Description
In the image Boom to Bust, there is a glimpse of what those who are local see that others do not seem to understand. One thing about the oil and gas industry is that it is ever-changing. It can be thriving and lucrative one day. Then quickly fall to unprofitable prices the next. Because it is a fickle and fluctuating cycle that just seems to come with the territory. I always find it interesting to see huge amounts of production during a boom. First, there are fields of drilling rigs standing erect with the bustling energy of operational teams and big-rig traffic, constantly moving. Secondly, collections of pump jacks rock up and down like a band of horses galloping over the land. Finally, shining new equipment and million dollar operations pop up like weeds in the grass.
There’s all of this production and then suddenly a bust – everything stops. The drilling rigs stand quietly in eerie stillness; the horses stop galloping and hang their heads toward the grass to graze; the leftover equipment lies abandoned. In this photograph, Boom to Bust, I really like how the colors represent the changing industry. Blue hues exude the promise of production and the possibilities on the horizon each coming day. The blue pump jack, representing the boom of production, stands among the green, flourishing foliage underneath a bold, royal blue sky. Red tints display the rusting of the industry. The red, broken-down truck sits idly in a field of browning grass as the clouds fold into a smokier rusted tone. Boom to Bust, all captured in one photograph.
