Wednesday, May 8, 2013

California Burning - "The Big Picture"

As I commented last week, It was kind of hectic in So Cal last week. A major wildfire, along with several significant minor ones were keeping crews busy in the south, while a couple of others were burning in the North.

The "Springs" fire in Ventura county along with the "Summit" fire here in Riverside county dominated the new for a couple of days. Local media was out in force, including the press photogs. The best images were picked up by AP and Reuters, The Boston Herald's Big Picture picked up the best of those.

The Big Picture has a history of publishing extremely good wildfire photos, the current selection is no exception.

Image #11 was taken by Kurt Miller, a photographer from the Press Enterprise - our local rag. All of the images are worth a look.

Check out The Big Picture, you won't be disappointed.

Thanks for reading,

Schmoe

2 comments:

  1. Will I paint myself as too much of a wuss if I just say that many of those scenes just scare the daylights out of me? I'm still in awe of all the people who run towards the fire. Incredible pictures, though. I can imagine the photographer who took the first one feeling the same excitement as a gambler who drew a straight flush.

    I was reading the captions hoping to see that you'd gotten one of your pictures published, but I realized how silly that was when it came to me that the byline wouldn't credit "Captain Schmoe."

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  2. Wayne - That is a natural reaction, especially to the uninitiated. It's a matter of realizing when it's time to leave.

    Those are all good photos, but my favorite has to be #5. I like the setting, the composure and the difference in the warm light from the flames contrasting with the cold light from the led helmet lantern. I noticed that the photographer had several night shots in the gallery, I liked them all.

    Trust me, if I had a shot in that gallery, everyone would know. There is a point when vanity overpowers discretion and humility. For me, a shot in "The Big Picture" might be it!

    As a sidebar, I was reviewing the series again last night. I actually know one of the firefighters in one of the images. He is one of my five least favorite people in the fire service. I am pretty sure he feels the same about me. It truly is a small world!

    Thanks for the comment.

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