Neon Pabst

In my ealry 20's my friends and I were all about Pabst Blue Ribbon. At the time it was only $4.20 for a 12 pack and I thought it was by far the best tasting of the cheap beers(not to mention having the coolest looking cans). My friend Brad came to visit me one day and brought with him a neon Pabst sign - I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. He didn't technically give it to me but allowed me to "borrow it long term". I proudly placed it in my front window. One night after getting dropped off from a long night at Annabell's I stumbled up my stairs and into my apartment. Little did I know that my brother had moved the sign to the edge of the window sill to open the window. When I pulled the chain to turn off the sign for the night it went crashing to the floor. I don't remember what shattered more - my heart or the glass tubes.

With how ultra-hip PBR has become over the last decade I didn't think I would ever be able to replace Brad's sign for a reasonable price - so when I walked into Abby Ann's on Tallmadge Ave the other day and saw this sign I was excited and nervous. The price turned out to be very reasonable and I talked them down another 1/4.
So Brad this is for you....but I want to hang on to it for a little while....

This is what I used to light this photo. I wanted to make it look like the red from the neon was lighting my face - I don't have any real gels so I made one with a permanent marker and a sandwich bag. The newspaper serves as snoot to focus the light on my face.