Smokes For Sale

Some cool cigarettes images:

Yeah, I’m smoking a cigarette. You got a problem with that?


Image by Ed Yourdon
This young woman strode into the middle of Verdi Square, stood silently for a moment while she surveyed the scene around her, and then walked over to a newspaper/candy stand near the subway entrance, while staring intensely at her cell phone…

**************************

Note: on Aug 10, 2009, I made minor editing improvements to this photo. I removed some overly dark "cold spots" in the background, and lightened the shadows on the woman’s pants, so you could see them more clearly.

****************************

Note: this photo was published in a Sep 16, 2009 blog titled "NYC Smoking Ban Proposal Triggers Backlash." And it was published in a Sep 22, 2009 blog titled "Decrease in heart disease linked to smoking bans." It was also published as an illustration in a Sep 2009 Mahalo blog titled "Cigarettes," at www-dot-mahalo-dot-com-slash-cigarettes. And it was published in an undated (Oct 2009) Gadgetking.com blog titled "Information on cigarette brands." More recently, it was published in a Nov 15, 2009 blog titled "A Little Bit on Stretching: Part II." And it was published in a Nov 11, 2009 blog titled "Табачный дым губит женщин быстрее."

Moving into 2010, the photo was published as an illustration in an undated (Jan 2010) Spacethru-dot-com blog. And it was published in a Feb 16, 2010 blog titled "AM News Links: Ban proposed on outdoor smoking in Amherst." It was also published in an undated (Mar 2010) untitled blog called "Beauty in everything." And it was published in a May 13, 2010 blog titled "Cool Photo Editing Images." It was also published in a May 27, 2010 blog titled "Fumadores y adolescentes, 14 años menos de vida." And it was published in a June 2, 2010 British KP Web blog, with the same title as the caption that I used on this Flickr page. It was also published in a Jun 9, 2010 German blog titled "Passivrauchen führt zu psychiatrischen Problemen." And it was published in an Aug 26, 2010 blog titled "NY’S ANTI-SMOKING INITIATIVES OR DEFICIT REDUCTION PLAN?" It was also published in a Sep 15, 2010 blog titled "City Smoking Ban May Extend to Parks and Beaches."

**********************

This is part of an evolving photo-project, which will probably continue throughout the summer of 2008, and perhaps beyond: a random collection of "interesting" people in a broad stretch of the Upper West Side of Manhattan — between 72nd Street and 104th Street, especially along Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.

I don’t like to intrude on people’s privacy, so I normally use a telephoto lens in order to photograph them while they’re still 50-100 feet away from me; but that means I have to continue focusing my attention on the people and activities half a block away, rather than on what’s right in front of me.

I’ve also learned that, in many cases, the opportunities for an interesting picture are very fleeting — literally a matter of a couple of seconds, before the person(s) in question move on, turn away, or stop doing whatever was interesting. So I’ve learned to keep the camera switched on (which contradicts my traditional urge to conserve battery power), and not worry so much about zooming in for a perfectly-framed picture … after all, once the digital image is uploaded to my computer, it’s pretty trivial to crop out the parts unrelated to the main subject.

For the most part, I’ve deliberately avoided photographing bums, drunks, drunks, and crazy people. There are a few of them around, and they would certainly create some dramatic pictures; but they generally don’t want to be photographed, and I don’t want to feel like I’m taking advantage of them. I’m still looking for opportunities to take some "sympathetic" pictures of such people, which might inspire others to reach out and help them. We’ll see how it goes …

The only other thing I’ve noticed, thus far, is that while there are lots of interesting people to photograph, there are far, far, *far* more people who are *not* so interesting. They’re probably fine people, and they might even be more interesting than the ones I’ve photographed … but there was just nothing memorable about them.

Cigarette girl, pt.1


Image by Kr. B.
Sort of emo girl sitting on a bridge and smoking cigarette.

smoked my last cigarette…


Image by onkel_wart
…3 years ago — I still would like to have a smoke, but I know I can’t control it, so I have to keep away (I went from 60 to zero over night). Still — this package reminded my of the following song:

Cigarette by the Smithereens

Smoked my last cigarette, sat in bed for a while.
Thought of your face, and that brought me a smile.
Wanted another one. Fell back asleep, instead.
Woke and found you sitting there on the bed.

Cigarette, cigarette,
Burning up time.
Cigarette, cigarette,
Watch the smoke climb.
Cigarette, cigarette,
Wasting away.
Just like this cigarette, our time is running down.
Only one hour til you’re leaving this town.

Went to the corner store, bought us another pack.
Held my arm around you as we headed back.
I tried to change your mind. Didn’t want you to go.
I want you more, it seems, than you could ever know.

Cigarette, cigarette,
Burning up time.
Cigarette, cigarette,
Watch the smoke climb.
Cigarette, cigarette,
Wasting away.
Just like this cigarette, our time is running down.
Only one hour til you’re leaving this town.

Smoked my last cigarette, sat in bed for a while.
Thought of your face, and that brought me a smile.

Niche Profit Sites by