I visited the aftermath of a recent forest fire yesterday evening. I'd never been to a burn so soon after the flames died (a couple of weeks). It's an eerie setting: everything is dead still and every footstep kicks up a little plume of ash.
Some things really caught my eye when first viewing the scene. Most of the trees were turned charcoal-black, but some where white with ash, a great contrast. The hill in the background had escaped the worst of the flames and the needles were still hanging on the branches, scorched to a bright orange that really picked up the evening light.
The strong vertical elements of the scene led me to try camera-blurring a few photos. I'm new to this technique, but I'm happy with how it worked out in this case.
Mile-19 Fire - Butte, Montana
Canon 20D with 70-200 F4L
Phillip