Ribbons of Smoke

A second helping of creativity for today...

I have been trying to find ways to get my photography fix but it has been really challenging. I have going out for the occasional walk along the sea front but as that has been for exercise I have left my camera at home, it has been a shame though because there have been some stunning sunsets that would have been great to share. (I did snap a few shots on my mobile phone's camera but haven't uploaded them).

Anyway after experimenting with  water droplets recently I wondered if there was something else I could try using my macro lens and lighting setup and hit upon  smoke trails...

These were shot against a blue background, lit from each side using spotlights and frozen using fast shutter speeds and camera mounted ring flash. 

There is an element of chance with this type of photography because each shot is random and unique and can range from simple elegant ribbons of smoke to more complex swirls and curls. Apart from the third image I have stuck with some of the simpler patterns for today but I will be sharing some of the more dramatic shots over the next few days so be sure to look out for them.

As a side note while I was sorting through these images I was reminded of a beautiful bit of cinematography from the 1981 French movie "Diva" where a cigarette burning in an ashtray where the lighting and the curl of smoke mirrors  the cover of an old French cigarette packet.