Hearth Phoenix - 2025

OM‑1 + 12‑100mm Pro in the Field

Some scenes just stop you in your tracks. Hearth Phoenix is one of those rare finds: a lone stone chimney standing in a cleared field, wrapped in vines, crowned by a small tree that refused to give up. What used to be the heart of a home is now a monument to survival, and I wanted to show both its quiet dignity and its fire.

For the first image, I used the OM‑System OM‑1 and the M.Zuiko 12‑100mm f/4 Pro to turn the sun into a starburst “halo” above the tree. I shot into the light, exposing for the sky and letting the chimney fall into silhouette so the shape stayed bold and graphic. The OM‑1’s dynamic range and the lens’s excellent flare control kept that intense point of light clean, with crisp rays radiating out like a phoenix taking flight.

The second image shows the same subject in warm, late‑day light. Here, the 12‑100mm let me step back and frame the entire chimney, roots, and rubble in one shot while keeping the distant treeline in the background. The constant f/4 aperture and in‑lens stabilization made it easy to work handheld as the light dropped, and the OM‑1 rendered every crack in the stone and twist of vine with beautiful detail. Together, the two frames tell a simple story: fire long gone, but life still climbing from the ashes.