Thank you - colours are part of the manipulation. If it helps, some notes on how I did the shots:

1. low ISO for best quality
2. High resolution JPEG or RAW for quality 3. Aperture between f8 and f16 for sharp results - adjust depending on the results 4. Shutter speed - set for one second and adjust depending on results.
5. Use self timer or remote cable.

Back drop - large piece of black card set to angle or black cloth - not vertical to the camera to avoid reflections.
Incense stick approx 12-18 inches in front of the card / cloth. Focus on the tip of the incense stick, lock the focus and then recompose shot so tip just out-of-sight at bottom of frame. Once everything in place, light incense stick and switch lights off. Use camera self-timer or remote cable to release the shutter. When shutter released )remember exposure set for one second) use a flashgun positioned just below the incense stick to "flash" the smoke trail - this is what makes the smoke stand-out from the background. If there is no off camera flash, try short burst of torch light or other bright light source. Whatever source used, point the beam vertically from the base of the incense
stick and avoid pointing at the lens

If digital, check the results after each exposure .

Things to watch-out for:
Too much air movement around the smoke will make it indistinct, no air movement just gives a vertical column which isn't very
interesting.
I manipulated shots in Photoshop by cropping, adjusting for levels etc then layering multiple copies of the shot to create an interesting image. To introduce colour, one method is :

Create a new layer and fill, using the gradient tool (radial etc), with colours of your choice. Once gradient applied to layer, use combination of blending modes & opacity enabling colours to interact with the smoke-trail layer below. Good start point is Overlay mode at approx 30% opacity.

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