inside charlie trotter's

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charlie trotter portraits

I was recently assigned to cover a story at Charlie Trotter, a Chicago restaurant regarded by most as one of the best in the world (#14 on many lists). With my eating habits consisting mostly of frozen pizza and whatever the store across the street happens to be selling, I was rather excited to get out and experience a world class restaurant. I was surprised to find out, upon arrival, that I would actually get to have the entire Trotter dining experience as well, as I got to eat the entire 9-course grand menu meal.

Getting back on track, though. The story I was there to cover is a piece for UR Chicago which will talk about the restaurant's 20-year anniversary, which is coming up. I took many photos of the building, the kitchen, and also of the group of kids Charlie had as his guests this day in particular (he does a charity dinner for deserving kids 3 days/week, every week) and at the end, of Chef Trotter himself.

It's always fun doing portraits on the fly, in a location you are not familiar with. It keeps you on your toes completely. This situation was even more challenging, as I was dealing with a sort of famous subject, had no control over the location, had a time limit and was also shooting while the subject, Mr. Trotter, was being interviewed. Needless to say, I think I got a few shots in the bunch that I am quite satisfied with. The room was tight and the lighting was less than stellar, but you tell me what you think!