Photographing Wildfires

With wildfires raging all around us in Montana and beyond, I thought that the work of Stuart Palley could not be more relevant.  National Geographic's Shaena Montanari gives us a look into the complexities and challenges associated with photographing these destructive and dangerous yet awesome natural disasters.

The biggest issue in wildfire photography and the main reason why it is so rare to see professional images of wildfires is safety.  Only certain members of the media with proper credentials are allowed into fire zones in the first place.  Even when allowed into these zones, members of the media usually cannot get near the same look as the firefighters themselves.  Photographer Stuart Palley, however, is also a trained wildland firefighter and therefore is able to gain access to parts of the firefight where very few others can.

Besides the safety challenges involved in Palley's work, he also has to deal with the challenges of using equipment not meant for high temperatures in extremely hot surroundings.  Because of such hot conditions, Palley is always faced with having to replace much of his camera gear.  As the article mentions, he often has to deal with melting lenses and other camera equipment failure.

Despite these challenges, Palley is able to make impressive shots that give a whole new look and perspective to wildfires and to firefighting.  His photographs capture not only the devastation caused by these fires but also the enormous power and awesomeness of them.  Palley is able to find and capture the beauty and power in something that only leaves destruction and ugliness in its path.  Even at its worst, nature still impresses.

Link to article: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2017/09/california-wildfires-drought/