Still life Documentary

Cigarettes, Irving Penn



When thinking of an idea of what i could possible photograph for my still life documentary project i was mostly inspired by the betting slip idea I've previously researched by Stephen Gill. This led me to think of the other different objects people chuck away on the streets. I've thought about bus tickets and train tickets, but feel like don't have much of a personal story behind them like that of the betting slips. One idea i came up with was cigarets. When choosing to research into this idea i found Irving Penn, a photographer extremely well known for his amazing still life work, had actually captured images of cigarettes himself. 


"In the case of Cigarettes however, Penn literally found his subjects on the street. By bringing them into his studio and carefully creating these minimalist compositions, he transformed one of the most widely consumed and discarded products of consumer society from that of pure detritus into a symbolic representation of contemporary culture. This transformative act resulted in one of the most elegant yet direct expressions of post-modern artistic practice."


http://www.hamiltonsgallery.com/artists/27-irving-penn/series/cigarettes/


The images are in black and white and often seem to be lit quite simply with what looks to be a light either to the left or right hand side of the objects, casting a shadow to either side. The cigarettes are placed on a plain white background. The use of a white background and shadows cast using what i assume is a studio light are something which i feel work incredibly well with the use of black and white photography. The contrasting shadows and highlights and heavy focus on the shapes and form of the cigarettes make the viewer view them in a way we probably have never looked at a cigarette before, the detail is incredible.