Rarely do I set out to write about beer as a subject. It tends to enter my life sideways, the way light does when a window is half open and nobody bothered to close it. Guinness has been that kind of presence for me, unpretentious and steady, something I notice more by feel than by taste. In The Pub community this might sound like heresy, but I am not chasing foam or labels. I am chasing pauses. A glass on a wooden table gives my hands something to do while my eyes wander, and that wandering is where the story usually begins. I have learned that what matters is not the drink but the permission it gives me to slow down. Beer, at least this one, carries a weight that matches my mood when the day finally lets go of me. It asks for nothing clever in return. It simply sits there, dark and patient, while I think about how often I rush past moments that would like to be noticed.
My photographs come from that same refusal to hurry. I walk, often longer than planned, because walking rearranges my thoughts without asking for explanations. The camera hangs from my shoulder like a quiet accomplice. I do not hunt for scenes. I let them approach me, usually sideways, usually at the edge of what others might call ordinary. A sunset reflected on a shop window, an empty bench facing the river, the way shadows stretch before they disappear. These images are not trophies. They are notes to myself, reminders that I was there and that I looked closely. When I frame a shot, I am not chasing beauty as an abstract idea. I am anchoring a feeling, something that might otherwise slip away unnoticed. Later, when I look back at those photos, I can trace my internal weather with surprising accuracy. The images know more about me than I am willing to admit in words.
Some evenings end with a pint after the walk, not as a reward but as a continuation. The glass becomes part of the same rhythm as my steps, my breathing, my thinking. I sit alone more often than not, and I like it that way. Solitude sharpens my perception instead of dulling it. I notice conversations I am not part of, laughter that rises and falls, the soft fatigue in my own shoulders. Guinness tastes different when I am paying attention. There is bitterness, yes, but also a softness that arrives late, like an afterthought. That delayed softness mirrors how I process things in general. I rarely understand what I am feeling in the moment. It comes later, when the noise has settled. The pub is not an escape for me. It is a checkpoint, a place where I take stock of what the day has quietly accumulated.
There is a temptation to turn moments like these into something poetic and distant, but that would be dishonest. Most days are not cinematic. They are messy, uneven, full of half finished thoughts. The walks help me tolerate that. Photography helps me accept it. Beer helps me sit with it without needing to fix it. None of this is about nostalgia or longing for some ideal version of life. It is about learning how to stay present without demanding that the present perform for me. When I look at my photos, I see evidence of attention rather than inspiration. That distinction matters. Inspiration fades quickly. Attention leaves a trace. It teaches me how to look again, how to trust that meaning often shows up quietly, without announcements.
Looking back, I realize that this story is less about Guinness, sunsets, or long walks, and more about the spaces between them. The moments when nothing spectacular is happening, yet everything feels oddly aligned. I write from that place because it feels honest and because it refuses neat conclusions. Life, at least the version I recognize, is built from these small alignments. A camera in hand. A path under my feet. A dark beer waiting at the end of the day. None of it asks me to be anyone other than attentive. That is the agreement I keep coming back to, again and again. I show up. I look. I sit. And somehow, without forcing it, a story lies there, already formed, waiting for me to notice it.
All photographs and content used in this post are my own. Therefore, they have been used under my permission and are my property.
I don't drink Guinness nearly as often as I should. I love it, but I just never think to get it. There are some really great craft dark beers that I usually use as my go-to over Guinness. Not really fair to such a timeless classic.
It was a friend of mine who enjoyed the beauty of Beer but I totally agree with you.
A good Guinness is refreshing but it’s been years since I’ve had one. I do like them but I’ve been trying to sample primarily local breweries to help them get started.
I do love walking as well, and with a camera in tow you can find quite a few great subjects!