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I like the way this is explained, but I can’t remember who explained it in these words – a photograph is the sum of all the movies you ever watched, all the music you ever enjoyed, every photograph you ever saw, all the books you ever read and the loves you’ve won and lost. A photograph is the sum of all that preceded it’s creation from the mind of the photographer.

That’s pretty close to how I remember it being said. And, wow, that’s a profound explanation for what I’d describe as a ‘real’ photograph of any merit. Any creative process passes through the filter of a human mind that sets the situation and chooses the subject. Even snapshots are a result of that filtration of a lifetime of experiences.

But knowing about that mental filter is not enough of an explanation if you want to know the secret of making good (or great) photographs.

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My last post on Fast & Easy Beer Kit Braggot was enough to get you started. On this occasion, I also chose to hop the braggot because it was being made in a beer style. And, yes, I went crazy with the hops. And, yes, hopping at this stage of fermentation is a little unconventional (but that’s my middle name).

At this stage, the braggot had fermented in our basement for approximately 4-5 weeks. I racked one-quarter of that braggot (a murky sink water beige colour) into a freshly sanitised 5 litre fermenter and bottled straight away with a few Citra hop pellets in each bottle; carbonated with demerara sugar. I put these bottles aside in a dark place.

That left me with the remaining 15-or-so litres of braggot in my basement that I intended to super-hop. No, that’s probably not a term, but you get the point. I wanted this braggot to pack a pucker.

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