Alicia J. Rose is an incredibly talented and well-connected photographer & director based in Portland. She’s got quite the impressive body of work, but this image in particular arrested me.

This is from a series of promo images shot for Beast Restaurant in PDX, featuring the chef/proprietor and a previously-departed pig. It’s a powerful image that hits you once it registers what you’re looking at.

Being a lover of all animals and also eating meat makes me feel like a hypocrite at times, but I also understand the pain and suffering old animals go through and don’t pretend to believe they are cognizant at the level of humans, nor do I think they’re subject to the same morality of humans. You’re free to disagree. I don’t think I could ever go hunting. The idea of killing a living thing (outside of arachnids and certain insects) really freaks me out.

TL;DR - Maybe one day my guilt of not being able to kill animals that I consume will weigh on my conscience enough to actually stop eating meat. If I can’t do the grim deed, am I a hypocrite?

You know you’re a good photographer when an image causes someone moral unrest.