Heineken Friends + Family BBQ, Le Meridien, Philadelphia

What do you suppose the ratio of photographers to guests is at the average sponsored party these days? For the first half hour of Heineken's Friends + Family BBQ, hosted by Big Rube Harley, this last Saturday at Le Meridien Hotel in Philadelphia, it was about 1 to 3. That ratio shifted somewhat as the evening progressed, but not so much as you might think. In the era of Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr, it ain't a party unless someone's there to document it. And since The Cobra Snake wasn't available, I — and at least 5 other people besides — stepped up for the job. And that's not to mention the dozens of smartphone cameras on hand.

Here are some of my best pics from the event. I took these without a flash — partly because I don't know how to take decent photos with a flash and partly because I'm an insufferable camera snob, committed to using natural light whenever possible — so please excuse the lack of sharpness in some of the shots. And if I took your picture the other night, but you don't see yourself here, don't take it personally. It's not you, it's me. It just means I couldn't get the shot to turn out as well as I would have liked. 

Oh, and for the record, the party was sponsored by Heineken but this post was not. If it were, I would have had all my models turn the label on their beer bottles to face the lens.