Not Leptothrix discophora—Vintage or Otherwise
November 13, 2018
A week ago Friday I was in the parking lot of our nearby drug store, waiting for my passenger to finish her shopping. It’s boring just to wait for someone. Enter my iPhone! It had just finished raining. What lucky timing. These are not Leptothrix discophora films but thin films of oil or gasoline on the puddles, which is what L. discophora films are often taken for. You can see why. Both exhibit color interference, also called thin-film interference. These films—unlike films of L. discophora—have no fracturing. (Compare with images in the previous post.)
Fabian Oefner is an artist who uses thin films of oil in his work.
Romancing Reality 
Nice work, Linda. I don’t see as much of this in parking lots much anymore. Probably because cars don’t leak as much as they used to, but I was wondering what happened to my old Ford!
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November 13, 2018 at 7:51 AM
Thank you, Ken. I like thinking these oil films could be related to your old Ford.
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November 13, 2018 at 10:41 AM
Excellent, Linda. Nr5 is fav.
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November 13, 2018 at 2:56 PM
Thanks, Harrie. It was fun to see this film last, after I had already been excited by all the others.
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November 13, 2018 at 8:29 PM
Interesting – you’re branching out into the eco-incorrect! 😉 My favorites are the third, for the subtle colors and very elegant shape, the fourth, because the way the yellow line has been messed up plays off the oil colors, and it’s so beautifully composed in the frame, and the last one, again for the interplay between the oil spill and the parking space lines. Again, you composed that last image beautifully. The link is interesting but I much prefer your work because it’s always in “real life” situations. The intent seems very different, making photos like Oefner does vs. making photos like yours.
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November 13, 2018 at 10:56 PM
Yeah, maybe I need to add a plea for people not to mess up their cars for the sake of my photography. I’m glad you like that last one. I wanted to show context, but even more, I wanted to accept the parking-lot-paint lines for their graphic contribution. If you’re not all that fond of Oefner’s work, maybe I should give up on my episodic intent to grow my own Leptothrix discophora films. Still . . .
Thanks as always, Lynn, for your perceptive comments.
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November 14, 2018 at 9:30 AM
I like the idea of trying to grow it – why not? And definitely liked the way you used the paint lines. 🙂
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November 18, 2018 at 7:47 PM
Beautiful – I’m with Harrie >>> No. 5 is my favourite!!! A 🙂
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November 14, 2018 at 8:43 AM
Thanks, Adrian. Wish I could have avoided casting my shadow on all these photos (except the last one).
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November 14, 2018 at 9:32 AM
I know what you mean about our shadows, but sometimes they’re unavoidable in the frame. Good pictures! A 🙂
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November 14, 2018 at 9:33 AM
They were absolutely unavoidable. I had to lean over the spills to get close enough to them. At least shadows are black! Think of the havoc pink shadows would have wreaked.
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November 14, 2018 at 10:05 AM
Pink shadows??????!!!! My world has just taken a frenzied and uncontrollable lurch …… 😉 …..
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November 14, 2018 at 10:08 AM
Lovely images Linda — and I’m not being at all critical — but they raise this question for me again: In making beautiful photos of environmental pollution and destruction, does the photographer sabotage his or her ecological message? Or, to put it another way: Should we make really ugly, awful pictures if we want to show the harmful effects of contaminants in our air, land, and water? Would anyone even look at them then?
I have yet to hear a satisfactory answer to this dilemma.
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November 14, 2018 at 11:13 PM
Nor have I heard one, Alan, and I share your concern. In my next post I offer one way to think about this dilemma, but it’s not a complete solution.
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November 15, 2018 at 12:18 PM
I like the image of the witch spirit who photobombed the 2nd one down.
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November 16, 2018 at 8:11 AM
And I like your creative comment, George! Thanks. I don’t think anyone else has ever seen the witch spirit in my photographs. Nor accused her of photobombing.
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November 16, 2018 at 9:12 PM