On my drive up the mountain to where a prescribed burn was planned, I was trying to come up with a way to show both sides of Irma in one photograph - the “girly-girl” side and the rugged forest service employee.

At first I concentrated on her hair coming out the back of her helmet, not noticing the earrings. But listening to reporter Rachel Schleif talk to another woman on the crew I heard them talk about earring sizes and how they had to be small.

Glancing toward Irma I saw the small earring shining from her ear and knew what needed to be in the main photo. It was a matter of waiting for the right moment with the fire in the background to show the difference between girly-girl and firefighter I was looking for.