El Dorado National Forest, Wildfire Devastation

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, 1/500 second at f/5.6, 300mm, ISO 800

As the sun was setting and casting interesting shadows on these wildfire devastated trees in the El Dorado National Forest yesterday, I experienced a profound respect for the life and death they endured. As a photographer who prioritizes capturing uplifting, hopeful images, it’s really difficult for me to photograph images with any semblance of decay or destruction, but was inspired to attempt it nonetheless. Minimal post-processing was required to convey the reverence I have for these resilient trees, primarily relying upon Adobe Lightroom’s latest color grading panel, which really has a profound impact on the mood of an image using slight color adjustments in the highlights, shadows and midtones. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com