Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Add Good to your Google News feed.
Google News Button

Photographer Creates Haunting Photo Series By Removing Phones From Every Image

There’s a good chance you’re reading this on your phone right now.

Craig Carilli
By Craig CarilliJul 15, 2021
Craig Carilli
See Full Bio

This article originally appeared on 09.21.17



There's a good chance you're reading this on your phone or tablet right now. Most of us can't imagine going very long without looking at a screen these days. With this thought in mind, photographer Eric Pickersgill created a brilliant photo series, “Removed" that captures our addiction to these devices. To create the haunting images, Pickersgill had his subjects perform activities we see every day and then he removed the tablet or phone from their hands but had them hold their stance and stare as he took the pictures.

Pickersgill was inspired to do this project after watching a family interact at a Cafe in Troy, NY. He shared the experience on the project's website.


“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. Dad looks up every so often to announce some obscure piece of info he found online. Twice he goes on about a large fish that was caught. No one replies. I am saddened by the use of technology for interaction in exchange for not interacting. This has never happened before and I doubt we have scratched the surface of the social impact of this new experience. Mom has her phone out now."

You can check out the fascinating photos in the gallery above.

Share this on Facebook?

artcellphonescreative serieseric pickersgillfamilyhaunting imagesinspirational projectmodern artnew yorkphonesphoto seriespicturesprojectremoving phonestabletsphotography

The Latest

Robert Redford, Twilight Zone, Nothing in the Dark, Gladys Cooper, death portrayal, classic TV, George Clayton Johnson, Robert Redford tribute, Hollywood legend, 1962 television
Past Events

Robert Redford's haunting portrayal of Death in 'Twilight Zone': 'It isn't me you're afraid of'

mtv, cds, tower records, '90s nostalgia, '90s music
Culture

People are savoring an unearthed 1994 MTV interview with people who just bought CDs at Tower Records

raccoons, drunk raccoon, liquor store, animal stories, wildlife
Animals

Animal control helps 'drunk' raccoon that rampaged through liquor store and passed out in bathroom

Wow signal, Jerry Ehman, Big Ear Radio Observatory, extraterrestrial intelligence, aliens, magnetar, Abel Méndez, astrophysics, hydrogen cloud, space mystery
Past Events

The mystery of a strange radio signal that came from space 50 years ago may finally be solved

More For You

dating, single life, bad dates, good dates, relationships

Do you live in a good dating city? A new report ranks the best and worst.

Photo credit: Canva, Katerina Holmes from Pexels (left, cropped) / Prostock-studio (right, cropped)

A new report ranks the 10 best and worst U.S. cities for single people to meet someone

What makes a city attractive to the unattached? You could make a massive list of qualities. And to help create their latest study, personal-finance company WalletHub did exactly that, using "35 key factors of dating-friendliness" to measure the best and worst U.S. cities for singles in 2025.

In order to focus their research, they evaluated 182 total cities, including the 150 most-populated. They did their analysis using 35 metrics that can be lumped into three broader categories: economics (everything from restaurant-meal costs to housing affordability), fun and recreation (things like parks per capita and presence of music festivals), and dating opportunities (including a share of the single population and "Google search traffic for the term 'Tinder'"). Each city was then given a total score out of 100, with the whole list ranked best to worst.

Keep ReadingShow less
single women, dating, relationships, self-love, independence, Reddit, viral thread, dating apps, mental health, career focus

(L) A couple in the middle of a fight (R) A woman enjoys a cup of tea

Canva

10 honest reasons women are single that have nothing to do with 'not finding the one'

For generations, the societal script has been clear: grow up, find a partner, and settle down. But that narrative is shifting. Increasingly, women are deciding that the "default" path isn't the only one, opting instead to prioritize their own peace, careers, and independence over romance.

This shift was the focus of a revealing conversation on Reddit, where user u/crypticweirdo9105 asked the r/AskWomen community a simple question: why have they chosen to remain single? The hundreds of responses that followed painted a complex picture of modern dating, highlighting everything from the exhaustion of apps to the joy of solitude.

Keep ReadingShow less
Great Pyramid of Giza, Dixon Relics, Abeer Eladany, University of Aberdeen, archaeology, ancient Egypt, Khufu, carbon dating, lost artifact, Waynman Dixon

Camels rest in front of a view of pyramids

Canva

Only 3 objects have ever been found inside the Great Pyramid. One of them vanished for a century.

For centuries, the Great Pyramid of Giza has guarded its secrets with stony silence. While the exterior is iconic, the interior remains largely a void.

In fact, throughout history, only three man-made objects have ever been recovered from inside the chambers of the ancient wonder.

Keep ReadingShow less
empathy, compassion, mental health, loneliness, technology, friends, Stanford University, peers

Two young people recognize one another.

Photo credit Canva (AntonioGuillem)

A simple misconception keeps young people feeling lonely. Here's how to break out of it.

Perhaps it's a little ironic that technology connects all of us faster and more conveniently than ever, and yet so many feel more isolated and alone. There's a mental health crisis facing young people, and besides medication, the solution seems daunting.

Researchers at Stanford uncovered that there are two different types of students attending the University: what they think of one another, and who they actually are. In what they describe as the "empathy perception gap," people believe their peers are a bit colder and less friendly. It turns out their fellows are far kinder and more empathetic than expected.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kaprekar’s Constant, numbers, formulas, 6174, math equations

The number 6174 is weirdly special.

Photo credit: Canva. anuchit kamsongmueang from ภาพของAnuchit Kamsongmueang (main image) / anlomaja (text box)

Why 6174 is 'the coolest number in the universe' and people remain amazed by this math formula

Even if you flunked high-school algebra, become enraged at the sight of long division, or get stressed out by calculating a 20% tip for your restaurant check, you may find yourself fascinated to explore the weird, wild world of 6174—the four-digit sequence otherwise known in smart-people math circles as "Kaprekar’s Constant."

So, what makes this number so special? For the answer, we must first look back to the late Indian mathematician D. R. Kaprekar, who discovered a kind of algorithm with 6174 as the ultimate endpoint. In a mega-viral video for the YouTube channel Numberphile, University of Nottingham physics professor Roger Bowley offered a simple but fascinating breakdown of Kaprekar's findings.

Keep ReadingShow less
beauty standards, Perceptions of Perfection, Superdrug Online Doctors, photoshop experiment, body image, ideal body, global beauty, BMI, societal pressure, viral study

(L-R) Original image of a woman, same woman Photoshopped in Mexico, same woman in China

Image from “Perceptions of Perfection”

18 different countries photoshopped one woman to fit their definition of 'beautiful'

What does the "perfect" body look like? If you ask someone in Italy, you might get a radically different answer than if you ask someone in Colombia. That subjective nature of beauty was the driving force behind "Perceptions of Perfection," a viral project by Superdrug Online Doctors that hired graphic designers from 18 different countries to retouch the same stock photo of a woman to fit their nation's specific beauty standards.

The results were startlingly diverse, highlighting the immense and conflicting pressures women face globally. While designers in China and Italy slimmed the model down to a weight researchers estimated would be near-anorexic (a BMI of 17), South American nations like Colombia and Peru did the opposite, exaggerating her curves to create a voluptuous hourglass figure. Spain, meanwhile, produced the heaviest version, retaining a fuller, healthier look.

Keep ReadingShow less
tasty food, awful food, food, preparation, cooks, kitchen, personal choice, delicious choices

One person loves her pizza slice while another is disgusted with what she just tasted.

Photo credit Canva

5 foods that swing wildly between ‘best thing ever’ and ‘absolutely awful’

As we move into the holidays, the importance of finding delicious treats and meals for ourselves and for delighting friends and family becomes a top priority. This time of year is an opportunity to share family traditions and secrets gained through the trials of preparation. However, knowing exactly what to prepare and the best way to do it can be more complicated than most might think.

There are certain foods that can be either incredibly great or terribly boring, depending on how well you prepare them. Do they have the right amount of spices? Were they cooked at the right temperature, and were they sliced and diced to create a wonderful textural experience?

Keep ReadingShow less
Michael Sheen, debt relief, not-for-profit actor, Wales, household debt, debt acquisition, Good Omens, financial crisis, predatory lending, celebrity philanthropy

Michael Sheen at the 81st Academy Awards on February 22, 2009

Chrisa Hickey via Wikimedia Commons

Michael Sheen bought $1 million of debt for 900 strangers just to teach greedy banks a lesson

Michael Sheen is best known for playing angels and vampires on screen, but for 900 people in South Wales, he’s become a very real savior. The acclaimed actor, famous for roles in Good Omens and Masters of Sex, has made headlines for a massive act of financial rebellion: he personally purchased—and then completely forgave—over £1 million ($1.29 million) of local debt.

In 2021, Sheen famously declared himself a “not-for-profit actor," pledging to use his earnings to fund social causes like this and the Welsh National Theatre. Now, a Channel 4 documentary, Michael Sheen’s Secret Million Pound Giveaway, has revealed exactly how he’s putting that money to work.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2025