jake lyell photography (blog)

Last year’s post about my all too close encounter with a machete in Kisumu, Kenya (and the photos to prove it) has been nominated for an RVA News blog award today. RVA News is my hometown’s source of news, entertainment, sports and community events. Click on the logo to vote.

Move over Mamma Mia!. Winning this award would be just one step towards my dream of turning this harrowing story into a Broadway musical.

This week I started cleaning out hard drives of the some of the superfluous images from last year’s assignments. I deleted quite a bit, but I also found some photographs that I previously thought either didn’t pass muster or that didn’t fit into a thematic essay. Some turned out to be real gems and a few will likely end up in my portfolio. I was blessed to be able to travel a great deal in 2008. These images come from Ecuador, Peru, Zambia, Tanzania, Armenia and Georgia.

It’s become an annual tradition in my circle of friends. Although one year we deviated and fried a turkey instead, New Year’s day 2009 saw the third annual Pigroast in James & Jennifer’s back yard in Church Hill, the oldest part of Richmond.
Warning: some faint-hearted vegetarians may wish to avert their eyes.

James & Jennifer are currently missionaries in Scotland, but are renting out their house to Leah & Jeremiah, James’ sister and brother-in-law. Thus, the tradition was able to continue without interruption. Most of the day was spent hanging out in the back yard around the pig pit in eager anticipation of the advent of the barbecue later that evening.

Jeremiah put the pig on the fire around 6am New Year’s morning. During the 13 hog-roasting hours that ensued, plenty of tortilla chips with homemade salsa, as well as several rounds of keg-drawn Yuengling, were had by all.

A notable guest this year was first time attendee Jackson Catrow, who received almost as much attention as the pig that was carefully watched on the fire. Hopefully he wasn’t dispirited by all the poking and prodding and will want to continue the tradition for the next generation.