Smokin' Your Way to Death

During a random excursion to Olde Mystic Village located in Mystic, CT, a box full of cigarette butts located right outside one of the stores had caught my eye. As this shot was being taken, the store owner ran outside and started yelling at me since he thought his window merchandise was being photographed. WHOOPS!

For those who do not know, the Mystic area is very famous for it's small Mom & Pops shops, the aquarium, Mystic Pizza (the famous restaurant featured in the Julia Roberts' late-80's movie), the seaport, picture-friendly landscapes, sandy beaches, the list goes on.

As far as smoking is concerned, I admit to having puffed a couple cigarettes throughout my young life (by couple, I legitimately mean two or three). However, I do not advocate smoking - it leads to cancer, makes your teeth yellow, and your breath smell. I would highly reconsider dating any girl if I found out she frequently inhales this stuff...

Special thanks goes to "The Journal of a Photographer" for his extremely detailed tutorial on how to properly convert color photographs into dramatic black & white images within Photoshop.