Beers And Cameras is a collective of photographers across America who meet every other week to discuss photography and great beer. Originally started by Juan Martinez and Pocholo Francisco who met on Craigslist for camera gear. ‘We connected over, you know, just messaging, like, hey, how's the lens working out for you? What camera did you get next? But we’d meet up at coffee shops. And then I moved to North Park, California, and it's the craft beer capital of San Diego” So the meetings moved from cafes to breweries and bars and ‘So we did that a few times, invited some friends, and then I thought, hey, why don't I start our Instagram account just to kind of get more folks to come and, like, share some of the photos that we take. And we went from like, four people, and then we had eleven people at the second one and then like, seventeen.”
GEAR
For Juan one of the bonuses of the meetings is the gear (and the beer) “That's what I think I fell in love with, is like, who's going to come next time? What delicious beer am I going to have? But also, what cool camera am I going to see and I'm going to get to hold and play with?’
For the trip to Europe, Martinez took a lot of cameras. ‘Range finders are the ones that I prefer. For this trip to Germany, I brought the Leica M10-R black paint, which is a beautiful camera.’ ‘And then we have the Leica M7, which is also the aperture priority range finder camera’
He also has a medium format camera, ‘So once you shoot with medium format film, you realize the quality of the images are just amazing. So you got to get yourself a medium format camera. And the Hasselblad 500 C/M is the one I like.’
He also took a digital Leica SL2 and a point a shoot, ‘And then for nighttime point and shoot where I don't want to focus, I'm holding like, a drink in one hand, and I need just to take autofocus, the Leka Minilux. So this is a 40 millimeter lens, which is my favorite focal length for, you know, just doing anything.’
Family
The heart of Beers And Cameras is family and friends. ‘So, what kicked off photography for me was the birth of my oldest daughter. But looking back and really thinking about it, I realized I used to shoot photos of my friends, like going to Vegas and going clubbing and going out and doing, you know, skateboarding and things like that.’
This passion has evolved, ‘So now most people just document friends’ lives, and that's like, the greatest gift’.
The future of photography
Juan is noticing a lo-fi approach, ‘The cameras that I used to take out with my friends to shoot, you know, random things with. I had it all in auto priority scene mode, auto, everything. I think they have an aesthetic that's going to come back, and I think that's going to be popular with the younger generation.’
Sadly, with rising cost around the world there could be barriers to entry. ‘I think they're going to see film with the prices being what they are and the cameras being so expensive, I think it's going to kind of push some people away,’
Aesthetics
Beers And Cameras shoots different types of photography, analog and digital. ‘You take the same image with the digital camera, and you take it with the film camera, same scene, and it's going to have a total, totally different feel. Resolution is going to be different.’ But, ultimately is about friendship and family, whichever way you shoot. ‘I think they really appreciate it, and they can go and have fun and just let me hide behind the camera and document the party or the event my way.’
Don't forget to check out Beers & Cameras‘s Instagram.
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