Sunday, January 15, 2012

Lucy's Fried Chicken: Chef/owner James Holmes

                            James Holmes, Chef/Owner Lucy's Fried Chicken

      This image was taken behind Lucy's Fried Chicken, next to the wood stack that feeds the grill there, and beside the vintage smoker that's used to smoke meats.
      The picture was taken at the end of an extended period - at the very least, a full couple of months - when James worked consecutive eighteen hour days without even a sniff of a day off. Now, I know that James wouldn't appreciate reading a sob story as to how hard he worked to open his restaurant, to get it up and running properly, all of that. So let me simply suggest that without doubt, it was a stressful, exhausting time for him - yet also, I'm sure, an intensely rewarding one. 
      I mention all of this because I believe that you can it, or something of it, right here in the picture. As such, I hope and believe that it works as a good portrait ought to, capturing something of the sitter's inner life at the time it was taken. And while there are other versions of this image too, a little lighter in mood, more smiley (also accurate in their own way), this is the one I'm most fond of.

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