About Beauty for Ashes

This video is intensely personal and even brought me to tears while I was reading Scripture at the end. Whether or not you are a Christian, you would probably glean from the life lessons I talk about. This video is meant to encourage the wounded and to inspire thought.

Note: Don’t miss some of the full images I used for these frames below the video frame descriptions. They are simply spectacular. I blame this on my surroundings. In some places, all you have to do is point and shoot to capture a wonderful image.

Video Frame Descriptions

1. The first image is a truly stunning aerial view of the still-steaming volcano. Notice the flattened trees covering the slopes. Image from Content Provider: CDCSemnoz at fr.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons.
2. This image shows trees floating on top of Spirit Lake, courtesy of Stephan Schulz [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. It shows trees floating on top of Spirit Lake.
3. The image of a car buried in ash comes from By Danial Dzurisin [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
4. This image of the eruption of Mount St. Helens is by Donald A. Swanson (USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
5. This is actually a simulation of the blue moon that shone in the night following the eruption. I would have mentioned it in the video but didn’t find out about it until after I’d recorded the audio portion. Image by BlueHypercane761 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
6. This is Mount St. Helens from the visitor center to the north. Notice that the mountain blew sideways in a devastating lateral eruption, which is why it leveled so many trees and did so much damage.
7. Look past the slope to the pumice plain, an area that has been likened to a moonscape.
8. I took this image from a distance. Night is about to fall, which is why pink bathes the air. Just prior to this, rays of light shot out across the sky from behind clouds, and I managed to gasp out that I needed to take a photograph. By the time we stopped, it was too late, but I’ll never forget how dramatic a sight that was. This shot is pretty special, too.
9. This is the lower portion of the previous image. I couldn’t fit the whole thing in the video frame, and I wanted to point out the trees, anyway. I’ve included the whole picture, below.
10. I made this video late at night under time stress, so I have to apologize that I over-sharpened this image, which is drawn in from a nearby peak. I should have left it alone, because the original is much better. I’ve posted it below, as well.
11. This shot was taken downward from the hill behind the visitor center. The white flowering foliage in the foreground is yarrow.
12. Don’t miss the bleached trees covering the slopes in the background.
13. The birds in the sky add a poetic touch to the idea of vigorous growth as nature springs back.
14. This is the upper portion of the image in #11. I’ve provided the entire picture, below. Notice the new trees growing up around the bones of the dead ones.
15. This is the lower half of image #10. It came out a little clearer. The sheer scope of the landscape is amazing. You can see the complete photograph, below.
16. This is the lower portion of image #6. I’ve posted the complete photograph, below.
17. I haven’t been able to identify this purple, trumpet-shaped wildflower. If you know what it is, please identify it in the comments.

Mount St Helens in September 2014 via @JanalynVoigt.Read about this picture in the description for frames 6 and 16 in the video.
Mount St Helens Near Sunset via @JanalynVoigt. Read about this picture in the description for frames 8 and 9 in the video.Scars and new growth at Mount St Helens via @JanalynVoigt. Read about this picture in the description for frames 10 and 16 in the video.
Mount St Helens Recovery Area via @JanalynVoigt. Read about this picture in the description for frames 11 and 14 in the video.