New Growth Aspen at the site of the Hayman fire, Pike National Forest, Colorado, Fall 2008.

I was living in Denver during the Fire of 2002, and remember the way the western mountains looked hazy on the good days. On the bad ones, you could not even see them, there was just a mustard yellow soup blanketing the horizon, hiding the front range and bringing with it a mucky feeling of insignificance.

This was my first visit into the northern portions of Pike National Forest, my first to the burn area, and I found the contrast between life and death to be sublime.

The ground was littered with dead-fall and thick with plant-life. Everywhere we looked Aspen's stood four foot tall and burned with bright color, showing that there is more than one way for Nature to light up a Mountain-side.

1/80, f/18, ISO 200

PS softlight mix of Straight Edge jpeg and super saturated raw. This technique brought contrast back into the highlights allowing for a more realistic look in conjunction with the super saturation.