For years, the beer industry has contributed to promoting an unrealistic image of friendship.
Trying to portray it through actors pretending to be friends.
SHOT WITHOUT PERMISSION. A photographic project to prove that real friendship can't be faked.
Becoming the first beer brand that portrays friendship using real friends.
Once the campaign went live, if people spotted themselves, they needed to write to compensation@amstel.com
to claim their usage fees. To help them, the photos appeared near the very bars where the moments happened,
in local newspapers, and in geo-targeted social posts.
Javier Tles (Zaragoza, 1965) is a self-taught Spanish photographer who began his career in 1992 and has been based in Barcelona since 1983. With over THREE decades of experience, his work spans portraiture, documentary and personal projects, always rooted in a documentary instinct. Tles approaches photography as a way of observing and understanding reality rather than shaping it. He focuses on the relationship between people and their environment, capturing everyday moments as they unfold, without staging or intervention. Working with available light and real settings, his images prioritise authenticity over perfection, finding meaning in simple human interactions. allowing each image to speak for itself.
The Sony Alpha 7R is built for speed and discretion. Its fast autofocus captures movement instantly, while its low-light performance allows shooting in near-darkness. Even at ISO 12,800, it maintains sharpness, texture and detail, enabling natural, unobtrusive photography. The lens: FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II Combined with the Sony Alpha 7R V, THIS LENS lets you stay far away while capturing tight, highly detailed, and natural-looking candid moments.
