I have started now exploring the areas hit by the fires, shooting from a landscape photography perspective. My aim is to explore the effect on the landscape and how it recovers over time. As is normal for me, my preference is to use my Canon 350D digital camera that I had converted for infrared photography with an installed 715nm filter (roughly the same as a Hoya R-72 filter).
The images in this first part were shot outside the Toorourrong Reserve on the entry road and on the hills overlooking it. Images were shot with my Canon 17-35mm lens and with a Lensbaby Composer. Comparison color images are shot on an Olympus E-30.
Really lovely shots. I love IR photography, but in some of these photos, it makes the land look almost pretty…. when it’s not. Beautiful landscapes done in IR, can be even more beautiful, but it would have been a real tribute to see these photos in real color, in real devastation.
Not a criticism, just an observation of sorts. If it wasn’t so horrific in real life, these photos would would have a very different feel about them.
Thanks Sandy. I am shooting colour too and will probably do a colour series. But this one is focusing on resilience and recovery, so in a way I want them to look more beautiful than they are at present.