A coworker is on his town's volunteer fire department and I got a chance to tag along and photograph a training session. This shoot was planned over a month prior to this challenge, and it was simply good fortune there was an appropriate A-word associated with it. I was pleased that I was allowed to get much closer to the action than I expected (There was a red line about 10 feet from the burn house that I could not cross.) but I was also a little disappointed that I didn't get the fire shots I had hoped for. They had a lot of rookie firemen along for this session and most of the fires were small ones set inside the building where I could not see them. At one point, they made sure to open a window so that I could get some dramatic flames. I fired off about a dozen shots before they closed it up again. I had a couple with larger flames than this one, but I liked the way the fireman in this shot appears to be pointing at something, possibly barking out orders to others. I think it adds to the intensity of the scene.
Of interest to me was this particular fireman's helmet. It is badly burned, partially melted, and he loves it! Lots of stories in this helmet and tons of character. I also took a few close up shots of it, with the firetruck in the background.
Anticipated critiques:
-Expect a comment or two that is might have been better -if- some aspect of the shot (that was outside my control) was different. Like bigger flames, more smoke.
-Second fireman in background distracting.
-Might have fit the title better if it showed someone actually lighting the fire.
Post-challenge notes:
Wow. I never expected this could score so highly. Maybe I'm starting to "get it". Thanks for all the great comments.
Statistics
Place: 3 out of 175 Avg (all users): 6.7704 Avg (commenters): 8.6250 Avg (participants): 6.8333 Avg (non-participants): 6.7284 Views since voting: 5748 Views during voting: 309 Votes: 135 Comments: 57 Favorites: 5 (view)
How did I miss seeing this gem? Wow, great action shot! One can feel the heat of the red flames and smoke coming out of the window as the fireman leans out to give a an order. That helmet definitely shows it has see a lot of action given it's state.
Great shot- many times people over do these shots and don't let the raw power come out- here you knew what to include, what not to include and it all works beautifully.(obviously)
Congratulations!!
I am so happy that you got a yellow Yo_Spiff - especially since you were such a good sport by giving me an 8 in a challenge where you were doing so well. It pays to be fair, honest voter (not that I am saying that my photo is better than yours because is isn't) but you showed that you vote high even when in the same challenge.
You're cooking with gas these days! Literally, in this case.
Actually, it was hay bales. They do have some propane fired training facilities, but my coworker says he prefers the hay because it behaves more like an actual structure fire, rather than being under remote control.
Amazing shot, perhaps the title is the only thing that makes it fit the challenge but this shot is top quality. A 10 for me and a top 3 pick for the finish.
Excellent news action shot. This is very well captured and I like the way the fireman is framed by the window and the tongue of flame on the right. One of my 3 top picks. 9
Arson
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
Photographer found comment helpful.
