

Volusia Voices: Building Our Community One Story At A Time

(ISBN: 978-0-692-57841-4) A two-year documentary project to collect the stories that portray everyday Volusia County residents through photography and first-person narratives. Volusia Voices explored the county to seek Volusians who are extraordinary — though they may not know it — and show the rich diversity and character of this area.

Eric Dusenbery is currently working on  Lancaster Matters, an initiative that incorporates large-format documentary photography and journalistic writing that will be an opportunity for regional dialog on issues that matter to residents of Lancaster County. The new project will shed light on Lancaster County — portraits and stories to convey the reality of place and identity.

In our increasingly polarized social landscape, Lancaster Matters explores—through photography and storytelling—different and unique personal perspectives that are reframing issues in ways that resonate with specific communities, capture public attention and motivate people to action; we help people to see.

Emphasizing the traditions of documentary photography as a way of seeing and interpreting cultural life and issues, the imagery for Lancaster Matters will be through the lens of large-format, black-and-white, hand-printed silver gelatin film photography. Using this unconventional photographic approach in a digital-driven age gives the project a distinctive visual aesthetic and will harken back to the influential Farm Security Administration photographers of the mid-20th century to reveal “life as it is.”

A new website platform with monthly content (writing + photography), a robust social media campaign, a book and a community engagement exhibit after the first year of fieldwork, will bring awareness to Lancaster issues in a way that reveals their importance to and impact on society today.