Nicotine.

A series of images made late 2015, centered around used and finished cigarettes, that I've titled Nicotine. Or alternatively, the little loved by-products of a well known addiction. The subjects themselves were all carefully lifted from the pavement and shelter area surrounding the local bus stop and the council litter bin/ash tray, and were often wet and disintegrating. The resulting images were photographed employing a macro setup and are focus stacked to reveal the full surface details of the final stages of life for these spent and discarded cigarettes and cigarette parts before they are washed into the drains. My initial desire was to produce a series of photographs from a subject of repugnant nature, common, well known, and increasingly seen as disgusting. One stage on from the whole, ready to smoke cigarette, these thrown away butts become nothing more than an eye sore and are never seen favourably. With considered lighting and focus stacking multiple exposures, I hoped to reveal more of a sculptural quality in these little objects and find out how life outside on the bus stop floor is going for them. At the same time though, I would never try to deny their true integrity as former tobacco products.