It’s a new year, but old habits die hard.
January has now gone by, which means it’s time for my monthly roundup of beertography.
Below you’ll find some of my recent photos, which you may also come across on my Instagram page, Twitter account or even Untappd. If you like these, you can find all beertography on Instagram or in my running archive.
Let’s see what January had to offer…
Aviator Brewing Devil’s Tramping Ground – Hell on Earth
Laurelwood Brewing Workhorse IPA – Everybody’s Working for the Weekend
Smartmouth Brewing Alter Ego – My Beer Nerd is Showing
Genesee Cream Ale – The Soul of Upstate New York
NoDa Brewing Hop Drop ‘n Roll – Start Your Engine
Here’s hoping February is just as fruitful as the last few weeks. As always, you can go back to see previous beertography posts:
+Bryan Roth
“Don’t drink to get drunk. Drink to enjoy life.” — Jack Kerouac
This Is Why I'm Drunk 
Still one of the posts I most look forward to every month. You know I’m going to go with Devil’s Tramping Ground. That’s just a killer shot (and I lovethe name of the beer). Are the flames post process? And if not, how many tries did it take for you to get the shot? Because with all those flames dancing around, I’m sure getting the lighting right was a pain.
And I just realized that you demonstrate an often overlooked aspect of all good beertographers, the enviable access to a wide arrange of props. I had a beer over the holidays that was named something like Vampire Pale Ale. I got the idea to do a picture with the glass of beer and bottle in front of a mirror, with only the glass showing in the reflection. Couldn’t find a suitable mirror. Anywhere. Not in the thrift stores. Not in Big Lots. But you always seem to find just the right backdrop for your ideas.
Thanks a bunch, Ed! This month was wildly successful, both in my brainstorming and time to devote to the project. Both can be so random and I’d say this was the best month I’ve had.
No tricks up my sleeve with Devil’s Tramping Ground – went outside with fading light, put the can on top of wood briquettes in my grill (was making food, so bonus), set the fire and took about 50 shots. Of all those, maybe three seemed useable and two were debated.
It was the first time I purposefully shot something with fire, so it was a good learning opportunity. I wanted the can IN the fire, so that made timing and shooting very difficult.
For everything else, it’s pure random brainwork, usually sparked when I’m not trying to think about it at all.
Workhorse came about because I remembered a colleague uses their desk calendar for everything and anything.
Alter Ego has all sorts of little formula scribbles on it, so I just jumped to the “beer nerd” connection.
Genny Cream Ale is such an iconic part of where I grew up, I couldn’t help but think to what visually represented a broader theme of Upstate NY (sad looking houses, poor economic opportunities).
I had a ton of fun with Hop Drop. It was an idea I had been kicking around for a long time. This was my setup: http://twitter.com/BryanDRoth/status/554430754571427841
I try to do as little photoshop work as possible with the exception of trying to touch up colors, blemishes, glares, etc.
That’s a lot, but I hope it helped provide good context!
Awesome stuff! The Devil’s Tramping Ground shot is particularly spectacular.Have had that beer on several occasions. Tasty stuff!