Oregon, fall 2020. A fiery sunset in the distance caused by west coast wildfires. A global pandemic still running rampant. Lockdowns and a curfew in full effect. The sun making it’s last appearance of the night in the mirrored image of the cocktail.
Over the course of my career as a bartender I estimate that I’ve made somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 or 20… thousand Negronis. And I never tire of making them, truly. And over the course of my life as budding photographer I’ve photographed exactly… zero.
Including this one.
Because it’s not actually a Negroni.
And it’s not taken outside.
And it’s not actually a sunset.
And it’s not photoshopped together.
In fact, almost everything about this image is fake.
The glassware is real. As is the ferrotype tin plate underneath the cocktail itself.
And the world being on fire during a global pandemic, that part was real.
But it’s a glass full of water dyed with red food coloring.
And the garnish is a strip of handlebar wrap for a bicycle.
And it’s taken inside in my makeshift, home studio. On a black table with a black backdrop. A single, $2.99 clip-on light with a 40w grow bulb lighting from behind. Placed low enough to not be seen by the camera initially, but later visible in the cocktail’s reflection.
And the “sunset” is just the film leader, the strip of film partially exposed to light before being fully wound into the camera. Intentional. I shot, by accident, a b&w version of this a week prior and was so thrilled I wanted to shoot a color version to see if I could replicate the results. I haven’t tried it since.
Cinestill 800T is doing it’s glowy, halation thing here. And a Leica M6 with a Summicron 50mm f2 (ver. 3) doing the remainder of the heavy lifting.
I blackened the blacks and removed a few lint particles from the foreground in Lightroom, but this is basically straight out of the camera.
This is not a cocktail. It’s a photograph of a cocktail. But it’s not even a photograph of a cocktail, it’s a fake cocktail. Nor is the background real. An accident. But not even that. A curated accident. And it’s film. But being viewed digitally. A treacherous image as Magritte might say. But in the end, does it even matter? Because it looks goddamn delicious. And now I actually want a Negroni.
You can find more of my ramblings on Instagram or my website.
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Comments
Jeffery Luhn on One Negroni, One Shot, One Story
Comment posted: 13/03/2025
It's an elegant photo, regardless of the methods used. In my humble opinion: Everything is okay these days except altering news shots.
Comment posted: 13/03/2025
Comment posted: 13/03/2025
Comment posted: 13/03/2025
Gary Smith on One Negroni, One Shot, One Story
Comment posted: 13/03/2025
I currently have a roll of Fuji in my M3 but the Summicron is taking a break in favor of a Voigtländer 35/1.4 Nokton. As far as sunsets go, I possibly over-dosed on them last week with the Nikon FE. I suspect some of those might show up here eventually.
Thanks for your colorful imposter.
Comment posted: 13/03/2025
Comment posted: 13/03/2025
Comment posted: 13/03/2025
Comment posted: 13/03/2025
Comment posted: 13/03/2025
Comment posted: 13/03/2025
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Comment posted: 13/03/2025
Comment posted: 13/03/2025
Geoff Chaplin on One Negroni, One Shot, One Story
Comment posted: 13/03/2025
Comment posted: 13/03/2025
Ed Currie on One Negroni, One Shot, One Story
Comment posted: 13/03/2025
Comment posted: 13/03/2025
Ron Duda on One Negroni, One Shot, One Story
Comment posted: 14/03/2025
Comment posted: 14/03/2025
Terry Tsang on One Negroni, One Shot, One Story
Comment posted: 14/03/2025
Comment posted: 14/03/2025
Jukka Reimola on One Negroni, One Shot, One Story
Comment posted: 14/03/2025
Extremely beautifully staged and shot, I must say!
Comment posted: 14/03/2025
Comment posted: 14/03/2025
Comment posted: 14/03/2025
Leon on One Negroni, One Shot, One Story
Comment posted: 14/03/2025
Comment posted: 14/03/2025
David Hume on One Negroni, One Shot, One Story
Comment posted: 15/03/2025
Comment posted: 15/03/2025
Ibraar Hussain on One Negroni, One Shot, One Story
Comment posted: 17/03/2025