Smartphones began gaining steam in 2007, and have quickly become a ubiquitous aspect of life. Kids playing on tablets at the grocery store; couples glued to their phones at restaurants; commuters focused on their devices on the train. It's almost hard to imagine what life was like before smart devices.

But one photographer started to try. One night, while browsing on his phone in bed, Eric Pickersgill began dozing in and out. He awoke to the sound of his phone hitting the floor, but what got his attention was the way his hand kept the shape it was in while holding the phone. This moment - along with many others leading up to this one - inspired him to start his photography project "Removed."