A Photo Series That Reveals an Isolated World After Smartphones Are Removed From People’s Hands

International photographer Eric Pickersgill has created a fitting series entitled “Removed”, where he presents individual portraits in beautiful black and white photos. Each of the subjects appears to be looking at a smartphone in their hands, but the personal device has been completely removed from the picture, revealing an isolated and lonely world.

Pickersgill stated that idea came to him after seeing a family dining together but completely apart.

Family sitting next to me at Illium café in Troy, NY is so disconnected from one another. Not much talking. Father and two daughters have their own phones out. Mom doesn’t have one or chooses to leave it put away. She stares out the window, sad and alone in the company of her closest family…I am saddened by the use of technology for interaction in exchange for not interacting. … The image of that family, the mother’s face, the teenage girls’ and their father’s posture and focus on the palm of their own hands has been burned in my mind.

Thanks David Klass!

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.