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Delicate wispy incense smoke curls upward from a burning stick against a dark black background

About this photo

A thin burning incense stick releases soft, swirling trails of pale smoke against a solid matte black background. This calm, atmospheric shot is ideal for mindfulness content, meditation graphics, and minimalist design layouts.

Prompt: “vertical photograph of a thin ribbon of incense smoke curling up from a single stick against a black background” — AI-generated and reviewed for quality before listing.

Editor's note (9.0/10): The image closely matches the brief, with sharp natural smoke detail, clean composition, no visible artefacts, and a cohesive minimalist aesthetic.

Also searched as: swirling smoke · black background abstract · incense stick vertical · minimal smoke texture

Direct file: 1008×1792 JPG

Using this photo — common questions

Can I use this curling incense smoke photo for free, commercially?
Yes. This photo is licensed CC BY 4.0, so you can use it in commercial and personal projects — websites, ads, social media, videos and client work — at no cost. The one condition is the credit: “Curling Incense Smoke” by BudgetPixel AI (https://budgetpixel.com/images/curling-incense-smoke-e0531827) — CC BY 4.0
What size is this photo?
The original is 1008×1792 pixels (JPG); it also downloads at 1280 px and 640 px on the long side. Its portrait shape suits phone wallpapers, Pinterest pins, Instagram and TikTok posts and magazine-style layouts.
Is this photo AI-generated?
Yes. It was generated by AI from the prompt “vertical photograph of a thin ribbon of incense smoke curling up from a single stick against a black background” and it passed an AI review for quality and safety before listing. The downloaded file carries the IPTC “AI-generated” marker and its licence details.
Where can I find more abstract images like this?
Browse the Abstract collection, see the similar images below, or describe the exact picture you need and generate it free on this page.

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Need a different take? Tweak the prompt and generate — free, no account

Safe-for-work images only — no nudity or sexual content, no real or famous people, no children. Blocked requests still count toward today’s limit.

Takes under a minute. Good results join the library for everyone, with their prompt.

Want it private, larger or edited? The image workshop generates with every model and keeps your images to your account. A free account comes with 300 credits a month.

Get images like this from your AI agent or your code

The whole library is searchable through the BudgetPixel MCP connector and the developer API, on every plan, Free included. A search costs 10 credits and returns each result's download link and credit line, so the 300 credits a free account gets every month cover 30 searches.

Ask your AI agent

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor to your BudgetPixel account once, with no API key, then ask in plain words:

Find a free stock photo like “Curling Incense Smoke” and give me the download link and its credit line.

Call the API

One request, with an API key from the developer console:

curl -G https://api.budgetpixel.com/v1/stock/images \
  --data-urlencode "query=curling incense smoke" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BUDGETPIXEL_API_KEY"

Nothing in the library fits? On any paid plan the same connector and API generate images to order, and the models also come as plugins for ComfyUI, WordPress and Cursor.