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Where there is Smoke, There are Photographs to be taken!

“Smoke Prevention” is a term found in this smoke-photographist’s vocabulary!  "But this must be a paradox," you say...

LET ME GET SOMETHING VERY CLEAR in the following Public Service Announcement (PSA)...

PSA BEGINS...
I’m totally against ‘Open Burning’!  Believe it or not, in this modern era, many ignorant people still get rid of their garbage and yard waste by burning it.  As if there wasn't already enough haze in the air around Malaysia caused by antiquated slash & burn farming practices throughout S.E. Asia.

Slash and burn agriculture therefore generally constitutes an extremely inefficient use of land. Nevertheless, it tends to be sustainable as long as the population density is less than 12 people per square mile. With such low population density, the land is used for 2-3 years and then left fallow for about 10 years, to replenish its nutrients. [ Bragaw, D. (n.d.). What is Deforestation?. Retrieved from http://www.globaled.org/issues/152/a.html ]

While this form of agriculture obviously contributes a great deal to deforestation, it also increases pollution. In November of 1997, thousands of fires (most of which were blamed either on slash-and-burn agriculture or on logging companies) were burning in Southeast Asia, bringing Malaysian air pollution indexes to over 6 times the level considered unhealthy! (Bryant)  
[ Bragaw, D. (n.d.). What is Deforestation?. Retrieved from http://www.globaled.org/issues/152/a.html ]

...with the growing population, scarcity of land, and most importantly, with short fallow period, the slash and burn agriculture system is considered as one of the worst and unsustainable farming practices in the world...burning equally contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases and soil loss due to erosion. [ Manohari Development Institute Nepal, . (2006). Mitigation of effect of greenhouse gases though controlling slash and burn practices (nep/03/11). Retrieved from http://sgp.undp.org/web/projects/6912/mitigation_of_effect_of_greenhouse_gases_though_controlling_slash_and_burn_practices.html ]

I can tell you first hand how it was in 1997, in Malaysia.  People were afraid for their health and general well-being to even go outside, but yet that didn't even protect you from the haze - it seeped in through any and every crack of your house and polluted the air.  People needed to wear masks when leaving their houses.  I remember going out and taking photographs of the haze during some of the worst days.  The smell was horrendous, like a smoker standing in front of your face and blowing second hand smoke into your nose.  Visibility was down to about half-a-block.  Beyond a half-a-block distance, things were fuzzy and unrecognizable to the eyes.  I pity the people who suffered from asthma.  If anyone has any doubts about the human and environmental toll open burning has, then you have never experienced it before, first hand.  

THANK GOD that the haze 'blows' around here less now, as I believe there have been more stringent regulations put into place to 'watch-dog' the hot-spots in this region.  The air-quality in Malaysia is certainly better than it was before and just after 1997.  However, we should never become complacent about our air quality.  There are certain times of the year, corresponding with the deforestation season in Indonesia, and when paddy farmers burn their lands, where the haze can make things unpleasant, and unhealthy.  We are certainly not alone in this; there are many places in the world with this same problem.   

There are GREEN ALTERNATIVES to the 'traditional' deforestation of slash & burn agriculture methods:

As alternatives to slash-and-burn, we studied modifications to those practices recognized to be harmful to the ecological sustainability of the fallow system, i.e. mulching for the management of soil organic matter and fire-free land clearing with bush choppers to transform fallow vegetation into mulch. Mulching allows extending the cropping period, planting crops off-season, and modifying crop rotations. Additionally, biomass and nutrient accumulation of degraded fallow vegetation can be improved by enrichment plantings using fast-growing leguminous tree species. [ Tscharntke, Teja, Leuschner, Christoph, Zeller, Manfred, Guhardja, Edi, & Bidin, Arifuddin. (2007). Stability of tropical rainforest margins. Springer Verlag. ]

However, we can't just blame the logging companies and farmers for the haze we experience here in Malaysia (and other parts of the world), we should also blame ourselves for this.  Many of our (collectively and generally speaking) neighbors think that they have to burn their trash too.  They must believe that they have a right to pollute the air with the burning of their trash.  They must also NOT be thinking that their smoke will disrupt, harm or irritate anyone else.  Come on people - Love the Earth.  Think about people other than yourselves.  Stop being so selfish.  Love the Earth!  Burning your trash and yard waste is just STUPID! 

Apparently, these eco-unfriendly people have never heard of garbage bags, let alone, biodegradable, “Green” Environmentally Friendly garbage bags.  These people are simply ignorant kickbacks of the slash & burn culture of yesteryear.  And, 'Open-Burners' (as I'll refer to them), just do not give a damn about polluting the air, the environment or anyone else's lungs who have the misfortune of breathing in their smoke!  Shame of you, 'Open-Burners'! 

This is a big problem for everyone.  Think twice, or maybe three times before you go outside and burn your trash indiscriminately.  What you do will affect everyone else.

As Sergeant John McClane put it so eloquently in the movie DIE HARD:  "Now, you listen to me, ґ*&%-off(s), if you're not a part of the solution, you're a part of the problem. Quit being a part of the ϋ&^%ing problem...!"
PSA ENDS...

TIPS TO CREATE SMOKE PHOTOGRAPHS:

Yes, to create smoke photographs successfully, you need to have smoke; however, the amount of smoke needed for SMOKE PHOTOGRAPHY is small, and it is 'controlled smoke' (i.e., you control how, when and where):  Please keep these points in mind if you wish to take smoke photographs.

Here are the ingredients needed to design smoke photography:  I would place these ingredients in the following order:

1)       A good source of controlled smoke.  The smoke source can be anything that lets off smoke, but keep it safe and only create as much smoke as you need to get decent photographs. 

• Safer sources of smoke would be best:  For example, incense and joss sticks.  These items can be placed in incense burners, which are self-contained and safe.  They produce adequate amounts of smoke and last a long time.  

• Of course, you can use matches or candles:  When you blow out the match or candle, they will create plumes of smoke for short periods. 

• Burning pieces of wood or paper is risky and I don't recommend it:  It's dangerous and it can cause unnecessary amounts of smoke pollution.  ALSO, If the item you use to create smoke is very flammable, you risk the flames getting out-of-control if the source material is not properly contained in a fire-safe container. 

• There are other sources and materials that create smoke; however, the key is to create smoke in the safest way possible, and for the longest period.  In my opinion, the best source for smoke are joss sticks...and, they smell nice! ;^ ) 

• As a general precaution, you may want to have a fire-extinguisher, or a big container of water handy - just in case!

2)      A Mask!  Great smoke photographs do not happen in the first, second, and rarely with the third attempt.  You may end up sucking in a lot of smoke, and that is not such a healthy thing to do.  Wear a mask!  A military-grade, filtered mask would be fantastic for this purpose.  Nevertheless, if a super-duper quality mask is not at your disposal, at least cover your face in some way to reduce inhalation of smoke particulates.

3)      Lighting.  The type of lighting you use is purely your choice and experimental.  You can use studio strobe lights, Speedlights (or Speedlites), or Continuous Lighting sources, such as daylight-balanced, bright-white-toned light bulbs. 

• The main difference you will find between strobes and continuous lighting is that strobes will capture a quick instant of smoke; thus, you need a lot of smoke in the frame during that quick instant. 

• Continuous Lighting allows for longer shutter speeds and the ability to capture more smoke shapes in a single frame.  The choice is yours (as I have mentioned), and I have found that experimentation with various types of lighting produces different results, and many surprises.

4)      Camera:  It does not matter too much what DIGITAL camera you use, but with some conditions.  But first, are you surprised by that statement?  The camera makers would have you believe that the latest camera model is necessary to make good photos.  Well, sorry to disappoint you, but you do not need to go out and buy a new DSLR for smoke photography.  If you wish, go ahead, but you will not need it for this type of photography.  However, you will need to use digital, yes indeed…digital:  You want to see the results quickly.  I cannot imagine taking smoke photographs with a film camera…not any more. 

• IF your camera has an M-MODE (MANUAL MODE), can trigger external, independent flash unit(s)*, and if shutter speeds can be set for several seconds; then, that is the skeleton of what you need for taking smoke photographs. 

• You want to keep 'digital noise' in the blacks to a minimum:  Set the Camera ISO to 50 or 100 for smaller digital sensor cameras.  If you have a newer DSLR, and the digital noise levels are low at higher ISO settings, then have-at-it.  Use the bigger sensor to your advantage:  You may be able to set your ISO to 400 or 800 without much notice of noise in the blacks.

5)      Macro Mode.  If you are using a compact digital camera, use your “Macro” Mode setting to take advantage of getting closer to the smoke.  However, you also want to get good depth-of-field, so you need to set your aperture to the highest aperture number you have.  On many compact cameras, the smallest aperture opening is f/8.0.  This is where a DSLR is advantageous:  The aperture opening on many Macro Lenses can be set very tiny, like f/32.  However, you may only need f/16 to get sufficient depth-of-field when working at close distances to your subject – the smoke.

6)      Experimentation.  Yes, experiment!  Be creative!  Try many different things and make note of what works, and what does not work so well.

*  Triggering external flash units using a compact digital camera is an advanced topic and will not be covered here.  Perhaps...some other time.