National Geographic UK - July 2019

(Michael S) #1

THE BACK STORY


THE DREGS OF A FINISHED GLASS OF SCOTCH WHISKY


CAN YIELD WILD CELESTIAL SCENES.


WASHING DISHES—the most ordinary


of chores—led photographer Ernie


Button on a decadelong discovery of


a fantasy universe. While placing an


empty whisky glass in the dishwasher,


he noticed at the bottom a thin residue


of evaporated alcohol—specifically,


Scotch, the term for a whisky aged


more than three years in oak barrels


in Scotland. When the last drops of


alcohol dried up, they left sediment


from the whisky’s distillates. Button


took the glass to his studio, laid it on


its side, and took pictures.


The whisky-sediment patterns are


like snowflakes; each has a unique


design. They all, however, are light


gray until Button lights them with


multicolored lamps. The gray lines


and swirls spring to life and make the


rich designs resemble colorful land-


scapes of planets and moons. “I think


of it as drinks and a show,” he says.


Through trial and error, Button found


that only Scotch whiskies accumu-


late enough sediment. The oldest he’s


photographed is a 25-year-old whisky.


(Verdict: no big difference.)


In contrast to photographers who


shoot epic scenes in exotic locales, But-


ton looks inward and stays local. Before


photographing spirits, he created land-


scapes with breakfast cereal boxes


and chronicled the disappearance of


coin-operated rides at grocery stores.


Button’s work proves there are wild


things to be observed in everyday life,


even in dirty dishes. —DANIEL STONE


PROOF


“You just have to look closely” at the bottom of a whisky glass, says photographer Ernie Button.

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