A photographer's vision in oil

About four years ago, Edward Burtynsky's titanic and disturbingly beautiful photos made up the most powerful exhibition I've seen at the Cantor Arts Center. Mining and refining leave scars on the Earth, but Burtynsky finds color and light inside.

Burtynsky now has an exhibition focusing on oil up at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (in case you happen to be passing through). Sprawling images of old derricks, ship-breakings and trashed cars are compelling even online.

Magazine writer and blogger Tyler Green also has an interesting snippet of Burtynsky's life story up on his blog, "Modern Art Notes."

Pictured: Edward Burtynsky's photograph "Oil Refineries #23, Oakville, Ontario, Canada, 1999." From www.edwardburtynsky.com.