ZA2009

This photo was taken on 2009-02-04 as fires ravaged the mountains near our house. The photo is interesting, aesthetically, for several reasons:

* Concern and comfort: Catherine is clearly concerned about the fires, being too young to understand and too small to do anything about it. But, she is comforted by her mother's arms, her blanket, and her mis-named "cheetah" (it's really a leopard). 

* Serenity: I like that the image is serene, despite our concern about the nearness of the fires.

* Light: The brush fires threw up a lot of smoke which led to very diffuse light everywhere.

* Color: Combined with the setting sun, the smoke gave an eerie and interesting orange glow to everything. Other interesting colors include Catherine's green tank top which matches the green in her blanket, the golden fur of the "cheetah" mirrors the orange ambient light, and Tracy's red shirt becomes a highlight on the overall orange of the scene.

* Flying hair: Catherine's flying hair contrasts with the serenity of the image, a subtle reminder that the situation was very dynamic. Howling winds fanned the flames and drove them ever-closer to the homes of our neighborhood.

Intent: As we were walking down our driveway to survey the situation, I turned around to see the golden light bathing Catherine. I lifted the camera and fired quickly, as I had only a second.