A photo of the month for November 2019 already?! But you just did October last week Barry?!?
Yes indeed I did put one out for last month not long ago. This week however, I am caught up and I'm releasing November's image on-time.
This November I have not taken a great deal of photos and this is all due to one thing – the bush fires here in New South Wales. When my family and I weren’t getting ready to evacuate our home, we were looking out our windows at a blanket of smoke.
Bush Fires in New South Wales
As I type this, over 1.6 million hectares of bush land has burnt. Over 600 homes have been lost, and 6 people have lost their lives. And these are only the statistics for New South Wales?! Fires have been raging all across the country.
My family and I were never in danger, thankfully. The closest fire to us was around 20km away, which seems like a long way but in the conditions we were experiencing, a fire could travel that distance in not much time at all.
Photo Of The Month – November 2019
The photo below is of our street. This incredibly unsettling light closed in on us on the afternoon of the 8th of November. Everything turned orange, except for any lights in the house, which became incredibly blue in comparison.
Earlier in the day we’d had embers falling in our yard that had traveled many kilometers. Some were still warm, which was pretty unnerving but did not upset me as much as this strange light. I took the photo at 5pm.
Nature Photography?
Ok, so I know what you're thinking......"Barry, this is not really nature photography". Yes, I do not normally take photos of man-made things but I had to make an exception here. Most of the fires started because of lightning strikes, so I get off on a technicality!
Bush fire is an incredibly powerful force of nature as this photo attests to. My family and I lived in Gembrook, Victoria for many years; surrounded by bush, and we never experienced anything like this.
Who would've thought that moving to the suburbs could be so dangerous.
Can You Help?
Many, many families and communities have been affected by these horrific fires and the worst is most probably still to come.
If you would like to donate to those in need, you can do so here at The Red Cross disaster relief page.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog today.
Comments