Heather control, a photo from North Yorkshire, England

Photographer's Note

Heather has got to be controlled by the keepers ,otherwise if left it becomes long and wirey then it dies back which reduces its nutritional values.Burning is carried out by moor keepers between October and mid-April when small sections are burned carefully on a rotational cycle, which can be as little as 7 years where there is very vigorous growth or as long as 25 years where growth is slow.For example, controlled burning will take place when the heather cover is dry, the peat wet and the wind light but constant. This ensures that the fire moves steadily over the peat, burning the plant but leaving the peat bed relatively cool.The burning cycle creates a pattern of different aged heather. The oldest provides cover for the grouse and other birds; the new shoots, succulent food for birds and sheep. A skilfully burnt moor will have a mosaic of heather and other moor plants of differing ages and the rich variety of wildlife it attracts.I hope this is usefull as i know some folk and tourists often wonder what is going on .
Thanks for stopping by .......Andy

nbj, renerob, dougie, nels, Vicky, ulla, lilimih33, Donald, andybrook, rui_seabra, branley, VeeJayCee, robiuk, jean11-3, casperduppy ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

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nbj (2097) 2006-11-10 4:17

great image, beautiful, intense colors. well done!

Dia1943 (230) 2006-11-10 8:03

Andy, a well composed and exposed shot with vivi colours and backlighting through the clouds.

I like it!

David

renerob (601) 2006-11-10 9:54

Hello Andy,
Well this is one powerful shot i like this a lot, the colours are so vibrant & so sharp the light is just perfect, this is one good piece of good work on your behalf Andy very well captured indeed Andy, ten out of ten. **********;0)

Regards Rene

dougie (2523) 2006-11-10 10:18

Hi,
Superb Andy. That wee figure just makes it. Not an easy shot, cpatured expertly. Thanks.
Dougie.

flubwubs (24) 2006-11-10 11:32

well you've really struck gold here mate, the think strip of orange from the flames, the beautifully lit smoke and of course that solitary figure - really nice work indeed, in fact it's going in my favourites :o)

cheers and have a good weekend,

Paul

nels (2623) 2006-11-10 11:57

hi andy,, great shot well captured love the colour of the smoke and the inclusion of the lone firefighter

adrian

one for my favourites

will drop you an e-mail when i have time

Vicky (1446) 2006-11-11 2:37

Hey Ollie!
Amazing control of the light - the dark foreground is totally inkeeping with the burning line and makes it more pronounced. The exposure of the smoke is perfectly controlled and it's positioning in the frame is spot on. It is also good you managed to get the worker, as it gives it all a sense of scale. It's a clear, sharp, detailed image, even to my blurry sight! Well done Ollie, it's a good one. Best wishes to you. Vicky

lilimih33 (9918) 2006-11-13 19:30

Hello Andy! Beautiful composition with great colours and sharpness! Nice detail! Well done! Lili

jsec (2154) 2006-11-16 22:57

Great image Andy. I would be proud of this. The man is well placed and his pose suggests he has his work cut out. Excellent notes too.

Best Wishes

Jeff

Donald (136) 2006-11-17 21:32

Hi Andy, spot on photo the fire the man beating the flames out thinking of that pint later on, a great action shot, well taken.
Kind regards
Donald

gibbsy (1376) 2006-11-20 8:23

It may be under control but this image brings back memories of my time as a professional fire fighter..........the kind that was out of control. Great colours.

jean11-3 (2799) 2006-11-26 16:30

I thought that this practice had been stopped, so thank you for the note and the picture.I can almost smell it.You have created quite a dramatic scene,and the figure adds scale to it.Regards Jean

andybrook (136) 2006-11-29 8:56

hello Andy,
A great capture of the burning heather.
I've seen this done many times but never knew the exact reason they do it.
A very well composed shot,great colours of the fire and smoke against the blue sky BG.
The man is perfectly placed within the frame and gives a sense of scale to it all.
Nice work and interesting note.

TFS

feather (51130) 2006-12-15 16:51

I often wondered why they burn the heather; I thought it was something to do with the grouse, but not exactly what.
This is an excellent shot with everything spot-on. The third/2third composition and leaving enough space in the sky for the smoke works very well. I like the fact the fire is on the horizon and the inclusion of the worker is the icing on the cake.
Kath

rui_seabra (205) 2007-01-13 7:26

Interesting photo and more-than-helpfull note.

TFS
Rui Seabra
Portugal

Nina (5099) 2007-01-13 19:20

Super capture Andy, but you know that already. :)

branley (3681) 2007-01-27 5:22

Hi Andy,

A fine image with the intense colours of the fire and the smoke set against the dark heather. Good to have the figure in shot, it gives it scale and depth. Fine work Andy and a great note too, well done.

Regards

Stephen

VeeJayCee (2410) 2007-03-01 11:00

Excellent note Andy and an excellent image too. You've caught this perfectly although a crop of 3/4 of the dark area would be my preference. The icing on the cake here is the tiny but very silhouette of the figure controlling the burn.

robiuk (10807) 2007-03-20 17:07

Woow, Ollie!
How many times I drove pass these smoke
columns wondering what was going on...
Now I know!
Great action shot, great flames and thick
smoke.
How did you manage so close?
Robi

casperduppy (1804) 2008-05-22 14:43 [Comment]