Darcie Sternenberg

Living in the Western United States, I am acutely aware of the precarious balance between the natural beauty that surrounds us and the ever-present threat of wildfires. In a landscape shaped by both natural processes and human intervention, practices like forest thinning aim to bolster resilience which leaves behind scattered piles of downed trees and brush-ephemeral remnants of a forest in flux.

These heaps of dried wood, left to weather for months before being burned, evoke the solemnity of funeral pyres. They are poignant symbols of the fragility of life here-waiting to be ignited in a cycle of rebirth and loss. The surrounding trees seem to mourn what is being lost, while also standing as witnesses to the ongoing transformation. I am drawn to this tension-the beauty that still exists in the midst of such profound change. There is a palpable sense of melancholy yet within this space there remains an otherworldly, lyrical forest.

I have attempted to capture this delicate balance with single images often shot through the fabric of the forest itself. Through my lens, I seek to reflect on the coexistence of beauty and loss, the resilience of nature in the face of inevitable change, and the wonder that still persists despite it all.