BBQ Photographers: Nicholas McWhirter

Every month we’ll bring you a profile of a photographer who has captured the people, the food and the spaces that make up the world of barbecue.

Nicholas McWhirter – Dallas, Texas

Nicholas McWhirter is a fifth-generation Texan that has always sort-of-liked barbecue. “Like” blossomed into “true love” after 183 Texas BBQ joints and 10,343 miles riding shotgun with Daniel Vaughn. Their book “The Prophets of Smoked Meat” (words by Vaughn, photographs by McWhirter) came out last May.

“It became apparent to me fairly quickly that it wasn’t just good barbecue we were searching for, whatever that means. Propelling us was the hope of really understanding Texas’ unique barbecue tradition and the people who work so hard to keep it alive every day. Once I framed the goal this way, it changed my approach for documenting our findings. I initially thought my role was to somehow glamorize the food alone, but resisting that temptation left space for me to find beauty in the most mundane objects and surfaces in places most folks don’t ever get the chance to go.

“By presenting these photographs, I hope to celebrate the tools that bridge the food, the hands that make it and the spaces they both inhabit.”