This week's blogger makes food look good. Liz Mathews is a nationally recognized photo director, and serves as LPK's chief culinary creative director. A recent transplant from Los Angeles, Liz shares her thoughts on her move to Cincinnati, and finding inspiration in her new surroundings.
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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Posted By: Liz Mathews
7/20/2010
Standing in the middle of a bridge over the Ohio River watching the July 4th fireworks, I took a moment to reflect on my new hometown and how much has changed for me in the past year. The view is beautiful in every direction, and the fireworks show is spectacular, but in fact I relocated to Cincinnati for a career opportunity, not because Cincinnati was where I wanted to be. Discovering that it is such a vibrant and interesting city is the icing on the cake, the cherry on top, the gravy . . . (sorry, food metaphors come with the territory in my line of work as Culinary Creative Director at LPK.)
My previous job as photo editor at L.A. based Bon Appetit magazine meant a lot of travel between Los Angeles and New York, and ignorance about everything in between. So there's a long list of things I've been fascinated to learn and embarrassed to admit that I didn't know. Like: the Ohio River is the border between Ohio and Kentucky, and the airport is actually in, well, you know. That Cincinnati's been nicknamed Queen of the West, Porkopolis, and more recently "the Nati". The Reds were the nation's first pro baseball team. Cincinnati has an Opera company, a symphony, a ballet company and a lively theatre and museum scene. That liberals and conservatives co-exist here and even have civil conversations about politics, but not about which brand of chili is best.
As a photo director I've developed a keen eye for beautiful imagery, which this city obligingly provides. The aforementioned bridge is just one of many that grace the river and the lush landscape here provides a stark contrast to my arid former home and it's nearly year-round fire season. Spending many workdays inside a photo studio (many with no windows) makes me so appreciative of places like the Loveland-Madeira bike trail, the Cincinnati Nature Center, and destinations like Yellow Springs and Clifton Gorge. Not to mention the creeks, woods and ponds near where I live in Clermont County.
In spite of much change in my life, the new job and moving to a new city, I have found it easy to settle in. Cincinnati has welcomed me, and standing on this bridge I realize how lucky I am to be making these discoveries.