Last Updated on 10/25/2016 by Chris Gampat
All images by Fabian Oefner. Used under a Creative Commons License.
Fabian Oefner has a fascination with iridescence which is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Taking advantage of random colors and patterns created from a simple oil spill, Fabian creates fine art photographs.
Fabian was first inspired when he observed a thin film of petrol on a water puddle outside his studio on a rainy day. He recreated this phenomenon by pouring water into a black reservoir and injecting small drops of oil with a syringe onto the water surface. The oil then started to expand and disperse in random and unpredictable patterns, some resembling an exploding star and others looking like iris. Due to light reflection and refraction, the colors also vary as it passes through the oil film and back into the camera lens. The thickness of the oil also affects the color changes. Fabian has used many different setups and experimentation and he showcased his best photographs in this photo series called “Oil Spill”.
The basic elements of art, colors and patterns are the central exploration in this photo-series “Oil Spill”. Fabian demonstrated that beauty can be found even in the innocuous phenomenon of iridescence and the unpredictable nature of oil spreading across the water surface. To find out more about Fabian Oefner’s work, kindly visit his website here.