Click of the Wrist – Smokin?

To most of us, smoke is annoying. It stinks up your clothes, pollutes the air, and sets off the smoke detector when you burn the toast. But to some people, It’s a work of art. This week, we take a look at the unexpected beauty of smoke.

Smoke Art

If these images are any indication, photographer Mehmet Ozgur is very, very patient. As this site explains, he’s spent years gathering images of smoke formations and then layering them to create these striking pictures.

Coloured Smoke

The ephemeral shapes created by smoke are beautiful enough in black and white. But when those same images have colour added, the effect truly highlights the depths and shadows. The smoky tendrils photographed here came from burning incense.

Photoshop Smoke Art

These gorgeous smoke figures are the result of some Photoshop magic, but they’re stunning nonetheless. And if you want to try your hand at creating some smoky special effects, this site has several tutorials to choose from.

Smoke Photography Tutorial

If you prefer to create your smoke art from behind a camera, this video offers plenty of information to get you started, even for beginners.

Smoke Photography and Art

This astonishing collection of photographs goes beyond the tendrils created by incense. And some of them don’t fall precisely into the definition of smoke. But dry ice, mist, jet contrails, factory smokestacks (and more) all make for some striking images.