I have been sitting on a photo that I took a while back but never got a chance to process and post. I was up late at night with a nice cigar I had bought on a bike ride earlier that day. Oh those Cuban cigars. I could spend an evening with one when I need to think through things.

Anyway, I was up late at night with a drink and this Cigar and once I had popped back into the present moment, I saw how pretty the lit cigar and the smoke and the bright candle looked in the tiny backyard area of my apartment. I jumped back into my room to grab my camera. It already had the 35mm prime lens on and I took a series of photos to try and capture the the combination. This is the photo that stood out the most to me.

▲ Cigar and a Drink

I didn’t realize until I was processing the photo that there was a feather in the foreground that I had capture as well. It just added that little bit of mystery to the photo for me.

I love the shallow depth of field in this photo, and the blurry wisps of smoke, the vegetation, both dry and green, and the woven wooden fence and how the dim lighting brings it all together.

Can it be better?

If I could have staged the photo some more, I would make sure the cigar is better lit and had more wisps or smoke. I think the latter could have been achieved through a longer exposure. I would also have the candle out of focus and the drink in focus instead of the other way around as in the photo above.

Care for a smoke?

If you are wondering what cigar that is, it’s a Hoyo de Monterey but I don’t remember which one exactly. I do remember it being a Cuban cigar. Speaking of which, I am impatiently waiting to be in Cuba this coming January. Looking forward to indulging myself. Lots of photos to come soon. Until then …