I’ll be honest: I’ve been paying more attention to Wimbledon than to the news, but when I went out to walk the dog this morning, there was a distinct smell of smoke in the air – a reminder of the fires still burning throughout California. The fire in Big Sur is perhaps the most difficult. If you’ve never been there you should go. It is incredibly beautiful, and is one area that makes me wish that we had something akin to Japan’s national treasures here in the U.S.

It is true that fire is a part of a natural cycle, and something we cannot prevent, only postpone. It is also true that after 5 or 6 years burn areas will recover significantly and be beautiful in their own way. But the redwood stands now burning in Big Sur will never be back in my lifetime. I can’t help but mourn the loss.

Out here in California, particularly in the coast, we are not accustomed to especially hot summers, much less thunderstorms and the severe weather traditionally associated with the midwest. Thankfully, nothing like that happened this time. But as the temperature reached 105 degrees F, and wildfires continued to burn in the area, with new fires starting all the time, clouds began to appear. Many of them were very dramatic and the types of cloud formations seemed to change very quickly. I well remember the first lightning bolt I saw, somewhat incredulous that it actually was lightning. But the pace only picked up throughout the late afternoon and evening – often causing more fires. I know this may sound very ordinary to many of you, but this just doesn’t happen out here in this part of California. At least it isn’t supposed to.

Later that night, I turned on a local television station to watch the news (and especially the weather). It was strangely vindicating to see elaborate graphics illustrating how the radiant heat affected the air circulation, leading to the weather patterns that we were seeing. Fortunately, the weather here has cooled down a fair amount, but the fires are still burning, and now I understand there is a fire in Big Sur, the very place that spurred my interest in photography in the first place. I know fire is inevitable, and the California Department of Forestry (CDF) is doing an excellent job of preserving life and property, but I can’t help but be concerned.

This is (or was?) a photo taken on 17 Mile Drive near Carmel, California. My interest in photography may have begun in earnest during trip to Point Lobos, but I’ve actually taken relatively few photos of sea since then. I’m not really sure why. This time around I thought I’d try something a little different and use a Photoshop filter (”dry brush”) to convert it to something more like a painting.