More: Interview with Ernie Button / Masters of Photography Macallan

Macallan


Our world is full of pictures.
Every day we see thousands of pics via newspapers, facebook, blogs, instagram etc.
But some of them are really remarkable, outstanding and full of magic.
For example the picture series  
"Vanishing Spirits - the dried remains of single malt scotch whisky" 
from the passionate photographer ERNIE BUTTON.
In december, Mr. Button took some time and did a written interview with me.
Enjoy...

Mr. Button,my first question to you: please introduce yourself with some words to the reader (where are you from? your age? your profession? and what you like to say about yourself...).

My name is Ernie Button and I am a photographer that creates fine art from whisky. For over 40 years, Phoenix Arizona has been my home.  Ben asked my age and I hit 50 in 2017.  For most of my adult life, photography has provided me a forum to communicate my past & present, my humor & concerns, my observations & explorations.  Although my subject matter varies, my images tend to focus on the individual nature of objects (and occasionally people) and the unique qualities that each possesses. My images often provide a voice to objects that are over-looked or taken for granted. 

Scientific research inspired by my Vanishing Spirits photography has been published in the Physics journal Physical Review Letters in March 2016.

Lagavulin



What was your first contact with whisky and how did you come to itAnd which whisky was it?

I have my wife to thank for this project. She came from a Scotch whisky drinking family so I was introduced and came to know Scotch whisky because of her. The family interest is what started the project. What kept me going and interested in the project long-term were the amazing patterns that the dried whisky continued to create time after time.

Early in our marriage, we were very poor so a $25 bottle of whisky was a luxury.  Glenlivet 12 was our gateway whisky.



Which one have you moved to deal with the topic whisky more closely?
Or do you have a favorite whisky?

When I discovered this whisky phenomenon, we were trying a variety of less expensive whiskies like Glenlivet 12, Glenfiddich 12, Highland Park 12, etc.  As our palates have grown over the years, so has the range of whisky that we have tried.  There isn’t one single favorite so I will name a current Top 5 in no particular order (and of course that Top 5 may change over time):  The Balvenie TUN 1509, Glenmorangie Signet, Aberlour A’bunadh, Macallan Double Cask, Highland Park 25.


Highland Park



How do you define a “good whisky”?

Most of the time, it is figuring out what you, as an individual, likes in a whisky.  I tend to gravitate more to the Speyside / Highland region. 


One recent trend are NAS-whiskies, whiskies with no age statement.
How do you feel about them?

I can see both perspectives.  NAS whiskies free up Master Blenders to be more creative.  There are some really inventive Distillers out there like Brian Kinsmen over at Glenfiddich and Dr. Bill Lumsden at Glenmorangie who are really doing some creative things with whisky blending.  On the flip side, as a consumer, the Age-Statement was an easy quality control point knowing that if I buy a 15 year old Scotch, it should be able to approximate the quality of product that I am purchasing.  A compromise would be having a NAS whisky that is really focusing on taste but the information would be available for those interested on what barrels were used in the creation of the whisky.  The Balvenie TUN 1509 is a perfect example of this; they had a wonderful printout of all the barrels that were used in the creation of the particular batch we purchased (batch #3).


Let us talk about your artwork and your photography:
You are a photographer and you created the fabulous and wonderful picture series "the vanishing spirits - the dried remains of single malt scotch".
I have to admit, I am not a professional photographer i.e. someone that makes their living from photography.  I have a true passion for photography but for me personally, I need the stability of a day job to be able to pursue the various quirky photography projects that I create.  I love photography and the images that I create and would love to be able to create images full-time.

Ardbeg


How did you come to this idea? And can you tell us something about the process of how these pics came about? (did you work with a kind of microscope or special lenses?)

I feel fortunate that I discovered this phenomenon. I am a fan of observing my world and the things that are happening around me; noticing the smaller details that may be ignored or overlooked. I find it infinitely fascinating that a seemingly ‘clear’ liquid can dry and leave these beautiful patterns and lines on a consistent basis. 

The idea for this project occurred while putting a used whisky glass into the dishwasher. I noted a film on the bottom of a glass and when I inspected closer, I noted these fine, lacy lines filling the bottom. What I found through some experimentation is that these patterns and images that I see can be created with the small amount of Single-Malt Scotch left in a glass after most of it has been consumed. The alcohol dries and leaves the sediment in various patterns. It’s a little like snowflakes in that every time the Scotch dries, the glass yields different patterns and results. I have used different color lights to add ‘life’ to the bottom of the glass, creating the illusion of landscape, terrestrial or extra-terrestrial. Some of the images reference the celestial, as if the image was taken of space; something that the Hubble telescope may have taken or an image taken from space looking down on Earth. The circular image references a drinking glass, typically a circle, and what the consumer might see if they were to look at the bottom of the glass after the scotch has dried. The camera used was a Nikon D7100 and I used extension tubes to get the lens closer to the bottom of the glass.

Dalwhinnie
Glenmorangie Signet















Some pictures from this series are part of the honorable "Masters of Photography Collection" from The Macallan and some bottlings adorned your artwork? Congratulations to that!

Thank you.  It was quite an honor to be included in that illustrious group of photographers for the Masters of Photography Collection. I was commissioned to create 12 Vanishing Spirits images using The Macallan whisky to be used in various markets around the world.  If I remember correctly, the boxes were to be released in 14 countries with many of the boxes only available in that country.  So there are certain boxes that were only released in Russia for example which makes them very collectable.  The image that was used on the Estate Reserve bottle was the only image that was on the actual bottle.  They also created some wooden bottle stoppers with the image for that box printed on the top of the stopper.




Can you tell me how did this cooperation come about?

Ken Grier is the Brand Director of The Macallan and the Creative Guardian of the photography projects.  He has been a big supporter of the photographic arts through this Masters of Photography Collection.  He had seen my work and through email, we began a discussion re: could images be created using The Macallan.   (side note:  the patterns that you see in the Vanishing Spirits imagery can be created by most Scotch whisky / American whiskey.  There are only a few whiskies that I have found that do not create these patterns and I’m not officially sure why they don’t create these patterns but I have my theories.)  After a few more emails and a face-to-face meeting in Scotland, I was working on an official project with The Macallan.  I didn’t know it would be part of the Masters of Photography Collection until later on in the process.


And how was your reaction about it?

I was thrilled to have my photography included in such an illustrious group of photographers.  The Macallan team did a fantastic job using my photography in the promotion of their product.  I was very pleased with the results.























Your kind of surreal pictures combines two powerful crafts: the photography and whisky. And the result is fantasticDo you think there will be another series with whisky in topic from you?

Yes, that is my hope.  I would love for there to be more collaborations with other whisky distilleries.  I feel there are many more ways for this photography process of mine to be different and unique for many, many other distilleries.  I have become such a fan of Scotch Whisky & Scotland that I would like to continue making images for the Vanishing Spirits project.  My dream when I started this Vanishing Spirits photography project was to work with as many distilleries as possible. 


What are your plans for the next 5 to 10 years?  Will you travel to Europe and Scotland?  

Yes, there will be more trips to Scotland and/or Europe.  My wife and I just returned from a fantastic trip to Italy and we are currently working on summer plans to visit Scotland (again).  As far as my plans in the next 5-10 years; I’m sure that I will be photographing something and enjoying a fine whisky.


Ernie Button - Master of Photography Macallan



 Thanks a lot for your beautiful pictures and your time.
With a deep view into my glass of scotch...

slàinte mhath
Ben



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