Clay McLachlan, photographer, based in Alba, Italy, and San Francisco, California.
Clay McLachlan
Photojournalist and, according to the season and mood, baker, pizza-maker and vigneron from the Alta Langa.
I was born in Vancouver but raised in San Francisco. My work has taken me to over 60 countries and my photographs have appeared in numerous publications including: Food and Wine, Wine Spectator, Decanter, Conde Nast Traveler, National Geographic Traveler, Time, People, Sports Illustrated, and The New York Times.
My images express my passion for food, wine and travel, and my work tries to express emotions and reproduce the depth and textures of the subjects I photograph. My photographs would like to tell stories of people and places sharing the essence of the moment with a simple click.
Thanks to my love (and almost obsession) for cooking, I photographed and edited the photography for twelve gastronomic books published mainly in the United States and France. Over the years I have also established an important professional partnership with wine, the friendships and work ties woven in Napa first and then in France and Italy later allowed me to travel and complete over a thousand photo shoots in most of the wine-growing viticultural regions of the world.
I live in Bonvicino (99 inhabitants) in the Piemontese Alta Langa, I renovated two historic villas (and to do this I learned Piemontese) and planted a vineyard. My purchase of San Lorenzo in 2005 was like chasing a dream. I was struck by the quality of life in Piedmont for its’ food, wine, and spectacular panoramas that I wanted to plan deep roots.
Thus, In the spring of 2016, I planted a vineyard of just over one-hectare of Nebbiolo grapes. Since then I have been learning firsthand the hard work of a vintner, with joys and anxieties included, that accompany the entire production cycle of the vine until the harvest!
