Cosmic Gasoline Captures

Charles Morgan Smith Compares Oil Spill Photos with Galaxies

In his photography collection entitled Emissio, photographer Charles Morgan Smith captures the mesmerizing rainbows and swirls of shimmering colors caused by light refractions in order to showcase the beauty of the everyday in this series of oil spill photos.

Gasoline spills on the side of the road are hardly given a second glance by most pedestrians, but those who pay closer attention to their surroundings, just like this photographer, may notice the surprisingly sublime beauty in these inherently ugly messes. An iridescence that captures the light makes these photos comparable to images of the galaxies and nebula in the cosmos as captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Smith describes his oil spill photos as "a series of 'astrophotographs,' exploring notions of scale, aesthetics and the limitations of photography and representation."

Everyday Aesthetics
Photographers will explore the beauty of everyday objects.
Visual Extrapolation
Artists will seek inspiration from similar but unrelated visual cues.
Iridescent Imagery
New forms of beauty will be found in iridescent objects and materials.

Sectors Adopting This

Photography
Photography professionals will expand their repertoire to capture beauty in everyday objects.
Art
Artists will seek to extrapolate beauty from unexpected sources.
Materials Science
Companies will explore new ways to make iridescent materials.
SCORE
4.5 out of 10
GENDER
50% Men50% Women
MARKETTop markets: North America, Europe, Asia
GENERATION
  • Gen Alpha
  • Gen Z (primary audience)
  • Millennial (primary audience)
  • Gen X (primary audience)
POPULARITY
Popularity 74%
Activity 53%
Freshness 8%