Where's My Cigarette

This incredible shot has a lot more depth to it than appears at first glance - some of which could be classified as wry, wicked humor. I haven't run across anything quite like this before - I'm still smiling.

Most people who flip through the galleries probably dismiss this as a 'glam shot' and move on since the pose appears to be one of the overused cliches that frequently bloat portfolios. However, on closer glance, that initial assessment is absolutely untrue.

This is not a glam shot: this is a rather vicious satire of our idea of a glam shot. The pose is deliberately exaggerated (check out the hand and fingers of the right hand for starters) - but it is so subtly done that the effect remains one of awe rather than hilarity. It is sort of a distortion of perfection - and that is not easy to do.

The makeup, the outfit (those gloves are superb) the position, all of the classic expectations of the late 1940s are there. The twist and tightened muscles are excellent additions. And the expression on the face is to die for.

Doing this in monochrome is a touch of genius. This would never work in colour. And the use of monochrome is done very well: the extreme dark of the outfit and the edges of the hair, the blown-out highlights at the top and the delicate shadows toward the lower end use the perfect shading to create that odd near but distant feel of this style of image. (And the background shadows themselves deserve a closer look - the double-image effect is very noteworthy - almost as though the shadows are in independent motion!).

However, the technical expertise aside, the entire image as a whole slaps you in the face like a banana cream pie with its vicious biting sarcasm. If you still don't understand what I'm talking about, take a good look at the title, then the fingers of the left hand, and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Incredible!