Luminous Light

"Luminous Light" 

Judy Royal Glenn Photography

Last year, while I was at the Blue Ridge Mountains Writers Conference, I went for my traditional hike on the beautiful trails found there. I knew there had been a forest fire because I saw the charred forest as I drove into Black Mountain, North Carolina. More than 700 acres were charred in the fire.

I have never walked through a forest after a fire, so I wanted to soak in what I saw. I tried to document the scenery before me and tried to be astute as I may never have this opportunity again.

I witnessed new life as ants were milling around and new trees and shrubs were blooming. Besides the little bit of new growth, everything was black.

I wanted to photograph a charred tree but found difficulty keeping the light from bouncing off the black bark that produced luminous colors. I even placed my translucent diffuser between the sun and my camera to help block the light, but it did not work. But, I am tickled by the results achieved in my photograph. 

Location: Black Mountain, North Carolina