The former is on the second Saturday of June, every year. This year, in 2020, it was on 13th June. This is quickly followed by World Cucumber Day on 14th of June. I’m not particularly into “days” as such but this lockdown has given a different perspective to everything and here we are!
The only reason Beefeater London Dry Gin happens to be in this photo series is because it’s the only Gin brand I was able to locate here in Gurgaon! Alcohol is still hard to find since the Government allowed re-opening of liquor shops.
I painted the bottle, gave it a nice frosted look and the first thought that came to my mind when I’d finished painting : Is it Christmas already?
It just might be. In the blink of an eye. Whatever happened to all of 2020 anyway!
After having tasted a number of Gin brands – Gordons, Beefeater, Hendricks, Monkey 47, Tanqueray, etc., I love them all. I love Gin. A slice of cucumber, ice and some nice tonic water ( I prefer the Imported Schweppes – not the Made In India Schweppes because of the taste – I find the Indian version is a lot sweeter somehow ) and I’m sorted. Yummy!
Strange that World Cucumber Day is right after World Gin Day! Rock my world! All the information I was able to find about World Cucumber Day is that it was “Created” by someone who works in agriculture ( a farmer perhaps ), in England in 2011. I was not able to locate any information about the origins of World Gin Day however.
I did drink a glass of Beefeater + cucumber slice + Scheweppes tonic water ( made in India unfortunately – cannot locate the imported variety anywhere in Gurgaon, yet. )
Cheers!
Disclosure : None of this is sponsored. Bottle of alcohol was purchased. The brand has previously sent over a bottle as a gift. And I have worked as a photographer for the parent company Pernod Ricard, a number of times over the course of my existing photography career.
About The Images
Three of these were opened up in Adobe Photoshop to clean up the white sheet that I used as a background : one corner of the sheet has water damage from when my apartment flooded some years ago. The second-last image in the series also had some highlights touched up to make them pop a bit more. Apart from those three images, everything else has been post-processed inside Adobe Lightroom only.
I shot some of them with colored gels on the speedlights and some without, because I also wanted some photographs with true-colours of the paint and the bottle. You should be able to clearly spot the non-colored-gel images in those above.
These were shot at my apartment : I do not have a studio. the apartment is it.
About the Art
My goal was to make the bottle look beautiful. That would involves painting with complementary colors but I chose to stick to the brand’s existing colors because I was in a hurry. I wanted to finish the painting, seal the bottle and make the photographs today. Paint colors used : four shades of red, one white, and one gold. All are acrylic paints. For the frosted look, which also sealed in the paints, I used a Matte Acrylic Spray Varnish in a can.
It looks like Christmas already!
For now, I consider my photography itch scratched. There have been no photography assignments since the lockdown and I am missing them sorely. Having tried some self-portraits, etc., those aren’t as fun as my events. Fashion, private dinners and what not. I love shooting that shit.
I am available for hire to photograph products at my apartment studio!
Email me : n@naina.co
Ideally, drink responsibly and all that. I really don’t give a shit. You’re a grown adult ( presumably ), you know what’s best for you. Stay safe! Peace! \m/