RE: POBphotocontest Winners: SMOKE

Hey, thanks for the first prize, despite your doubts. No, AI was not used in this photo. And while it may seem surreal, it is not so hard at all. I had a black dresser for a long time, which fell into disgrace when we moved here and was banished to our utility room. But the doors of that dresser were perfectly suitable for creating a black background, and a black background in the kitchen. A black dresser door lies on the hob to serve as a base for the alarm clock, well away from the background because you want to prevent light from falling on the background, the other black door is against the back wall ... and then a pair of incense burners are on the sides just outside the frame. Camera on a tripod and with a minimal fill-in flash, the alarm clock is highlighted and the smoke from the incense burners is captured. That was all there was to make this image.