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Hotshots



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Awards

Contest Finalist in Backpacks and Bags Photo Contest
Surprise Camera
Contest Finalist in Black And White Silhouettes Photo Contest
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
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Superb Composition
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Top Choice
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Magnificent Capture
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Outstanding Creativity
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Superior Skill
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All Star
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Virtuoso
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Genius
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Impressed
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Top Ranks

Through The Lens ProjectTop 30 rank
Through The Lens ProjectTop 30 rank week 1
Monochrome Marvels Photo ContestTop 30 rank
My Best Capture Photo Contest vol2Top 20 rank
My Best Capture Photo Contest vol2Top 20 rank week 1
My Best Capture Photo ContestTop 10 rank
My Best Capture Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
At Work Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Monochrome Visions Photo ContestTop 10 rank
We Have Hope Photo ContestTop 10 rank
We Have Hope Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
World Photography Day Photo Contest Speed SeriesTop 10 rank
Interesting People Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Interesting People Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Monochrome Masters ProjectTop 10 rank
Monochrome Masters ProjectTop 10 rank week 1
An Unforgettable Adventure Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Backpacks and Bags Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Backpacks and Bags Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
ViewBug Photography Awards 2018Top 10 rank
ViewBug Photography Awards 2018Top 10 rank week 2
ViewBug Photography Awards 2018Top 10 rank week 1
World Photography Day Photo Contest 2018Top 10 rank
World Photography Day Photo Contest 2018Top 10 rank week 2
World Photography Day Photo Contest 2018Top 10 rank week 1
A World In Black And White Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Black And White Silhouettes Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Black And White Silhouettes Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Everything Smoke Photo ContestTop 10 rank
People At Work Photo ContestTop 10 rank
People At Work Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Faceless Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Faceless Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Faceless Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
All Things Black And White Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 18Top 20 rank
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 18Top 10 rank week 2
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 18Top 30 rank week 1
9 Comments | Report
Steve_PFB PRO+
 
Steve_PFB March 04, 2017
AMAZING
JM18Photography PRO+
 
JM18Photography March 28, 2018
Congratulations!
EvaBareis
 
EvaBareis March 29, 2018
Congratulations. This is a brilliant photo, and a difficult one to get!
Imperfection606
 
Imperfection606 March 31, 2018
Absolute masterpiece, hands down!!! Well deserved!!!
surendrachaturvedi
 
surendrachaturvedi April 03, 2018
Congrats
marcbaechtold
 
marcbaechtold May 13, 2018
cool photograph with nice details and good contrasts, keep shooting!
carolcardillo PRO+
 
carolcardillo March 22, 2019
2 Finalist Awards for this Beauty! Congrats, Gayle!
MarilynDavies
 
MarilynDavies February 17, 2021
An exceptionally dramatic image! Thanks for sharing!
Waychild
 
Waychild October 11, 2021
Awesome shot!
See all

Behind The Lens

Location

Prescott National Forest near Prescott, AZ, periodically does control burns to reduce fire danger in nearby communities. Our home borders the National forest, which had not been cleared in over 20 years. Some of the fires were set about 60 feet from the house on slash piles that had been cleared. These were a couple of the Hotshot crew managing the burn just on the other side of our fence.

Time

This image was taken in the early afternoon. I spent much of the day closely watching the firefighters as they ignited one slash pile after another, getting as many images as I could when lighting and visibility were optimal.

Lighting

Smoke and sun create perfect backdrops for B&W images, especially silhouetted genre.

Equipment

Image was taken with a Nikon D800, 70-200mm lens. Some were taken with a tripod since it became increasingly difficult to handhold the equipment after about an hour so I ran in the house and grabbed the tripod.

Inspiration

The inspiration came from the Hotshot crew and the smoke and heat they have to work in. It's hard manual work using picks, shovels, saws, especially during heat of the Arizona day. Watching them criss-cross the hills and managing the burning slash piles allowed plenty of opportunity to get some on-scene shots and insights of the difficulty and danger faced by the men.

Editing

Original image was taken in camera raw. From there, Nik Silver Effex Pro was where I did the B&W conversion. Before the image was taken into NIK, in Photoshop, highlighted the brighter areas, dodged and burned some of the areas for additional contrast.

In my camera bag

I carry two cameras in two packs...A Nikon D800E (recently replaced with a Nikon D850) that I keep a Nikon wide angle 16-35mm or 24-70mm lens and Canon 1DX with a 70-200mm lens. The reason for the two cameras is (1) so I don't have to keep changing lens in order to keep the sensor clean (2) one camera works extremely well if I'm photographing landscape. The other is best for low light and high action situations. Fortunately, my husband carries some of my gear for me. I also carry: neutral density filters for long exposures, a Gitzo tripod, flash, flashlight, water, lens cleaners. Some of it depends on the type of shooting I am anticipating and if I am traveling by air or car.

Feedback

When you're shooting "street scenes" and action, you need a higher shutter speed. This image was taken at 750th of a second to compensate for the motion of the firefighters. Also, try to tell a story. I tried to capture the moment and how demanding, dangerous, and the discomfort experienced doing that kind of work....the heat, smoke, heavy clothing, and gear. Also, try to get a composition that emphasizes/highlights the subject. I had the opportunity to send a great deal of time observing them and had the chance to get many different images. That's not always possible when recording "history in the making". Anticipating where the action is (or will be) taking place and what is the in the background/foreground of the scene for composition purposes is helpful.

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