Photograph On Paper
The remains of trees torn from their roots piled up after a windstorm that passed over Kashubian forests in 2017
Kashubia | Poland | 2023 | #15

"Once a Tall Pine Forest" by Demetriusz Wenglarczyk

From the "Focus on Nature" photography series.

I can get obsessed by anything if I look at it long enough. That’s the curse of being a photographer.

Irving Penn

This photo shows the remains of trees piled up after the storm that swept through the Kashubian forests in 2017. The storm claimed 6 lives, injured 62 people, left 500,000 people without electricity, destroyed 42,000 hectares of forest - up to 17% of the forested area of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, devastated dozens of towns and caused financial losses of PLN 2.8 billion. In many places, the "tree graveyards" can still be seen years later. The remaining parts of the old trees had to be removed to make space for a new generation. What you see in the photo was once a tall and old pine forest.

What works for me here

The twisted roots, although a reminder of the cataclysm, create interesting shapes that contrast with the sky. The colour tonality of the photograph gives a sense of calm to a rather sad sight. It's as if nature is saying it's all right, it's over. 

Soundtrack of the moment

alt-J -  "Something Good"