Cycles of consumption, recycling, and their effects on the earth have been brought to light in the art world by photographers like Edward Burtynsky and Chris Jordan. Each of these photographers focuses on the effects of what we consume on the environment, drawing attention to the mass of consumption and the havoc of disposal.

Hey, Hot Shot! contender William Goldkind also turns his attention to recycling, particularly scrap and junk metal, looking at the connection between the earth and the manufacturing industry.

He writes,

The recycling industry has become a prominent and lucrative sphere of manufacturing. The reuse of materials is central to this body of work. The machinery and processes that enable the makers of primary materials to use scrap again, creating a closed cycle of consumption is both a critical component of the economy and mimics the natural circle of life. Metal as we know it begins life deep in the earth, it is mined and manipulated into refrigerators, cars, jewelry, and other products, as its use diminishes and ages the metal returns to the recycler and their furnaces for rebirth to be used again.

By honing his camera in on metal both on the micro and macro levels (from crushed aluminum cans to the large-scale carcass of an airplane), Goldkind looks to the big and small metals that are re-incorporated into use. He works to redefine what is "junk" and where the cycle of production truly ends.