Fire in the Galaxy

Gallery: LandscapePosted October 13, 2010386 views24 comments

The Botswana hot dry season is the time of year with the highest risk of bush fires occurring. In September I witnessed these wild bush fires rage through the Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pan National Parks. Seeing, smelling, hearing and feeling these fires, boosted by the winds of the season, incinerating the dry grasses up close is quite a thrilling experience; one that commands respect for this natural force, but also introduces fear of it! From my bushy campsite I could see the fire glowing in the distance at night. This made me feel rather uncomfortable and I decided to drive 50 meters into the wide open flat pan and pitch my tent! From there I had this magnificent view.

Location: Nxai Pan National Park, Botswana

Techs:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II with EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens @ 16mm
Manual Exposure, Shutter Speed 20 Sec., Aperture f/2.8, ISO 2000
Full Frame

Comments

24 comments

Comment posted by Kenn Leonhardt on October 13, 2010 at 2:37 PM

Very cool and unique shot. Would have thought the smoke from the fires would prevent getting any decent shot of the night sky, but evidently not. My only suggestion would be to trim away some of the empty black space on the bottom.

Registered on March 29, 2008, 27 Posts, 1710 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on October 13, 2010 at 2:59 PM

Oh, I like this just as it's presented. I feel the negative space at the bottom is an important part of the image - just my .02 of course. Lovely composition and super catch. I might try to adjust the WB cooler to allow the sky to return to a more blue hue and contrast nicely with the orange glow of the fire. It might be worth a try just to see how it looks. Great shot Vincent.

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Walt Sterneman on October 13, 2010 at 3:04 PM

Oooh I realy like this. That's a nice job.

Registered on March 24, 2010, 73 Posts, 1268 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Richins on October 13, 2010 at 3:07 PM

Very nice night scene. Love the way the sky turned out. Photographing fires is always fun and interesting, as long as you're far enough away.

Registered on March 6, 2008, 113 Posts, 1009 Comments

Comment posted by Luis Argerich on October 13, 2010 at 3:44 PM

Very beautiful view of the Milky Way above a very unusual scene.

Registered on December 22, 2009, 91 Posts, 1349 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on October 13, 2010 at 3:51 PM

Amazing. This is a great shot, Vincent. love the color from the fire and that fantastic sky.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on October 13, 2010 at 4:00 PM

Absolutely surreal. Really well done.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 474 Posts, 5555 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on October 13, 2010 at 4:25 PM

an awe inspiring image... the hot glows and the beautiful stars arevisually stunning and it is nicely anchored by the black bottom (which can be cropped for a different look altogether.

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Capurso on October 13, 2010 at 4:56 PM

Fantastic shot, Vincent. And a excellent description of the experience. Must have been exciting to witness.

Mark Capurso
Phoenix, AZ

Registered on January 4, 2008, 47 Posts, 321 Comments

Comment posted by Nicolaus Wegner on October 13, 2010 at 7:53 PM

Very cool scene Vincent. Amazing you were able to capture so much detail in the sky with all that firelight below.

Registered on February 21, 2010, 133 Posts, 1509 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on October 13, 2010 at 7:56 PM

Vincent,

This is one outstanding image! Should be destined for the newsroom or editing floor somewhere if anything. Visually, this is just magnificent. The glow created by the flames and of course the starry night photography makes for a unique and wonderful combination.

My only question is that you drove for 50 meters???? I know I'm using the English system, but 50 meters is like 50 steps, 50 yards, etc. Did you need to drive? Or did you mean 50kilometers?

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on October 13, 2010 at 8:06 PM

Well, i think the combination of stars and fire is very cool, unique. The problem i have with this shot is that it requires an explanation--with the explanation i can say "wow--how cool, fires and stars!"--but without the caption, i look and this and assume that the lights in the bg are city light pollution (that's what i assumed from the thumbnail)--not as appealing! Depends on how you'll use the shot, i guess.

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Hartmann on October 13, 2010 at 9:45 PM

Fantastic and creative image! This is another interesting take on the Milky Way shot. Nice going, Vincent.
My first thought was fire and stars.

Registered on January 15, 2009, 13 Posts, 772 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on October 13, 2010 at 11:12 PM

Very unusual capture, I love it. You've never posted a "dud" in my opinion. I admire the diversity of you portfolio, as well as tour abilities as photographer!

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Håkon Iversen on October 14, 2010 at 7:16 AM

Now that is a truly amazing picture! Really great work!

Registered on August 16, 2010, 20 Posts, 123 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Sieren on October 14, 2010 at 10:32 AM

I love the milky way and the golden tones blend into the scene.

Registered on January 2, 2008, 360 Posts, 5321 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on October 14, 2010 at 2:05 PM

Lon, you asked:

My only question is that you drove for 50 meters???? I know I'm using the English system, but 50 meters is like 50 steps, 50 yards, etc. Did you need to drive? Or did you mean 50kilometers?

Maybe it was more like 100 or 150 meters now that I think about it. The thing is the campsite was close t the edge of the pan, but surrounded by bush (trees and shrubs), which obviously can burn. Hence I drove into the flat open empty salt pan (not even a blade of grass) for a safe spot for the night

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Jorne de Bruin on October 14, 2010 at 3:38 PM

Superb Vincent! I always love Milky Way images and this one is extra special because of the fiery glow! Glad you did not catch on fire that night

Registered on June 26, 2008, 178 Posts, 2136 Comments

Comment posted by Anthony Vincent on October 14, 2010 at 7:24 PM

Awesome and unique.
Great job Vincent

Registered on February 5, 2009, 199 Posts, 2775 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on October 14, 2010 at 8:16 PM

Just a marvelous contrast in light sources and the scale of both!

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Anil Rao on October 15, 2010 at 12:56 AM

What a creative juxtaposition of fire on ground with the fires burning far away across the universe. A fantastic image, Vincent.

Registered on November 15, 2003, 234 Posts, 4923 Comments

Comment posted by Ricardo La Piettra on October 15, 2010 at 8:43 AM

Awesome,a very original photo.

Registered on July 22, 2009, 62 Posts, 730 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Peters on October 17, 2010 at 10:57 AM

A beautiful shot although I agree about the white balance. I would also remove some of the black foreground but that's personal taste. A wonderful image though

Registered on December 22, 2005, 28 Posts, 126 Comments

Comment posted by Lara Ellis on October 17, 2010 at 5:33 PM

Wowsa! that's awesome! I love the way the starry sky graduates into the color of the fire!

Registered on April 12, 2008, 48 Posts, 30 Comments