Smoke Photography and Smoke Art
Photography is constantly reminding us how wondrous and beautiful the world we live in truly is. It often urges us to take another look at the ordinary things around us in a new light, revealing a quiet beauty in even the most mundane of objects. More specifically, smoke photography, with its alluring images of ghostly wisps of smoke, shows us that we don’t have to look very far to find this beauty.
In this edition of our Monday Inspiration series, we present 60 examples of beautiful smoke photography and smoke art: a round-up of some of the best examples of photos and artworks where smoke dominates. At the bottom of this post are some links to tutorials on creating your own smoke photographs, as well as other resources on the subject.
35 × Elegant Smoke Photographs
Magicnikon
Dry ice was put in the bottle to get this great image.
Alberich Mathews
Wonderful fantasy image.
Corica
No HDR in use.
The smoke that’s produced in explosive interaction with electricity: [via]
Lamont Hardy
Experiment with a lightbulb’s filament.
25 × Smoke Art
Eddie Mayda
Roll-Up by Eddie Mayda. “Fluid and aerodynamics are technical interests of mine. It is so entertaining to be able to combine my technical side with a little bit of art. The forms that result from a simple stick of burning incense defy the imagination… and catching them is a sport!”
Mehmet Ozgur
Stunning image of smoke shaped in Photoshop to resemble a woman. This technique is often referred to as “smoke sculpture.”
J.Auchinleck
Great image made by layering pictures of smoke and mirroring them to make it symmetrical.
Ceekybikerboy
Blue waves of smoke.
Larry Grace
Beautifully symmetrical smoke photograph.
Per Zangenberg
This natural smoke wisp looks like a torso.
Resources
- Smoke photography interview
Interview with a smoke photographer. - Smoke art
Flickr group. - Smoke photography video
Video tutorial on smoke photography. - Smoke Trail Art
- Artsmoke Flickr Pool
- Sensitive Light: Coloured Smoke
Pictures of ordinary smoke that have been coloured on the computer. The smoke comes from burning incense sticks and was photographed in a studio using an off camera flash.
Vitaly Friedman & Sven Lennartz
October 5th, 2008 2:36 pmPlease respect Smashing Magazine and our Smashing community. If you comment on the post, post your ideas, remarks or suggestions. All comments with “first”, “second”, “third” etc. will be marked as spam and removed.
Philip P.
October 5th, 2008 2:51 pmWow, this is an amazing collection of photographs.
I particularly like Alberich Mathews’ fantasy style photograph, Terry McCormick’s powerful shot of the train, and ubierno’s photographs.
ubierno’s in particular have a style that creates a really powerful image!
Congrats to all the photographers for getting these amazing shots!
Adam
October 5th, 2008 2:54 pmAmazing. The smoke women are incredible.
Roshan
October 5th, 2008 3:01 pmCool, some really nice collection of photographs.
I like the smoke effect in images. It looks very neat and smooth. I wish I could do something like that by myself.
Thanks smashing for lots of references for good quality images. I might use few in my next projects if they are fee for uses.
Keep some of these coming once in a while. :)
Roshan
http://www.instantshift.com
Manet
October 5th, 2008 3:17 pmI am stunned with their creative skills!
Adam
October 5th, 2008 3:22 pmSome awesome smoke photos in there… there also some shots that obviously arent smoke too… like water…
Good post anyway
arthack
October 5th, 2008 4:12 pmVery beautiful effect
Jidah
October 5th, 2008 4:36 pmwow! the waterfall thingy is like so so cool…………
amazing!
David
October 5th, 2008 5:56 pmVery cool. I always enjoy the photography collections.
dragoshell
October 5th, 2008 6:37 pmFinally some good old smashing stuff :)
James Springer
October 5th, 2008 7:06 pmMan, great set. I just got done watching a marathon of Planet Earth (Discovery mini series). I was in the perfect mood to appreciate these. Thanks!
Manish
October 5th, 2008 7:45 pmThat’s awesome.. Really liked Mehmet Ozgur’s work !!! :D
Manish
http://www.dtptutorials.com
nix
October 5th, 2008 8:44 pmremarkable!
Stargazer95050
October 5th, 2008 9:50 pmBefore you go AND STEAL PHOTOS, ask the photographer if you can use them.
Linking to flickr is acceptable — making illegal copies of photos and storing them on your server IS ILLEGAL !!
flickr’s TOS are pretty clear and easy to follow and I’m just asking you (and others) to stick with those TOS.
Cl
October 5th, 2008 10:32 pm@ Stargazer
Wow, caps lock is cruise control for cool!
Robert Bowen
October 5th, 2008 10:36 pmThere are some really nice photos here! I’ve always loved fire and smoke based photography, so this is a very nice collection. Some great selections featured here for sure!
Tobi
October 5th, 2008 11:00 pmWow a great selection. I think Mehmet Ozgur’s photo is the best one. But you forgot my photo ;)
Thanks for this article! I really enjoy photo collections like this one.
Sal Azad
October 5th, 2008 11:03 pmIbai Acevedo Larrañaga the best! awesome… really fantastikkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!
Muhammad Shahid Akram
October 5th, 2008 11:06 pmWell itz amazing, all people done superb job, both photographers and designer, but some things are totally amazing like Paul C Anderson, Per Zangenberg, Stephan Bollinger but all done amazingly
Dylan Parry
October 5th, 2008 11:14 pmMany of these pictures are of water vapour rather than smoke, but they are nice nonetheless.
Pallian
October 5th, 2008 11:57 pmwow! impressive! got to do some of that for TIM
ZeroDown
October 6th, 2008 12:29 amnice inspiration as always
here is a great digital art smoke wallpaper
http://www.wallpaperstop.com/desktop-wallpapers/widescreen-wallpaper/widescreen-3d-wallpaper/smooth-orginal-by-bmw91.jpg.html
Justin (www.DotNetMushroom.com)
October 6th, 2008 12:33 amSmoking Hot :-) Great Post for a Monday Morning inspiration !!
DotNetMushroom
Targhan
October 6th, 2008 1:09 amThe “Smoke women” (Mehmet Ozgur) is amazing !
vashyoung
October 6th, 2008 1:38 amnow this is a great post !
Bang Ir
October 6th, 2008 2:09 amnice effect………..
will
October 6th, 2008 2:19 amhaha… since when has a waterfall been smoke?!
Shaun
October 6th, 2008 2:36 amI wrote this tutorial dfor shooting smoke =]
freshness
October 6th, 2008 2:47 amimpressive.
Klodian
October 6th, 2008 3:31 amgood one images but we should know this images
delikatissen
October 6th, 2008 3:40 amBeautiful!
hbos
October 6th, 2008 4:04 amRemarkable artwork.
The only problem is that “water vapor” can not be classified as “smoke”.
jacin
October 6th, 2008 5:29 amFantastica recopilacion…
one more: Humo #3
ShyNloc
October 6th, 2008 5:56 am真棒！实在是太震撼了！
Bronson
October 6th, 2008 7:13 amWow, that’s a freaking awesome collection of photography and choosing a fav is damn near impossible because so many of them are so cool.
Awesome post, thanks.
moczkos
October 6th, 2008 7:21 amI’m honored,..but…
I wish You inform me next time, when you borrow my pic..:D
DesTRoyeR
October 6th, 2008 9:18 amthanx BeatifuL ;)
macias
October 6th, 2008 9:47 amholy smoke !!! awesome collection….
AmirHossein
October 6th, 2008 12:34 pmThese pics are great, anyone know how to take a picture like this? Probably a dark room and some matches and a good camera? with or with out flash?
I tried once to do the same thing but with fishes and in a Macro mode
you can see the result at http://amir97522.blogspot.com/2008/10/shiraz-fish-market.html
Brentspix
October 6th, 2008 1:39 pmi appreciate the inclusion of my smoke picture. i would just like someone to ask first.
Geshan
October 6th, 2008 7:25 pmGreat shots, very good post as usual.
Geshan
chetan
October 6th, 2008 10:20 pmMore available at Hidden Pixels
jyl
October 6th, 2008 11:22 pmReally nice stuff I really love the exploded bulbs!
I’ve tried that once ( Pixeleyes.be/smoke) but I really amazed of the creativity of some of those shots!!
Slebe
October 7th, 2008 2:15 amAdd this one to the list
trcwest
October 7th, 2008 12:58 pmgreat stuff liking all of them definately like the ones near the top… the one that stands out the most is the one that is the just lit match and the other is teh girl on the beach smoking..
great work
http://trcwest.com
jHill
October 7th, 2008 2:26 pmso beautiful!
Mohammad Moniruzzaman
October 8th, 2008 12:50 amA very impressive collection.
But you should ask permission before you use any image from a flickr member. It’s very sad that a magazine like u are certainly aware of photographers rights, but don’t follow them.
Apart from this, I really admire this collection.
dash
October 8th, 2008 3:41 amanother smoking plane; i love the cosmos series by Stargazer!
ellathinks
October 8th, 2008 5:21 amthis smoke photography is awesome ! I found it unique and beautiful…this is one of the great art that I have seen…keep it up!
MSOnWired
October 8th, 2008 5:33 amLove the Alberich Mathews design. I really like the smoke becoming part of her dress. Great work.
onwired.com
Per Zangenberg
October 8th, 2008 8:24 amFirst off, let me say that I DID give my permission to use my images in this article. I was however dissapointed that Tim only showed the one photo. Especially when seeing some of the other photos shown.
If you liked the one shown here please check out Dancing Woman, http://www.zangenberg.net/foto/index.php?id=1079
and Pregnant Woman, http://www.zangenberg.net/foto/index.php?id=850
Lumendipity
October 8th, 2008 8:44 amAs some other photographers have already stated above, glad to be in the list (3 times), but it would have been better to send a message to each of us that you were planning this, or at least when you posted this article..
Anyways, you can see more of my stuff here in my Smoke Photography Gallery .. for some how-to information, check my Blog posts on Smoke Photography..
Will Cook
October 8th, 2008 9:30 amI’m flattered that you chose to use my pictures in you on-line publication, and that you gave me credit for them.. I am, however, a little disappointed that you choice to post them without my verbal or written consent. If you look closely, you will see that all of my Flickr photos are copyright protected. Always let me know in advance. Much appreciated
Will Cook
Will Cook
October 8th, 2008 9:32 amFeel free to continue to post the two pieces you chose for this article, but in the future get my permission first
Will Cook
Mellik Tamás
October 9th, 2008 2:43 amStunning collection, here is two of mine smoky pictures Tibet, Lhasa – Jokhang Temple , and the other one Tibet, Lhasa – Jokhang Temple II
Lukas
October 9th, 2008 5:31 amGreat work, beautiful foto… :)
My smoke fotos…
Lion5859
October 13th, 2008 9:20 pm真是太帅了，有点云里雾里了，呵呵
diaaghanem
October 14th, 2008 3:47 amcoool
design
October 15th, 2008 3:50 amOups, I totally did not see what I was supposed to see in picture #1.. Not right away, anyway.
:|
Marguerite
October 23rd, 2008 10:01 amNice pixs. However, I prefer to see added elements with smoke. Thanks for giving me an idea. I’ll take a snapshot of a pile of burning newspaper articles that I’ve saved from the “BAILOUT BUST”. A slow burn capturing pieces of the smoking headlines and photos as the Dow flirts with history! (tee hee) I just love to play with FIRE on paper. In my opinion, the element of danger when dealing with smoke (fire) is what makes the artwork come alive.
patricia
October 30th, 2008 10:27 amAmazing Pictures. It makes me want to change from black and white photography to color/digital. All these pieces of work has given me a new thought to what i can shoot.Thanks.
sam
November 11th, 2008 9:12 pmgreat work
Kiing Ray
February 19th, 2009 8:46 ampos k onda karnal
Kiing Ray
February 19th, 2009 8:46 ampos ke onda karnal puro king A.D.R
Dauss
February 27th, 2009 11:30 pmwhere is the tutorial to do the smoke? would really love to use this in an ad.
Resquied muhammed ali akram shithead
April 2nd, 2009 9:49 amGREAT! PIIIIICCCTTTTUUURRREEESS!
Corey
April 27th, 2009 8:07 amThe smoke sculpturing is really cool!
vriahas
May 2nd, 2009 1:54 amit nice
André Villeneuve
May 21st, 2009 6:32 amJe suis tres impressionné
vivek
June 23rd, 2009 5:08 amit rocks& very cool pics i like it superb.
Bishan Rathore
July 10th, 2009 5:08 amfantastikkkkkkkkkkkkkkk! work
Stephan Brauchli
July 14th, 2009 3:59 amCheck out more of my mirrored smoke series here: http://photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=659818
also have non-mirrored images here: http://photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=366380
Cheers
Stephan
josh pickens
September 21st, 2009 5:18 amthey need to get pictures of people ghosting cigarettes
brandon peterson
September 22nd, 2009 1:38 pmjosh your stupid people cant do that it would hurt too bad. gosh
Abhishek Gupta
January 21st, 2010 6:41 amAll images have a very different and great look…all of them are looking very fantastic….Thanks for these Images
Thanks alot………….Great job
Callum Chapman
March 10th, 2010 2:19 amGreat post as usual, very inspiring and talented photographers, can’t be easy capturing smoke that effectively!
Idratherbeblown
July 27th, 2010 7:44 pmThose are some of the wildest picts smokin’ hot
udaybhanu moharana
December 13th, 2011 2:55 amPhotographs shown here are unique and class on its own way, outstanding. Creativity has no limitations particlualrly when tools and gadgets are available. Inspired by uniqueness of this kind of art, I have just beginning to experiment. I am working on to bring in more variety. In addition I would like to share that I also practise another form of abstract photography i.e. water drop or water splash photography. I have even developed a complete kit to facilitate this art form. Samples shots are also displayed in my websiite. It would be my pleasure to invite you to have a look at my website. Thanks.
U. Moharana