United States of Petroleum+

The viewer can attach his/her own meaning to this photo 'United

States of Petroleum' taken this morning. Please let me know how you

like it. Your ratings and critiques are invited and most welcome.

(If you rate harshly or very critically, please attach a helpful and

constructive comment/Please share your superior knowledge to help

improve my photography.) I'd rather you do NOT try to guess where it

was taken, as I might want to sell it and value its uniqueness and

don't want a lot of imitators. Thanks! Enjoy! John

Great shot, I love the look of chemical factories shot by night, I keep meaning to shoot a local chemical plant which is lit by all manor of gree, blue and red striplights but am usually just too tired on my way home from a long night shift. The flag sets this off a treat, well done.

I took a different view with a much wider angle and from a different viewpoint.

 

It takes in the 'cooling towers' and the steam coming from them, all illuminated by yellowish light, looking something like a scene from hell, with this tower structure, American flag 'ablaze in light' showing at the right.

 

I may post it some day.

 

I think it may be titled 'United States of Pollution', compared to this, 'United States of Petroleum'.

 

We'll see.

 

Thanks for the comment.

 

John (Crosley)

Excellent. Was just reading an article today on some countries' new-found political bargaining chips with the US re their fuel oil sales. Get out there and buy a Cadillac SUV - your favorite musician drives one, filled with his posse.

 

Love the juxtoposition - have found myself viewing similar sights lately with a sense of irony. Took a shot of a graveyard in the shadow of an industial facility just last month, but find this more profound.

It's interesting to me that this particular shot should appeal to you, and perfectly reasonable, since your photos tend to be perfect and filled with saturated color from side to side (as this).

 

Yes, you are right, it's kind of like New Jersey or California, but have you considered Houston, or other Gulf ports, rich with petroleum (and unintended irony)?

 

For that's what this is, a study in unintended irony. I practically stomped on my auto brakes and thanked the minor photo Gods when I drove past this, and simply couldn't believe it was an image I hadn't seen published a thousand times, it was so easy to see and take (and this is a handheld shot, although I did take a variety). And most were taken at ISO 200 (at night, handheld!!!)

 

And there's another, similar photo, rich in what could be termed 'pollution' framing this complex, from a 'slough' in the foreground to gas-filled skies in a halo around this complex -- perhaps even more emblematic than this one.

 

(I'll probably post it, but not now, since this has been posted and is enough, and to post two similar shots would indicate I have a paucity of ideas and material -- which could be further from the truth.)

 

I am struck by how filled the frame is with saturated color or blackness in this view, and wouldn't adjust the exposure or vary the density of this view at all (and this is a Nikon Matrix Metered view, with very minimal if any adjustments, which speaks extremely well for their exposure algorithms.)

 

What was amazing to me was that although there was a guard house at more than one entrance to this facility, was that nobody started to follow me around as I drove around it, and even started into employee gates with my vehicle and then turned around on seeing guardhouse and gates. I think that I'd be much more alert were I in charge of security. (But maybe I was being oberved every minute and they have my license, photo, etc., all on demand, and simply I was 'vetted' and didn't know it. . . . )

 

This was just one part of an ENORMOUS petrochemical complex, larger than anything I think I've ever seen, including the malodorous swamps of New Jersey . . . but without the unGodly smell that permeates the Houston area, where it seems petro pollution in the air is part of the price Texans pay for their 'independence' from the rest of the 49 states, it's so bad there.

 

Thanks for stopping by. Someday I'll post the corollary view and we'll see if it has more impact; viewers didn't seem very enamored with this one.

 

But I was and continue to be; this being my first so-called 'industrial' shot. (vibration reduction lens helped considerably, as the lens was on telephoto for this view (that's a fence in foreground, across from a busy boulevard).

 

Feel free to dig through my monstrous portfolio any time and comment and rate (high or low) as you please.

 

John (Crosley)

John, thanks for the reply - fascinating. From the fact that it's hand-held to the backstory, all very interesting. particularly chuckled about the security, or lack thereof. Minimum wage doesn't buy follow-through, these days, I guess. . .it's amazing that likely the owner of this plant, potentially sleeping in a posh mansion, sleeps at ALL with all the facts to organize. Of course, I'm making assumptions, but one is a summary of their experiences;)

 

I browse through your folders all the time - I just often don't feel intelligent enough to respond! I'll give it a shot, though!

If one looks closely at several lights, one can see traces of my movement, indicating that this was a long hand-held exposure.

 

In fact, I might actually have rotated the camera a little. Just look for a slight elongation of any light that should appear as round, and it will leave a little 'trail', 'coma', I think it's called (not comma as in punctuation).

 

I'm just too lazy to take out that tripod, or too scared in darkly lit places or at roadsides to take it out and not be able to run from trouble or oncoming traffic, as often I must go to unusual and sometimes dangerous places with expensive cameras, which might make me a target if I appeared to be tied down as I would be if I were lugging a tripod, legs extended.

 

John

Perhaps this flag and petro-chemical facility represent to the owner/company that they see a communality between the patriotism that causes some to display the flag (and thus claim the flag as their own) and the government. After all, this is a government that long has given extraordinary tax breaks to big industry and the oil industry has often been the primary beneficary.

 

If they gave me so many tax breaks and so many benefits, I'd be displaying the flag 'large' as here, also.

 

John (Crosley)