Words and photography by Lori Rice

Lori Rice is a photographer and writer on California’s Central Coast capturing moments that aim to inspire pause. Few things inspire her more than food and the culture that surrounds the what, why, and how we eat. Lori’s work extends beyond food and drink to include their origins through travel. Lori is driven by the beauty of natural light and how lessons taken from landscape and nature can be applied to her styled work.

Early Years

I grew up in the kind of town in Indiana in the U.S. that wasn’t at all big, but it wasn’t exactly small either. It was rural, but not necessarily remote. I think growing up here is what created the balanced love I have for both the countryside and the city centre as an adult.

Later university led me to other areas of the state and then to Central Kentucky. Now, in mid-life, I can look back at the long history of my family in my hometown and the rich history of Central Kentucky with appreciation. But I also know that it’s not for me now. It doesn’t fit with the lifestyle I want to live. At the same time, my mom’s from-scratch cooking and creativity as a cake shop owner and wedding cake designer, as well as an avid sewer, has greatly influenced how I’ve ended up doing the work I do now. Similarly, my dad’s innate skill and passion for growing food and strong work ethic influences my own passion for exploring food origins and nature and turning these passions into a creative business.

I graduated with degrees in nutritional and exercise sciences and worked in public health at a state land-grand university before my husband received an offer for us to live abroad in Brazil for three years. This gave me the opportunity to leave the structure of academia and explore writing, which eventually led to the work I do now, which marries writing with photography. Living abroad further fuelled our appetite for travel and exploration of culture, which is really at the heart of all the work I do.

We now live in Central California, near the ocean, immersed in the beauty of wine country, with regular stints of working remotely from a camping van, along with frequent trips across the state, country, and abroad.

It’s often difficult to define what I do, but content creation is the easiest way to put it. I work with agriculture boards and farms, creating photos and videos, writing content, and further educating consumers about food and where it comes from. I contribute editorial content, words and photos, to magazines. I develop recipes for some of my clients and I’m the author-photographer of three cookbooks.

Evolving

Looking back, I don’t think I had a creative side at all until my late 20s. My learning and my practice were science-driven. There are still parts of science that I love, and I appreciate that I can draw from that foundation. As I discovered photography, I found myself searching for ways to translate that foundation of science into art: A love of gardening and food origins into food photography. A love of travel planning and exploration into travel photography. An understanding of physiology and exercise into an opportunity for hikes so I can photograph landscapes and wildlife.

I often joke that my path can be summed up into me growing tired of telling people the benefits of healthy eating and exercise and making the decision to inspire by showing them how beautiful it can be instead, through my photography.

My work has definitely evolved throughout the past 12 years. In the beginning, my photography of food was tied to me creating it. I developed a lot of recipes. Today, I develop fewer, and I don’t really enjoy that side of my work as much anymore. I’d rather travel, explore food made by someone else, and tell their story through photos, words, or both. In terms of my photography itself, I focus less on what others might judge as a technically perfect photograph or doing things just right. I focus on capturing a scene that may never be recreated. A light, subject, prop, time of day, or season that represents a moment in time. My goal is to inspire pause with my work.

“In reality, though, my journey as a creative began with travel and exploration of food culture. I began international travel, taking photos with an inexpensive point-and-shoot, falling in love with how and why we eat as individuals, countries, and regions years before I realized all of this could come together for me in a creative career path. ”

I often credit my interests in food photography to blogging. I started a health-focused food blog when we lived in Brazil, I was in my late 20s. It then became a recipe blog based on foods I discovered through my travels. That transformed into me just wanting to create beautiful photos of food. So, I guess the creative work I do began with words, then evolved to expressing those words through photos.

In reality, though, my journey as a creative began with travel and exploration of food culture. I began international travel, taking photos with an inexpensive point-and-shoot, falling in love with how and why we eat as individuals, countries, and regions years before I realized all of this could come together for me in a creative career path.

It’s much more likely that my photography stands alone as a creative work than my words. When I write, I always want to add to the story with my photos. One deal breaker for all my cookbooks was that I also served as the stylist and photographer. I had no interest in writing a book, creating the recipes, or telling stories, if I could not also create the photos to go with it.

“What we choose to eat, what we choose not to eat, and what we have access to are so defining of our backgrounds, experiences, and personal journeys. Exploring this is something I find most rewarding through photos. ”

Why Food

With my background in nutritional sciences, my interests in food were grounded in diet culture. Diet, body weight, and fitness were prominent topics in my environment growing up. It’s something I’m working through and trying to leave behind as a woman in mid-life now. But I don’t regret all of it because my start in nutrition prompted a fascination with food and what has evolved into a great respect for food cultures.

I love learning about the differences in the foods we eat, how they are grown, and how they are prepared around the world. I love understanding why we eat those foods whether it’s related to taste preferences or to our histories, heritage, and socioeconomic status. What we choose to eat, what we choose not to eat, and what we have access to are so defining of our backgrounds, experiences, and personal journeys. Exploring this is something I find most rewarding through photos.

One of my favourite books is What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets by Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio. It’s a photography book that captures 80 people from 30 countries with a typical day’s worth of food in the frame. I discovered it years ago before I had any vision of being a photographer. It was because of the type of food and the calorie breakdown from the daily diets that I was completely fascinated by this. Food connects us, defines us, and differentiates us all at the same time. Now as a photographer, the book is even more inspiring.

The right path

When I took a more creative path with my career, it meant that it also had to provide income. So yes, there are many times I’ve questioned if this was the right path for me. At the same time, I know that I want to do nothing else but own my own business and have food and travel as part of my work. I have experienced much more stress than if I’d pursued a daily job with an employer because I often don’t know if the next project will come. That’s sometimes made the act of being creative a source of stress, which really isn’t how it's supposed to be.

Over the past two or so years, I’ve had to work hard at separating what is income-driven work and what is true creative work (and also travel) that is meant to fuel me, not drain me. I’m getting better at distinguishing the two, but it’s still a journey.

I think my greatest accomplishment is reaching the point where I’m confident in being me. It’s a place where I can look back and see how far I’ve come, how much I know, and how valuable I can be doing what I do. I’m not sure how much I had to do with getting to this point, though. I think some artists reach this point, a place of personal identity, much sooner. For me, it came with mid-life, with the privilege of being able to pause, acknowledge what I know, what I’ve seen, and where I’ve been, and then reflecting on – Okay, how can I use this to help someone else on their journey or to make another person’s job easier? How can I provide value? Not in the sense of monetary gain, but in just being who I am and contributing what I know.

Advice

I wouldn’t tell my younger self anything because I know her, and she wouldn’t have listened anyway. I think listening is something that comes to us a bit later in life. You value the words and wisdom of others more with age. When we’re younger we’re meant to try and experience and fail and succeed. It’s how we carve our own paths. I don’t know that we can listen to advice or someone else’s perspective on things until we’re ready.

I tell others on their creative journey – do not underestimate the value you bring to your creative genre. Comparing ourselves to others is part of the human condition, but you don’t have to let it drown you. When I teach styling and photography, I tell students that multiple people can take a photo of the same subject, but no one is going to create a photo exactly like you will. What you see to create is influenced by where you are from, where you have been, your roles within your family and community, the tools you use…no one else exists with that exact recipe. Who you are and your experiences have so much value in the works you create.