What was to have been the Conclusion to this series of posts turned out not to be. In working on the last post (that of November 20), it occurred to me that it would leave the narrative incomplete if the series were to close with the images of Halibut Cove under the smoke-reddened sun and of departing the Cove beneath the haze created by the Swan Lake Fire. Halibut Cove is usually a stand-alone photographic subject, for all kinds of physical and social and philosophical reasons, just as it is, in many ways, a stand-alone place. It is touched by society and politics and the outside world, but it resists the embrace of that world. The Swan Lake Fire touched the Cove, by affecting travel and air quality, but fortunately did not embrace it.
Nonetheless the fire affected many people who had been planning to leave after major social event, the annual Fish n' Chips Party. Most had to return to the Real World for whatever reasons were pressing (although I've been told my terminology is inverted: most Cove people consider the Cove to be the Real World). The fire consequently altered travel and created anxiety for those who had expected uneventful transit from Homer to Anchorage and beyond. This series therefore needed to end with images of travel along the affected corridor. Here they are. Suzanne took most of them while I drove.
Wave graphics on leaving Halibut Cove; reflections of rocks, trees, shadows and the hazy sky: EF4A7893 EF4A7899 EF4A7900
Scenes from the road:
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Flames to the the left of them and smoking patches to the right of them, close to both sides of the road:
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Irony? Two swans, enduring the Swan Lake Fire:
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To see all the Halibut Cove photos posted recently and a few more, this link takes you to the current gallery: https://www.zenfolio.com/bobeastaughimagery/p424748533
After a lifetime of mainly expressing myself with words, my postings here will mainly rely on images. They will speak for themselves to some extent, but I'll usually add a few comments of explanation. I've taken photographs for decades, since the 1950's, inspired in part by my father's photographic skill. Four years of photo assignments and quality darkroom time eventually gave way to decades of casual and family picture-taking. I re-immersed myself when I left film and turned to digital.