Blue Fields

• Prize
• Photographer
  Simon Butterworth, United Kingdom
• Studio
  Simon Butterworth Photography
• Website
  http://www.simonbutterworthphotography.co.uk

Blue Fields was shot at the Useless Loop solar salt operation situated in Shark Bay, the
westernmost point of mainland Australia. The series is part of a larger, long term
project, Aesthetics of the Unexpected, which explores the relationship between perception,
expectation and reality.

The crystallizers - shallow ponds in which the concentrated brine slowly evaporates,
leaving a 'crop' of salt crystals - take on the appearance of an abstract watercolour.
The crystallizers appear blue because they are reflecting the sky while the brushstroke
patterns are the tracks left by the salt harvesting machine.

The images were shot from a light aircraft flying at between 4,000 and 5,000ft. The height
was vital in order to flatten perspective by using long focal lengths. Time and cloud
cover were also critical, the abstract effect being heightened by complete lack of
signifying shadow.

I am a landscape photographer based in Scotland.