The Destructive Beauty of Wildfires

The seemingly endless drought currently gripping California has spurned one of the more destructive wildfire seasons in years. The burning of the fires, and subsequently of people’s homes, is undoubtedly horrible but photographer Stuart Palley sees more than that. By using slower shutter speeds Palley’s photographs show the flames in a way that few have ever seen before. A spark carried in the wind leaves a glowing trail while the stars in the sky above glimmer with an enhanced brightness. The photos are part of an ongoing series Palley is calling Terra Flamma. You can see more of Palley’s fantastic work with long-exposure photography here.