Doc Searls Weblog

5 responses to “Going for the record”

1. dank « serotoninrain

   August 21, 2007 at 9:26 am

   […] And I am totally incapable of sending some of the vast clamminess to those who really need it. […]

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2. 

   Kevin

   August 21, 2007 at 9:53 am

   That’s an amazing picture, what camera do you use?

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3. 

   Doc Searls

   August 21, 2007 at 10:44 am

   I use a Canon 30D. In this case I was using a fairly inexpensive Tamron 18-200mm zoom. It has a lot of flaws (e.g. high barrel distortion at wide angle), but under good light it’s a versatile lens that does the job.

   I believe that shot was slightly enhanced by adjusting color levels. Not sure. In any case, it was a straightforward late-afternoon zoom shot. What made it stand out was the subject.

   To put this in context, the fire on the far side of the mountains there was actually about 13-22 miles distant, or about the same as the drive to the nearest Costco. Scary.

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4. 

   zo

   August 22, 2007 at 1:10 am

   Is there anything more beautiful … Hi, Doc … I lived in Sonoma County for years, and the awful truth is that grass fires or worse do astonishing things to the light … and the columns and billows of smoke … beyond descripton. All your fire pix are gorgeous … all that’s lacking are the smells and the ashes like snowflakes …

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5. 

   Doc Searls

   August 22, 2007 at 10:31 am

   Thanks, zo. It is amazing to watch a billow of smoke the size of a thunderhead rise to the stratosphere from behind a ridge, and to know that if the wind were going the other way your town would likely be toast. But instead one watches in amazement, knowing that three thousand people are working to “contain” this storm of destruction, so in comparative relaxation we can admire its strange beauty.

   A couple days ago I studied the then-latest fire perimeter map and realized that at just twelve miles away it was as closer than the nearest Costco.

   As for the ashes, it would help if they melted like snowflakes, too. Instead they accumulate and spread fine black dirt everywhere. I’ve been hosing down the roofs, decks, patios, sidewalks and driveways almost daily this past week. It works to some degree, but there are unexpected problems. One is that it’s almost impossible to wash it off glass. We’ve tried everything, and still it leaves streaks and rings. Strange.

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