Lindsay Lauckner Gundlock: From the Source – Mexico

Over the course of 3 months, Mexico City-based photographer Lindsay Lauckner Gundlock traveled throughout Mexico to capture images and stories to use in a travel-based cookbook for Lonely Planet called “From the Source: Mexico.”

Lindsay had about three and a half months to complete one of the most significant, dreamiest projects she has ever had in her career. During that time, she traveled to multiple locations around Mexico to meet and photograph 60 chefs and their recipes. Additionally, Lindsay coordinated with five different writers, each assigned to cover a specific geographical region the book is divided into. The planning and organizing that went into this project was not easy. There were multiple schedules to consider in addition to booking flights, purchasing bus tickets, and booking hotel rooms. 

The writers sourced the chefs and recipes. Moreover, sometimes during the project, the author(s) traveled with Lindsay where they worked side by side. In other cases, she received a contact list and had to set up the shoot appointments herself, without the assistance of her writer sidekicks.

When working on a project this big, it’s impossible to avoid some bumps in the road along the way. One being, the time Lindsay got sick when she was traveling with writer Michele Peterson, for the Pacific Coast chapter. Luckily, there was some wiggle room in the schedule, so Lindsay was able to take a day to recover.

Despite any challenges faced, Lindsay loved working on this project. She cherished the opportunity to meet and collaborate with many amazing chefs throughout the process.

The shoot, or rather 60 some-odd shoots, were incredible! I met lovely, talented, and interesting people from all over Mexico. I found myself in places I never expected to be. Such as getting up at sunrise to document a diver harvesting oysters in San Blas, or sitting in the home kitchen of an Oaxacan cook, seeing how hot chocolate is made from scratch with cocoa beans. I worked hard, putting in a lot of long days and no weekends, but the excitement of what I got to experience next and the drive to do these recipes and chefs justice kept me motivated.

The book was recently published, and the reaction from viewers and the client could not have been better. Lindsay has heard a lot of people say, “This is making me hungry” which she takes as a major victory. 

See more of Lindsay’s photography on her website.

Credits
Writers: Kate Armstrong, John Hecht, Scarlett Lindeman, Kristin Diaz de Sandi
Producer: Jessica Cole
Book Designer: Daniel Di Paolo

Further Reading
Read more articles about Lindsay Lauckner Gundlock.
Read more articles about Food/Drink photography.

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