Photographer Makes Otherworldly Photos with Dried Remnants of Single-Malt Scotch

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After a fine Scotch one night, Phoenix-based photographer Ernie Button noticed an intriguing looking film made up of “fine, lacy lines” at the bottom of his glass as he was putting it into the dishwasher. It was just enough to spark an idea for a series he calls Vanishing Spirits – The Dried Remains of Single-Malt Scotch. Button began experimenting with different types of Scotch, leaving that last sip to dry in the glass. The sediment left behind created a variety of different patterns and shapes that he captured in images reminiscent of both terrestrial and extraterrestrial landscapes. To add life and vibrance to the “landscapes”, he used different colored lights. Button says “some of the images reference the celestial, as if the image was taken of space looking down on Earth; something that the Hubble telescope may have taken.”

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