Since looking at the beautiful and informative work of Gregg Segal I was really inspired to go ahead with my first shoot. Using this same kind of stage photography I hope to capture equally as meaningful images that may even inspire change. My first idea for this project is to use a studio setting to depict a strongly symbolic piece, clearly demonstrating some of our most common pollution issues.

The first subject I would like to tackle in this way is the number of cigarette butts there is littering the environment compared to other waste. Later in this project, I will explore this same topic from a photojournalistic point of view to show its effect on our island. The reason I feel this issue needs to be brought to light and clearly represented is the pure fact that over 4.5 trillion cigarettes are littered worldwide each year. As well as this, each of these cigarette butts can take anywhere from two to twenty-five years to biodegrade. 80% of them that are thrown on the ground find their way into our water systems and detract from the quality of our drinking water. Cigarette butts can leach chemicals such as cadmium, lead and arsenic into our marine environment within an hour of contact with water. They have also been found in the stomachs of fish, whales, birds and other marine animals which lead to ingestion of hazardous chemicals and digestive blockages. I believe, using studio techniques and symbolism, I will be able to get across the gravity of this common pollution problem. Below is my plan of action as well as two quick sketches of my original ideas for how I want these photographs to look…My goal for these two shoots is to portray a really symbolic representation of the growing problem of cigarette waste that is produced each year. These two sketches above show an idea of what I want my final results to look like. On the left shows a dirty and greasy hand surrounded with discarded cigarettes on a black background.  As well as cigarette butts I will be adding a very small amount of other rubbish to compare with the amount of waste produced by smoking. By using a dirty human hand I am symbolising man-kinds connection to this issue. The image on the right will be a depiction of a flower growing from a pile of cigarettes with a black background. This is an obvious symbol of man vs nature and the problem this pollution is causing.

My plan of action for these two shoots is to use a home-studio of black paper, black fabric and a LED light to capture dark and emotive outcomes. In this ‘studio’ I will use a male model’s hand, a fake flower, cigarette buts and other waste in the way I have presented in my sketches above. The reason I want to use a man’s hand is because men are more obvious symbols of ‘mankind’ and also tend to smoke more than women. The hand is also a symbol of our species and what sets us apart from other animals as well as being what allows use to damage the environment so much. To create the greasy marks I want on the model’s hand I will use acrylic paints and capture the image whilst it is still wet. For the flower shoot I will be using a fake flower, as to not poison its soil, and a pile of waste to spread around the base. I like this idea as it is a really nice representation of the chemical damage cigarettes can do to plants and animals. These shoots are heavily inspired by Gregg Segal and his beautiful staged portrayals of the problem of household waste. Below I have added three images that show the dark tone, different subjects and style of images I am hoping to capture…