Fractured Beauty

• Prize
• Photographer
  Lon Lovett , United States
• Studio
  Lon Lovett Photography

There is a new oil rush in the vast prairies of North Dakota. New
fracture mining techniques have made oil easier to reach and cheaper
to produce. The oil drilling goes on day and night to pull this resource
from the earth...to power the world. The trucks come and the oil gets
shipped out while the prairie gets fractured and the animals learn to
live with men and their machines. At night the natural gas gets burned
off and the world freezes while the men drill and the oil flows.

This set of pictures was taken over the course of three months in the
Bakken oil fields of North Dakota. They are all long exposures taken in
the freezing cold using only light from the gas burn off pipes or from
the distant fracture mining sites. These photos are not retouched.

They represent a surreal and strangely beautiful side of a cold, harsh,
and dirty environment. I found a quiet peace late at night while taking
these shots in the bitter cold. Using long exposures allowed me to
explore the surprising sources of light that were available in this
unique environment.

I am an avid photographer. It is my first love. I am a teacher by profession but a photographer at heart. I specialize in long exposure night and HDR work. My dream is to one day travel the world finding beautiful and unique shots wherever I go.

Awards Winner of 11 honorable mention awards at IPA 2012.