Crater Lake

The states of Washington and Oregon were filled with the smoke of their burning forests in the summer of 2001. The weather patterns did not provide quenching rain, but instead fanned the flames with strong winds. Strong enough that even the famously calm reflecting surface of Crater Lake was roughened such that the startrails I sought to capture made only a frosty reflection.

The sky, normally clear and blue, acquired amber tones, a side effect of the forest fires filling the air with smoke for weeks before. It gives a warm feeling to this long exposure. The foreground is Wizard Island, often photographed during the day; here is its appearance when illuminated by smoke-colored starlight.