Beneath the Shroud, the Light Still Burns by SB Studios, 2025
Welcome to SB Studios forest photography, where light, shadow, and resilience meet in striking black-and-white compositions like “Beneath the Shroud, the Light Still Burns. In this evocative black-and-white capture, sunbeams pierce through the tangled lattice of woodland shadows — a scene where light does not conquer darkness with force but slips through its grasp with quiet defiance.
Paired with the original poem “Beneath the Shroud, the Light Still Burns,” this work invites reflection on resilience: how even the faintest glow persists against the weight of sorrow and storm.
The composition draws the eye upward, tracing the delicate balance between despair and hope. The poem amplifies this tension — no roaring sun, no victorious blaze, but a soft, golden breath slipping between the branches like a whispered promise.
This is not just a study in contrast; it’s a meditation on endurance. Even in ruin, even when cloaked in the heavy fabric of grief, the soul’s flame flickers on.
Behind the Lens
This image was captured in the Hoh Rain Forest on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, where morning mist mingled with campfire smoke and sea air, creating a haunting, otherworldly atmosphere.
I used the following Nikon D6 setup to preserve the fleeting magic of that moment:
- Camera: Nikon D6
- Lens: AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR
- Focal Length: 24mm
- Aperture: f/8
- Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
- ISO: 400
- White Balance: Cloudy
- Focus Mode: Single-point AF
- Metering Mode: Matrix metering
This versatile setup balanced the dramatic interplay of light and shadow, ensuring both the intricate foreground and the radiant beams remained sharp and evocative. For more photos like this SB Studios Portfolio.
Pro Tip: Being in the Moment = Capturing the Moment
At SB Studios, we don’t wait for the “perfect” moment — we live in it.
This image wasn’t staged or meticulously anticipated; it was seized instinctively, in the raw beauty of the present. The mingling of mist, smoke, and sea air created a fleeting, ethereal light show — one that could have been lost with a moment’s hesitation.
Capturing this scene was about being present, about recognizing the quiet power of the here and now and translating it through the lens. This is the heart of SB Studios: Pro Tip: Being in the Moment = Capturing the Moment
