Reflections on the Eagle Creek Fire

This was originally written while camping in the gorge this past May.

With a spark smelling of sulfur, the fuse caught fire quickly sizzling closer to explosion. A soft lob an the firecracker turned end over end through the air - arcing slowly down the hillside landing in brown grass dried by the summer’s heat; followed by a cracking pop. Laughter filtered down from above. Another sulfur spark, another lob, another cracking pop in brown grass. The laughter fades into the distance as a tendril of smoke snaked upward from the grass.

By day’s end, the trail above was closed and a long night awaited 150 day hikers trapped by the growing flame. Forty-eight hours later the Eagle Creek fire engulfed the canyon and joined the Indian Creek fire already burning threatening homes and businesses, popular recreation areas, and historic structures. It took nearly 3 months to fully contain and, in that time, jumped the Columbia River to burn acreage in Washington. In the end, 50,000 acres burned, 8 trails were severely damaged, 1 woman lost her home, and the historic highway is closed until further notice.

It was a gut punch the first time I saw the barren cliffs and blackened trees as I drove along I-84. Where I expected to see green & yellow lichens decorating the basalt walls, the was only grey. Blackened skeletal remains of vine maple haunted the forest floor. The young man who threw the firecrackers to entertain his friends, the firecrackers that started the fire had been ordered earlier in the week to pay 36.6 million in restitution as well as 1920 hours of community service and to write letters of apology to everyone immediately affected by his actions – including the woman who lost her home.

Would the citizenry ever see payment for the destruction of a beloved wilderness are? Time will tell and it’s not a question I want to ponder right now. The damage is done and no amount of desire for vengeance will repair the damage. I am here to camp and share time with friends – something I have done for the past 9 years since leaving my husband. It has become an annual pilgrimage of renewal, to breathe in the forest air and listen to the sounds of crashing water falling from high cliffs.

It was here in the little park named Ainsworth where I spoke long into the night with a man and his sons and remembered that life was still an option. It was here where I stood high above the river that I realized beauty will always find a way into my vision. It was here when I began my walk into my future.

Memories were created here, memorialized on camera. There were nights sleeping under the stars & mornings sitting in flowered meadows watching the sun rise. Birthdays and friendships celebrated with burgers, beer and ice cream. All my memories twirled in my head as I drove the highway to my weekend campsite in Ainsworth, including that long talk into the night.

The physical pain I felt as the blackened trees and barren ground passed by my car windows grew until I pulled into Ainsworth State Park. The little park of my hope remained flush with green. Just beyond its borders crept the specter of fire but within the park ferns unfurled, flowers bloomed, and trees flourished. I could look out my tent door to see the hope of possibility that this treasured land would choose life.

Looking at the World a little Differently

Sunset reflected, Cape Meares Lighthouse, Tillamook, OR

Have you ever looked through images of a place you're planning a photo trip to and notice that so many of them look the same? Do you begin to wonder if you'll be able to add to the images already created? How can you create an image that both defines the place you're heading to and your vision?

The idea here is to explore your vision and creativity.

I do advocate that you look at images from other photographers (both professional and amateur) who visited an area. This gives you an idea of what has been explored before.

When you arrive, don't be afraid to follow in their footsteps. There is a reason art students often copy works of the masters - it helps them explore their own style.

While you're photographing the scene, keep an open mind and an open eye. Watch how the light is moving across the scene, look for a different vantage point, get closer (zoom in with both your lens and your feet if possible). You might find an image worthy of your vision.

The story behind the image above is one of timing and watching the light. We arrived at the Cape Meares lighthouse near Tillamook, OR as the sun was rapidly setting between clouds and the horizon. I noticed that I might be losing the light I wanted on the lighthouse so sped up a bit to try and catch the light without losing my friends. Then, looking up the hill behind the structure, I came up with an idea - catch the last light THRU the lens housing! I ran up the hill and composed an image but the light wasn't really as I had hoped. But I did notice the reflection in the window panes, re-positioned and recomposed for the above image. A slightly different view of a popular lighthouse.

Now it's your turn to look for an image that speaks to your artist's eye.

Playing with Textures

Every now and then I like playing with photoshop to explore my creative artistic side. I was raised with the great painters - my mother taking me to the museum to see contemporary painters. She had books throughout the house showing the techniques of the great masters. I grew up admiring the likes of Monet and Degas and wanting to paint like them. 

Once I realized I couldn't paint especially as marvelously as they could, I turned to science. But I still held onto my love of beautiful art.

When I turned to photography, it was to capture scientific discoveries, experiments and progression. I studied the technical end of photography and turned to photojournalism for a while so I could capture the here and now, the event and (hopefully) the emotion it carried.

I left photography for a while to pursue teaching but still found a way to incorporate photography into my lessons with storytelling and photojournalism. And I painted (still poorly but I tried).

For the longest time I separated photography from art. My education emphasized photography as capturing the reality of the world and painting, drawing and sculpture captured the beauty of the world inside. Through "art" and artist could create a world that he or she envisioned beyond reality.

Then came along digital image making. I was resistant. Through digital image making one could "create" a scene or image not entirely based in reality. A photographer could create a lie! And that is not what photography is about. 

Finally I was won over by digital and even began playing with my images in photoshop to help recreate the image I saw in my mind as I pressed the shutter. And sometimes, as shown in the image above, a piece of art develops on the canvas of my computer screen, not quite based in reality - two images blended together to make something more than a record of the scene but a record of an artists eye that was never that good with a paintbrush. It may never match the great masters or be an inspiration to future generations, but expressing my inner artist brings satisfaction to my heart.

How do you express your inner artist, How do you bring satisfaction to your heart?