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Response to Ugly Beautiful (Response #92)

Uploaded 639 Days Ago by gorin-images - Featured Image - 16 comments


Photo © gorin-images (Jarrett Gorin) - www.gorin-images.com/blog
Unauthorized reproduction not permitted.

User Comments

anil said 639 days ago:

Is this a joke? Ok, I'm really really curious to know why you think this is ugly. Beautiful yes, but ugly no. Or is there hidden subtext about the ugly oil conglomerates?

EmilyHorne said 638 days ago:

Fantastic! Love the new perspective on a subject I've seen over and over in this theme

EmilyHorne said 638 days ago:

Anil... Ugly YES ...

bslomovic said 638 days ago:

Very nice. Really like the large blue space in the frame.

gorin-images said 638 days ago:

Wow Anil...you are WAY more clever than I am :)

Most people here in Santa Barbara just think these oil rigs are ugly, ruining what would be an otherwise "perfect" view of the Santa Barbara Channel. At night though, they can be quite beautiful. So I thought this was highly relevant for this theme.

On this particular evening, the sky was totally overcast and there was no clear horizon line. Also, that blue was actually the color of the sea/sky at the time....which was the very last few minutes prior to true darkness.

gorin-images said 638 days ago:

Wow Anil...you are WAY more clever than I am :)

Most people here in Santa Barbara just think these oil rigs are ugly, ruining what would be an otherwise "perfect" view of the Santa Barbara Channel. At night though, they can be quite beautiful. So I thought this was highly relevant for this theme.

On this particular evening, the sky was totally overcast and there was no clear horizon line. Also, that blue was actually the color of the sea/sky at the time....which was the very last few minutes prior to true darkness.

hazmee said 638 days ago:

Very witty.

timmybomb said 638 days ago:

I love all the negative space in this image. What a beautiful blue. Fantastic stuff.

George said 638 days ago:

A southern california vista if ever there was one. I'm guessing from Santa Barbara. I wonder if this is a common enough sight for most folks to recognize the offshore oil platform. Can't wait to read the other comments.

As for the shot itself, it makes a strong impact, and I'm giving it high marks on relevance. Composition is great, and the surrounding blueness is terrific. But the light on the platform seems a bit too overexposed while the ocean a bit underexposed, although exposing for the platform *and* for the ocean is tough in one frame. Did you do two - one for highlights and one for shadow? Great take on the theme.

uncommondepth said 638 days ago:

This is a beautiful photo. It seems just a bit over-exposed on my monitor. I'm thinking if you'd upped the shutter speed we would get more contrast in the water and the lights would be just a tad darker. Though that might just be my personal preference - I like dark images.

gorin-images said 638 days ago:

Hey George and Uncommondepth,

Thanks for the detailed comments!! George, you are right, this is Platform Holly in the Santa Babrara Channel just off the coast from Isla Vista. There are some people that say that this is the "Crystal Ship" that Jim Morrison refers to in that Doors song.

It's just a single exposure. I don;t know how to do those HDR images yet. The strange color (and beautiful IMHO color) comes from the fact that this is night really a "night" photo, but a "late dusk" photo.

I actually set the exposure to accurately get the water/sky color, which I agree does leave the oil platform a little overexposed.

George said 638 days ago:

Jarrett, it's really a terrific shot, and to my eye with just a bit of work on the platform's exposure would do well as a fine art piece. I hope it gets featured.

George said 637 days ago:

I won't say "I told you so." ;)

The more I look at this the more I like it...and have to "concede" that, after coming back to this image a few times, the exposure on the platform works very well.

anil said 634 days ago:

Oh, I hope you did not take my comment in the wrong way Jarrett. Sorry if I offended you. I should have worded my comment a little differently perhaps. I did get your reasons behind taking this shot and I love the shot on its own, the color is beautiful and the composition is excellent. Its just that, for me, the ugliness was not so apparent. Perhaps if this had been shot in the day then oil rig would definitely 'look' ugly and not just in an intellectual sense. I hope you see my point?

gorin-images said 634 days ago:

Hey Anil,

I was not offended at all pal ;) I was serious....I thought your idea of this representing "ugly oil conglomerates" was really clever!

I had not thought of that angle at all...I was just looking at the physical oil rig as the "ugly" thing. The fact that it is an icon of something MUCH bigger, more far reaching, and in many people's minds very ugly is something that I hadn't considered, but that you observed. So I enjoy that you pointed it out.

Flatline said 634 days ago:

Congrats. I always thought they're kind of cool-looking, but I've heard people is SB wish they weren't there...

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