Our local forest took a bit of a beating. The fires didn’t get as close as last year – when we could smell the smoke – but they did make the national news, and over 740 acres of forest were damaged. It took 350 firefighters from 40 crews to get the blaze under control, and a number of local families were evacuated.
Visiting the forest just a couple of weeks on, you are greeted by an eery scene. The colour has disappeared from the forest. Blackened trunks stretch for as far as the eye can see. But most breath taking of all is the way that new life is bursting forth from the forest floor. Green shoots as far as the eye can see.
The designs of nature are amazingly resilient. Their ability to pick up and carry on, even after the most destructive of events is awe inspiring. The forest didn’t even pause to dust itself off before it picked itself up and carried on… [View the slide show.]
[Shots taken with a LUMIX LX5. Processed in camera. Imported via Aperture.]
There are no colour masks or effects used, just some minor contrast and saturation adjustment, and the occasional vignette effect. It really looks like this. Most eery… View full screen.