# Bahamas photographer stages self-portrait with smoke pouring from road cone

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/i-put-a-smoke-bomb-in-a-road-cone-and-stuck-it-on-my-head-delton-barretts-best-photograph/
- Published: 2026-11-04T16:00:38+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-04T16:33:36+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2026/nov/04/smoke-bomb-road-cone-losing-mind-delton-barrett-best-photograph
- Topics: Culture

## Key points

- Barrett’s self-portrait shows smoke rising from a cone worn over his head.
- He says the image suggests a person struggling or seeking help.
- He created it on a quiet road in the Bahamas.

## Summary

Delton Barrett describes how he created *Stop the Madness*, a self-portrait in which smoke pours from a road cone worn over his head. The image suggests someone in distress and reflects his interest in how people signal that they are struggling, and whether others choose to help.

Barrett, who grew up in New Providence in the Bahamas and lives on the island, taught himself photography after buying his first DSLR in 2010. He staged the photograph on a quiet dead-end road, using a smoke bomb that fitted inside the cone; he says the cone was suffocating and recalls that, looking back, it is a wonder he survived. The scene needed only framing and adjustments to lighting and contrast.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.