CONTRAST: One of many images Joanne Pacquette captured of the Deans Gap fire. The photo was shot using a Cannon 600D with an exposure of 30 seconds and an aperture of 4.5.
CAMERA CRAFT: Joanne Paquette from Vincentia captured a beautiful image of the Deans Gap fire glowing over St Georges Basin.
PHONE PHOT: Leony East from St Georges Basin shot this panorama of the fire Tuesday evening.
THE light show produced by the Deans Gap fire at its peak attracted photographers of all skill levels like moths to a flame.
Joanne Paquette from Vincentia, who has a passion for night photography, could not resist the opportunity thrown into the night sky over St Georges Basin on Tuesday night.
Armed with her Cannon 600D, a tripod and a torch Mrs Paquette went searching around St Georges Basin for the perfect site to capture her image.
“I’m always looking at the sky, and watching the weather to predict what is going to happen each night,” she said.
“I knew water in the basin would reflect the colour from the fire.
“Once I found the spot, I set up and sat there for hours.
“Living at Vincentia I was a bit concerned about the fire until I got out and saw how far away it was.
“I’m not a professional photographer but I have really got into it in the last two years and have sold a few canvasses.”
Mrs Paquette said she was fascinated with the night sky and particularly enjoyed the challenge of photographing star trails.
“There are a lot of tricks you learn along the way. This photo, for example, involved painting the rocks in the foreground with torchlight. I thought they would give the image some leading lines.
“I was blown away by the size of the glow from the fire in that photo.
“Most people just point and click and don’t give it a second thought, and that’s fine for them.
“But it’s taking the time and putting in the effort that makes the artistic difference,” she said.
The advent of smart phones that offer respectable cameras has made photography accessible to more people than ever before.
Keen smart phone photographer Leony East from St Georges Basin has a photo album on her phone filled with those capture-the-moment style pictures at parties, holidays and almost everything in between.
However curiosity and her mobile phone found her also shooting the fire this week.
“I went to Island Point Road boat ramp and there were lots of people there when I arrived,” she said.
“People were lined up along the jetty taking photos and along the water’s edge with tripods.
“I thought I’d be the only person down there.
“I only stayed there for about half an hour but I’ve got quite a lot of photos.
“I’ve got a panoramic setting on the phone and I was pretty proud of the photo I took.
“It’s a good record of the event.”
