Bracken Ferns and burned forest

Discussion

9 replies

Posted by Marcy Ugstad on October 23, 2010 at 10:51 PM

Bracken Ferns add some nice color to the area burned by the "B & B Complex Fires" that devastated this area of the Oregon Cascades several years ago.

Canon 5D
Canon 24-105mm EF IS USM F4 lens
Bogen tripod

Posted by Craig Strand on October 24, 2010 at 12:59 AM

Some gorgeous color Marcy, but the scorched trees a bit of a downer, although necessary some times.

Posted by Cliff Dodge on October 24, 2010 at 4:00 AM

I like the concept of the life from death. Great color contrast.

Posted by Catherine Reilly on October 24, 2010 at 4:35 AM

Yes, nice contrast on a couple levels- color against the b/w of the snags and trees, and life from death as Cliff says. Good shot.

Posted by Marcy Ugstad on October 24, 2010 at 10:11 AM

Thanks for the comments, everyone. As some of you know, I've worked in wildland fire (firefighter and now a dispatcher) for many years, and although I know fire can be good for the forest to promote new growth, kill infestations, etc, it's still kind of sad to see the death and destruction of our forests. As a photographer, though, it can offer some wonderful contrasts for images - especially in the spring and fall.

Posted by Joe Becker on October 24, 2010 at 9:20 PM

Marcy, l like the colors and the contrast with the burnt trees, just wish the sky wasn't so flat

Posted by Erik Lundh on October 24, 2010 at 10:48 PM

It seems like these ferns thrive in a burnt forest. I took a bunch of shots last weekend of the ferns on our trip to the Metolius. I just couldn't find the perfect comp. They sure are colorful though.

Posted by Rick Lundh on October 26, 2010 at 3:58 AM

I'll second Joe's comments, plus add that this could use some sharpening as well.

Posted by Marcy Ugstad on October 26, 2010 at 11:30 AM

Thanks everyone for comments and critiques. As for the sky, it was early morning on a stormy day so it probably seems a little flat to some. And, I did sharpen the image and it looked fine at 100% on my Macbook Pro, but images always seem a little soft to me on NPN after sizing to fit their requirements. :(

Posted by Scott Smorra on October 30, 2010 at 2:20 PM

I like this shot Marcy. The color of the ferns and the skeleton trees look great. The image does appear a little soft on my monitor as well. Why kind of sharpening are you using for your web photos? If you sharpen for a specific size (720 pixels on the long edge for NPN), you should not have any problems with image sharpness, unless of course the the original image is out of focus to begin with.