Forest Fire - Great Smoky Mountains

this photo was taken during a "controlled burn" in the Great Smoky

Mountains. the U.S. Forest Service set fire to 200 acres of

mountainside that was largely comprised of dead trees. the burn came

about due to concerns that if a natural wild fire were to occur...that

these trees would act as kindling and that a very "hot" fire might get out

of control and spread to several very expensive homes in the area. this

was the first controlled burn in this area...and the homeowners were

quite nervous...to say the least. back to the photo: the smoke from the

fire created a huge amount of smoke that swept into the surrounding

valley and made for some very strange lighting effects. the smoke was

extremely thick...and tinted everything as though we were experiencing

a partial solar eclipse. stark white dogwood blossom were golden

color...and the stream turned a dark bronze color. occassional breaks

in the smoke allowed an otherwise perfect blue sky to show

through...and this only intensified the effect. a rare shooting opportunity

that i hope you will enjoy! hope to hear your comments! jg

That smoke also added to this stunning photograph. The lighting and tone remind me of a Turner painting. Very well done.

thanks Vincent! i appreciate the kind words. trust me...it was strange standing in the middle of this!

Great shot John... I saw evidence of a fire this past weekend and thought it a natural fire until this photo. It was my understanding the Forest Service (in the Smokies) would not perform controlled burns. I'm glad they are being proactive, not only for the benefit of the homes, but for the remainder of the forest. Thanks for sharing... Mike

 

 

 

fantastic!

greetings

Beautiful image...very painterly. Wish I was there.

Beautiful color.

Michael, first...thank you. I wish I could remember more about the conversation I had with the ranger...but apparently they have regular burns in the park. the ranger i'm speaking of (can't remember his title) is the "man in charge" of all these burns...and he related to me that the crews that perform such burns all over the south are headquartered out of the Smokies. it was an interesting talk, learning all about how these burns are conducted. helicopters in the air...rangers and trucks everywhere...quite impressive!

 

 

 

Martin, Dave, and Yan Zhang...thank you for your kind comments! John

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful!

The warm corlor is so charming. and the end of road catches much endless sight in to the far, the past, and the future. like it. Thanks for sharing.

 

thanks Dr.Didi!

thank you lonewolfe!

You did not get much attention with this one but in my opinion it is one of your best! You should be very proud to have this one in your portfolio.

glad you like this one. it definitely is one of my favorites. happened to be at the right spot...right time. being enveloped in all the smoke was like being in some kind of mystical fairyland. ...john