pete mcgovern

After watching an Aperture online conversation on the book Ground Rules , a mid-career monograph for photographer Alejandro Cartagena, I started taking pictures of the oil rig cabin on the wharf half a mile away. The view was corner-on and, depending on the light, the two visible sides would often be somewhat different, tonally and in hue. But it wasn't the subject that particularly interested me. Cartagena's designer, Ricardo Báez, had made a great observation that photo books are usually little more than a catalogue of images and he had realised here was an opportunity to engage in a new way with the usually problematic gutter. It turned out to be the best part of a strong  book . For me, the cabin offered a natural division to fit into a two page spread.

Back home after three weeks helping fix up a house, with evenings spent photographing a distant jack-up oil rig moored in the harbour, from various points around the city. I believe it is the Valaris JU-291, ( Rowan Stavanger), built in 2011 and 568' tall.

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