Between the Lines with La Buena Vida

Today, we get to know Nicole Franzen, the creator of La Buena Vida.  Ms. Franzen is a vegetarian with a simple and fresh approach.  Her straight-forward, yet flavorful recipes are compelling to even a die-hard carnivore like me.  Her blog  is visually arresting and an excellent showcase for her food photography skills.   It illustrates what happens when talent and dedication meet.   Ms.  Franzen has taken her passion for food and photography and turned it into a career in food-centric photography.

What first attracted you to blogging?

Well, I have always taken photos and enjoyed sharing them. With a blog you are able to have a bit more creative control as opposed to other sites that just show images like flickr and facebook. So inspired to have a creative outlet I created “La Buena Vida” on a cold winters night in 2009. A place where I could showcase my work.

What inspired your blog’s name, La Buena Vida?

“La Buena Vida” means “The Good Life” in Spanish. Ever since a young age I’ve had an appreciation and love for the finer things in life. Whether it be great food, dining, design, or travel, those things have always attracted me. “La Buena Vida” is a place where I share my favorite things in this life. Photography being my way of expressing that. Since I grew up partially in California and New Mexico, as well as traveled and lived in South America. Spanish and it’s cultures have always been a big part of my life, so it seemed fitting.

How would you characterize your blog’s theme?

I do jump around a bit, but overall its a personal diary of my photography. I cook a lot so I share recipes quite often and I love shooting markets. I do food photography professionally so I share different shoots I’ve been working on with restaurants etc. I also show how it is living in New York City and my travels. Every so often I throw in something design related that may not be my photography. But primarily its a place where I showcase my work and my evolution as a photographer, food being the main focus.

La Buena Vida showcases your stunning photography. What drew you to photography as a profession?

Well thanks! Taking photos is something I’ve always done and never tire of. There is a drive inside me that keeps me growing and putting higher and higher expectations of myself. Ever since I was a little girl I would take walks with my camera. I remembered this more recently when I was going through some photos I took of Nantucket when I was 13. I remembering clearly heading out on an adventure just me and the camera. I’ve done that ever since. It’s always been more of a passion for me, then a profession. I am just starting to become a professional but my passion and love for it come first. And one can only hope that you can follow what your passionate about and become successful doing what you love.

What sort of training have you had?

No training, self taught. I took one little class as an intro to photography when I bought my first DSLR.

Why food photography in particular?

Food photography is a new thing for me. I am modest and know that I have a long way to go from where I want to be. Food has always been a huge part of my life. I’ve worked in restaurants since I was 14, spending my spare time watching cooking shows and being in the kitchen. I wanted to be a chef when I was younger and the passion and love for food never fades. We are what we eat, I’ve become more and more in tuned with the environment, eating locally, supporting small farms, preparing food simply so that the ingredient shines. Learning about nutrition and how food makes me feel. It seemed like it would work out if I combined both my loves for food and photography, so here I am.

Do you have any photography suggestions for the average food blogger?

Trust your instincts and practice. Look at other photographers work that you love and see what they do. Get inspired by that and push yourself to create your own style. Keep a camera on you at all times and shoot shoot shoot. Practice makes perfect.

Do you have a particular cooking style?

Simple, very fresh and fairly fast. I would say that I cook a lot of Italian, as well as some Mexi-Cali inspired food. I’ve worked in a ton of Italian restaurants and well, they are the masters and use my favorite ingredients. Tomatoes, capers, lemon, fresh herbs, cheeses, pasta and pizzas. Italians cook fresh, simple and tasty food. I eat seasonally and try to utilize what is at the market to create simple rustic recipes. Lot’s of salads, pastas and soups. I am a pescatarian so I cook mostly vegetables and when I do prepare seafood its a treat and not very often.

What has been the single largest influence on your cooking?

What’s available at the Farmer’s Market is the main inspiration. Working in a restaurant has its advantages, I am lucky to be around chefs who are creating things all the time and then I get ideas. I always watch cooking shows, I look at tons of food blogs and eat out. Keeping in tuned with “The Foodie Network” if you will.

Tell us a little about your offline work.

As I’ve mentioned a lot, I work in restaurants. It allows me to have enough free time so I can work on my own business. I hope to be a full time photographer sooner rather then later.

Do you have any upcoming projects which you would like to share with our readers?

I am always brainstorming ideas, my newest idea which I am finding I’m having a hard time making time for. Is a new blog which will showcase people and food. Its called “The Food Diaries” it will have a portrait and an interview of a wide variety of people. Including culinary professionals, food bloggers and photographers, everyone really. I am still trying to work on what I want to capture from the interviews, mostly it will be about how food has an affect on them, culturally what they ate, how big of a part food plays in their lives, what people actually eat and why. In the end I just want people to be interested in where their food is coming from, how it makes them feel and how easy it is to prepare tasty healthy meals. I also want to learn more about different cultures and what they eat.

Thanks to Nicole Franzen for taking the time to do this interview.  Please stop by her websites to see her talents first-hand!

La Buena Vida | Nicole Franzen Photography