I'm a Facebook fan of Stone Brewing Company, and they asked for nice shots of their beer. I don't normally care for photo contests since it's impossible to objectively judge something as subjective as the artistic worth of a photo. The more formal contests are mostly just rights-grab scams. But I was intrigued by this project for a different reason.

At the beginning of the month we made a big Costco run and I found a case of Stone Pale Ale on sale for about $20. I took one and placed it on the bottom rack of the shopping cart, which is where it stayed while we kept shopping, paying, going out to the car, and of course, driving away. I didn't realize that I forgot to bring it home until it was way too late.

I was so mad at myself, I swore that I wouldn't buy any beer for the house until I was done drinking one of my imaginary-Stones each day until they were gone. Not like I gave up drinking for the month, I do go out to bars to shoot bands, after all. But I have made it through most of March without buying beer for home. My grilling sessions haven't been as fun, nor has our lounging by the pool, but on the bright side, air-beer is extremely low-calorie and you can drink as many as you like and still drive.

So when this little contest came around, I saw it as the perfect opportunity to flex some of my photo muscles as well as buy a beer for some other reason than just drinking it. I bought a Ruination Ale and a Stone pint glass with a nice logo on it, and ended up doing the shoot at Natalie Kardos' since I had to return her macro lens. She was kind enough to let me use her soft box and flash units.



Looks tasty, but I have to wait another four days before I can buy another one.