Photography has taken me down many different paths, and this has been one of my favorite journeys as a photographer. I was asked to document fire behavior, and shoot fire in different habitats. To be able to shoot in a burning landscape, you have to learn how to burn that landscape. I earned my “RED CARD”, trained as a wild land firefighter, then began working with The Nature Conservancy’s prescribed burn teams. I Loved it!

This was a fun assignment and I have documented fire behavior on several occasions. I have also photographed the affects of fire on the land as it recovers. Fire is an essential land management tool in Florida. The forest will suffer and biodiversity will decline if fire is not introduced into the landscape. After all, we get quite a bit of lightning and live in the lightning capital of this hemisphere! The land here has evolved with fire.

This is a shot of Adam, he is one of the toughest S.O.B’s I have ever known. This fellow was hit by lightning, and shrugged it off. He is also an excellent land manager, burn boss and ecologist.