thinned

Revealing the hidden might best describe my post for today’s Daily Photo Game. This shot, taken from a moving car, reveals that which is normally hidden, or that which someone hopes is hidden. The stroboscopic motion-blur of gaps in these trees is what unveils this clear cut in the forest. As a passenger in the vehicle, I was struck by the shallow curtain of trees that separated the road from the “woods”. Our leisurely drive gave me an opportunity to watch the flickering of a wounded forest, winking briefly in and out of existence as the foreground trees occasionally thinned. Like Oz says “…pay no attention to the man (clearcut) behind the curtain”. The ploy is revealed here and the Oregon woods are shown for their true nature, a patchwork of quilted rainforest, dotted amongst too many clear-cuts. The vista along the highway tries so hard to put its best scenic foot forward – pretty on the surface – but ultimately it is an illusion when one takes the time to really look. I like that Robert’s play “Liquid and Light” and my image share a flowing horizontal connection. But I am mostly intrigued that a similar visual form can present two very different subjects and editorial points of view, and still “play” well together.