Tree Skeletons, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

In 1995 the Vision Fire burned more than 12,000 acres of Point Reyes National Seashore. Fierce Santa Ana winds blew the resulting smoke plume a thousand miles out sea (here’s a satellte photo of the plume).

Today, thirteen years later, the burnt trees stand like sentinels against the sky while new growth has sprung up all around. This year, alas, the poison oak is particularly thick in the clearings.

[Nikon D300, 18-200mm VR lens at 22mm (33mm in 35mm terms) with image stabilization turned off, three exposures between 2/5 of a second and 4 seconds at f/25 and ISO 100, tripod mounted.]