The Wild Images Team captured this photo while cruising the Mississippi River aboard the Steamboat Natchez, the last remaining steam powered boat on the Mighty Mississippi. We were drawn to the very mechanical steampunk look of the refinery and its docks, in contrast to the natural scenery found along most of the Mississippi River this far south as it nears its massive delta in the Gulf of Mexico. The above image is that of the PBF Energy Petroleum Refinery located in Chalmette, Louisiana. PBF Energy is a joint venture between Petroplus Holdings and the private equity companies Blackstone Group and First Reserve. PBF Energy is one of the largest unbranded independent petroleum companies in the world, a title gained when they purchased the above refinery from ExxonMobil for $322 million. The PBF Petroleum Refinery in Chalmette refines a whopping 189,000 barrels of crude oil a day! As such, it is a pretty sizable refinery that makes for stunning steampunk urban photography, especially as the sun sets in the west due to its location on the eastern banks of the Mississippi. The nearby town of Chalmette was one of the unfortunate locations to bear the brunt of the flooding from Hurricane Katrina, when most of the town ended up underwater up to 15 feet deep. The entire town had been evacuated at the time, but many did not return after the disaster as almost all of the homes had to be razed and rebuilt. Therefore the population plummeted to just half of what it was before the hurricane due to all of the displacement and enormous destruction. However, the refinery stood strong and remained operational, providing much needed income to the residents. The above image was technically captured while it was still named the ExxonMobil Refinery, just prior to the sale over to PBF Energy. To gain a better sense of the scale in the photo, close inspection will reveal a tugboat floating below the truss framework just to the left of bottom center. Even the truss framework towering over it are pretty massive! The Wild Images Team has captured many other images in the bayou such as the alligator with cypress tree reflections, a group of alligators with dragonflies, a very large cypress tree and Spanish moss, a thick cypress tree grove reflects in the still water, a large swarm of dragonflies congregate on a marsh plant, a very red sunset through the cypress trees, and a reflective sunset through the Spanish moss, each of which is available for sale in our store. Another image captured further away to the south along the Gulf of Mexico coast is this very remote cemetery near Cote Blanche Bay, and much further away to the north up the Mississippi River is the Myrtles Plantation front yard walkway, each of which are available for sale in our store. We have also documented much of our time in Louisiana in many different blog posts such as in the Atchafalaya Basin where we encountered an open style honeybee hive and Spanish moss and down near the gulf coast with another view of the remote cemetery near Cote Blanche Bay. The Wild Images Team has captured many other images much further away to the east in New Orleans including the prominent Hotel Monteleone and surrounding buildings, beautiful French Quarter ironwork view through the cornstalk fence, intricate designs of a house facade and lamp shadows, nice reflection of a bridge in the Louis Armstrong Park, dynamic view as a Canal Line streetcar passes a St. Charles Line streetcar, the eerie nighttime view of Pirates Alley of the French Quarter, an example of an urban art sign stenciled on the wall, the distant building and colorful lights of the French Market, chance encounter with a teddy bear silhouette in French Market window, more north can be found an ornate mausoleum of Greenwood Cemetery, elsewhere is a heavenly scene over Cypress Grove Cemetery, more south was a sunset over the Mississippi River delta, all of which are available for sale in our store. Our blog posts of New Orleans document the midnight crowd at always busy Cafe du Monde, the dimly lit stocked shelves of Loa Bar in the International House Hotel, the colorful French Quarter Wedding Chapel at night, the happy couple leading a wedding procession on Chartres Street, far down the French Quarter where intricately colorful balconies stand above Chartres Street, the moment when entertainers welcomed crowds to the Jax Brewery, the street performer human statue Uncle Louis poses with a visitor, the pink hues of a rare colorful mausoleum in Greenwood Cemetery, the long shadows of bikes chained to old pump lamp posts, reflections of the bus commuters in front of a St. Charles Line Streetcar, a view of the city reflected in the Steamboat Natchez searchlight, the nighttime view of lighted tugboats along the Mississippi River, the steampunk view of the PBF Petroleum Refinery along the Mississippi River, the St. Charles Avenue Irish House Guinness Toucan Time For A Pint clock, the humorous but serious condominium listing warning that the place for lease is haunted, the listing that creates relief by being not haunted, our always entertaining Team Coordinator Christina in Cafe Maspero, and again our Team Coordinator under the Guinness Toucan clock.
To see more photos, please visit our store