Haunted

Gallery: LandscapePosted July 1, 2014243 views9 comments

Saturday evening was one of those rare times when the clouds and sky are so amazing that it's difficult to decide what to point the camera at. After some incredible light at sunset I was driving out of the park and passed this hill above me to my right, and the quality of the light over the dead snags was too good to pass up.

I think these are snags left over from the 1988 fires, when about 40 percent of the park burned up, and it's interesting to go from one side of the park to the other and see how differently the landscape was affected in different areas. In some places the Lodgepole Pine, which need fire to reproduce, and coming back as thick as could be, while other areas of the park are still barren. Having been a wild land firefighter for 7 years now I should know why, but the only explanation I can think of is that the intensity of the fire in some areas was enough to kill everything, even the seeds on the ground or in the cones.

If anyone comes through West Yellowstone feel free to stop by the Smokejumping base and I'll give you a tour, we're just a half mile or so from the airport.

Canon 5d Mark iii, 16-35mm lens, 1.5 seconds at f/8, ISO 250, Gitzo Tripod

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Ronald Murphy on July 1, 2014 at 10:46 AM

Nice dramatic feel to this, and the upward-looking composition enhances this. Is that the original color, or have you duo-toned it?

Registered on March 13, 2012, 279 Posts, 975 Comments

Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on July 1, 2014 at 11:53 AM

Haunted, indeed. This is quite dramatic and works nicely.

When a forest fails to regenerate after a fire, several factors come into play...

A. Fire intensity: A really hot fire kills not only seeds, but kills soil bacteria and nutrients, as well as removing moisture and oxygen. Also, a crust can form that prevents water from percolating and oxygen to diffuse into the soil.

B. Lack of wildlife: If a forest burns with very high intensity, wildlife, especially birds, won't be there to transport seeds to the area.

C. Erosion: After a fire, the soil is very fragile and highly susceptible to erosion by wind or water.

D. Micro climate: Slight variations in temperature, humidity, dew point and precipitation due to aspect and topography will also have an effect on regeneration.

Here in Tuolumne County, CA we're dealing with these issues caused by last year's monstrous Rim Fire. It will interesting to see how the forests recover, or don't recover.

Nice image, Thomas.

--P

Registered on November 1, 2003, 471 Posts, 5188 Comments

Comment posted by Thomas Haney on July 1, 2014 at 1:36 PM

Ronald, that's the original color, I think I even warmed it a bit from the cameras white balance. What's duo-toning by the way?

Registered on April 7, 2013, 138 Posts, 537 Comments

Comment posted by gary phillips on July 1, 2014 at 10:02 PM

Amazing how hot that fire was, Thomas. My woodworking shop was nearly 100 miles from Yellowstone (in Teton Valley Idaho) and some days during the fire you could not see 50 feet. On other days there would be these giant mushroom clouds of smoke that looked as if we were witnessing a nuclear war. Incredible memories. The destruction was unbelievable and we will be reminded for generations. Great shot, love the color and the stark reminder of the potential of Mother Nature's wrath.

Registered on October 24, 2013, 185 Posts, 4136 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on July 2, 2014 at 6:27 AM

A stark and simple image. Works for me. Nice subtle detail in the FG, especially on the large view.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Roel Wijtmans on July 2, 2014 at 10:28 AM

Very simple and dramatic Thomas! Tells the story just perfect.

Registered on September 30, 2012, 116 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Joel Hazelton on July 2, 2014 at 2:21 PM

Very cool, I love the hint of detail in the foreground. I bet this would look cool printed large.

Registered on August 6, 2008, 194 Posts, 1315 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on July 3, 2014 at 8:53 AM

A stark image. Preston has given a broad list of fire variations. Having spent 40 years of forest management here in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont of Georgia (where conditions are admittedly simpler for both suppressing and controlling fire), I would confidently say that no woods fire is ever totally predictable, and there are always unplanned consequences, both good and bad. Had there been seasonal prescribed burns over the years, perhaps this wouldn't have occurred. Who knows? I do know that in the West, fire protection and fire suppression on vast areas of public ownership has been the rule, and the fires have been more devastating as the time under that protection and suppression has lengthened.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Thomas Haney on July 3, 2014 at 9:48 AM

I agree Phillip. I learned a lot about why we began suppressing fires from The Big Burn about the fires of 1910, which was basically that Gifford Pinchit needed a publicly supported mission and purpose for his fledgling forest service. Sometimes I'm conflicted about the work that I do, although occasionally we get to save some homes, but really I guess I don't feel that it's so bad, maybe just a but misguided. Tom Harbor, the head of the 10,000 forest service firefighters, was in Missoula during our refresher jump training a month ago, and judging from what he said they are moving away from full suppression and focusing more on communities. As he put it, "The two-manner in the Bob is dead." Meaning dropping two jumpers in the middle of the Bob Marshall Wilderness is not out future, which a lot of jumpers didn't like because those fires are amazing.

Anyhow, when I was walking through the most barren, lifeless snag patch I've seen in yellowstone recently, a big black bear came ambling through, stopping often to dig something out of the ground.

Registered on April 7, 2013, 138 Posts, 537 Comments