Foto Freo 2012 Fro on the Fringe
January 6, 2012
Yes, the news came through this afternoon in a collective email from Foto Freo headquarters for this year’s fringe dwellers to be given the “go ahead”. So there we have it, ladies and gentlemen. According to Bob Hewitts’s Foto Freo December 2011 newsletter, “Landscape photography, along with wild life photography, has not received much attention in past Festivals.” So I am pleased to assist by doing my small part in addressing this imbalance by participating in this year’s Foto Freo Fringe Festival 2012, along with my good friend and colleague Peter Kovacsy. Our exhibition, “Changing Places” will be held at the Barracuda Studio Gallery, U3&4/56 Pakenham St (corner of Pakenham St and Nairn St, Tele 08 9430 6606), starts March 17th. Come along, see some traditional hand made prints and catch up for a chat.
Fire on the Landscape
February 11, 2011
Last week, with strong gusting winds, fire has once again touched the landscape in several locations around Perth. Whilst helicopter water bombers battled the severe fire at Roleystone, where tragically over 70 homes were lost, fixed wing aircraft dropped water on a blaze in the Canning Regional Park. Thanks to the firefighting crews, the fire was contained by the evening. Logic would have it that fire should travel in the same direction as the prevailing winds, but when I took a walk through the burnt area it became clear that the fire had not only jumped the river, but travelled backwards on itself, upwind against the gusting easterly winds, to ignite unexpected areas. That gives an idea of the ferocity of the winds created locally by the fire’s intensity. It’s a sobering reminder that fire continues to be a major force in shaping our landscape, evidenced by our highly flammable vegetation, the charred bark remains on mature trees and the fire dependent reproduction cycles of native plants. Has the reduced use of fire on the landscape over the past 200 years had the unintended consequence of increasing fire severity and therefore greater risk of destruction of homes and environment? This image was made in an area of the park which I regularly visit as part of a longer term photographic project exploring the seasonal changes and activity within the urbanised setting of the Canning River Regional Park, and was made several days after the fire.
Related Articles
- Fires destroy 41 properties in Perth hills (news.theage.com.au)
- Bushfires rage around Perth (theage.com.au)
