Marvelous image !

Klasse foto,super!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lol, that commenter Frank Gardiner? On flickr? He didn't have too many fond memories of hearth fires! Guess he won't be lighting another one...Both pictures are magical, but this one has the heavy postwork (visible in zoom, hope everyone zooms this), and it's a beauty. You got a pure abstract out of it, with all those isobars like sound waves coming out from their source. The collision of those huge dark forms with those intense colors and lights? I'd put this on my wall. And you know that long abstract (in my gallery) that you found terrifying? Well I actually conceived of it as an autumn flame, so it actually is terrifying. You may be right. But yours have these sections of what looks like spectacular rust patterns on metal, or whole colonies growing in there. Terrific abstract, Andrea. Consuming!

(and btw, if you removed a log from this, would that be "open hearth surgery"?) (sorry)

wonderful capture and postwork got to groan at Mark's comment - ti's good but still a groaner

Great post work, and still very warm and inviting image!

Isobars???? LOL! I associate isobars with weather systems, as in when the weather guys mention isobars you need to take cover because fierce stuff is coming! I hope that's not the case with your wood fire...we've had one fire this year in our fireplace, but it has a fancy insert and I don't think my dad really understands how to work it right as we always end up with lots of smoke in the house and it makes mom start yelling at him. Much as I love a fire, I don't want to generate any more strife in the home so I'll just use my electric radiator and love looking at your arted-up fire!

Yesterday our fireplace also burned and that was very comfortable. I like your postwork very much Andrea but to be honest i like the original version a bit more.

As lovely as this looks.. (remember when we had a wood burner, the whole livingroom was almost shaking of heath, because Per could not chop the huge blocks of wood, so he stuffed it into the little wood burner as large as it was. Need I say, I kept away from there?) I am so glad we now have a Pellet heater. Much easier to turn up and down. But it will never look as cozy as a wood burner.

From the thumbnail I thought this was one of Mark's abstracts. The kind of image that makes you go 'oooo'. Fantastic colors and composition. "Open hearth surgery"? When it comes to bad puns I think I have met my match. Are you sure you're not Mark?

I used to love my coal fire. Looks amazing in zoom, you can feel the warmth.

Wonderful postwork to bring out the hidden abstractions in this fire. We had a woodstove in our country house for many years & enjoyed it very much, but our new house has a gas fireplace. Doesn't have that same authenticity or give off as much heat, but it does light up & shut off instantly - there's something to be said for convenience...

I can feel the heat from here!

Superb capture Andrea. God bless.

Aw this looks so toasty warm and inviting to cozy up with.

Wonderful post work as always Andrea.

Thumbs up for the original, it is a beautiful picture, thanks for sharing both !