Edward Burtynsky. Life Changing.

Last night I attended a visiting artist lecture at Weber State University. The artist was Edward Burtynsky who is a photographer from Canada. His work has been on display in the gallery at Weber for a few weeks now and will continue to be there for a few more weeks. When school first started I saw a banner advertising his exhibit and lecture but didn't think too much of it. I then heard people start talking about how incredible his work was so one day in between classes I went to the gallery to check out his work. I was amazed. His photos are INCREDIBLE. They are printed large format around 4'x4' in size.

His work shows man's effects on the earth - the manufactured landscapes we have created. He photographs mines, ships, quarries, tailings, industry, China, and anything to do with the oil industry. Looking at his work makes you realize the cost of creating, and disposing of materials. His work is epic in scale and his compositions are surreal.

At his lecture he was able to talk about many of his photographs and it was absolutely fascinating. I could tell he has done a ton of research on not only photography, but also the industries and subjects he photographs.

Go check out his website and see all of his pictures and watch some of his interviews!!!

I think this picture if my favorite of his. It is a ship being built in China. China is one of the largest producers of giant ships in the world.

This is the Socar oil fields in Baku, Azerbaijan. I think the lighting in this shot is perfect.

You should all recognize this, the Kennecott Copper Mine in Utah.

This tire pile is in Westley, California. This shot was taken in 1999. Burtynsky said 5 years after he photographed this tire pile, it lit on fire. The fire burned for 2 years and some of the flames were recorded at reaching 2500 feet high.

I think his China series is my favorite. This is in Shanghai which was (or is) the fastest growing city in the world. Shanghai's population increased 1 million people every year (it still might be increasing at this rate, I am not sure). He said he took this photo on top of a building and no matter what direction he faced, the view was the same.

 This is also in China and it is part of the Urban Renewal project due to the Three Gorges Dam project. The Three Gorges Dam is the largest dam in the world and while they were building it, entire cities had to be leveled and relocated because the reservoir would cover the existing cities. Look how small the apartments are, and look at all of the individual AC units in each window. Can you think of a more inefficient way to air condition a building?

 Here is where your cell phone was probably manufactured. Industry has all moved to China.

Here is a chicken manufacturing plant. Gotta love the pink outfits.

Here is the Three Gorges Dam being constructed. You can see where the water comes in and out. It's a giant hydroelectric plant. He said that after the Three Gorgees Dam was completed and the reservoir filled up, astronomers noticed a slight change in the earth's rotation because of the incredible amount of weight redistribution from the water. Talk about powerful.

His work made me feel small. It was humbling to view his images and it really made me stop and think about man's effect on earth. It made me think of all the cell phones I have owned and never stopped to think about where it came from and where it goes when I am done with it. Things don't just disappear when they are thrown away. Instead, most of the electronics go back to China where luckily many of the pieces are recycled, but not all of it. It made me so grateful to live in America where I can live in a nice area and have a job I can enjoy. It also made me wonder how this world will continue to change in terms of energy and an ever increasing population with limited resources.