Photographer and art activist Laurie Smith

tells stories through narrative photography while exploring the complexities of culture. For more than 30 years, she has photographed food, culture, and travel in a reportage style. Laurie approaches her subjects honestly, with just her Leica and a monopod slung over her shoulder, taking advantage of the ever-changing natural light to photograph the story unfolding before her.

For the past six years, she has turned her camera on something close to her heart. Laurie’s roots in West Texas pull her to the U.S.–Mexico border to document the unfolding events at the border wall. Her intent is to evoke compassion and to end complacency about the issues of immigration by giving a face to the human cost of the unrelenting migrant crisis. To illuminate the moral and social divisiveness of the current moment, aiming to inspire bipartisan dialogue about legal, fact-based solutions when all sides appear to be obscuring the truth.

She has shot over 35 cookbooks and photographed for both regional and national publications, including Denver’s 5280 magazine, Food & Wine, Sunset, and Saveur, traveling on assignment to markets, kitchens, and restaurants across the U.S. and the world.