The Big Burn
Photographing the remnants.
Photographing the remnants of a bush fire provides its own challenges, in how to capture an image that not only shows the devastation but also a certain beauty of what remains.
Isn’t it amazing how rapidly our Australian landscape can change, as the old expression goes “at the drop of a hat”. It certainly did that when the Fires started at Sampson flat in South Australia on around the 4th of January. It grew so rapidly and spread so quickly, it was difficult for the fire crews to control.
A few weeks later, I found myself walking through the burnt out scrub. Looking for an image that would hopefully depict and describe the devastation and the scars left behind on our Australian Landscape, by the fierceness of the Sampson Flat Fire. One that won’t be forgotten for lots of years to come.
It was quite eerie walking through the burnt out scrub just on sunset looking for my first image. I watched the setting sun, that deep red glow coming through the remains of what was once lush Australian scrub. Now nothing but burnt out sticks standing there. After a few hours wandering around scouting a location, I found what I thought would be the perfect spot high on a ridge looking down onto the horizon into the setting sun. I could see all the way to the coast. I set up quickly as the sun was going down rapidly, I took a lot longer than what I thought to find this spot so it caught me a bit on the hop. But I think it was worth all the effort and coming out of it smelling like the burnt out timber that was all around me.
I went back a number of times over the next few days, as I wanted a collection of images to tell a story to express the mood and feeling that I had experienced while photographing this devastation. As you look at the results, I can but only hope that it stirs an emotion within you. Whether it be one of admiration for our firefighters and emergency services that put their lives at risk day after day.Or for those unfortunate people who lost everything in that devastating and uncontrollable fire.
But at the end of the day it shows just how devastating a fire if this nature can be to our Australian landscape and infrastructure placed on that landscape.
But in time new growth will develop, infrastructure will be replaced, people will rebuild their lives and we will move forward hopefully a bit wiser and more cautious, about safe guarding our Australian landscape.
Cheers Peter
