KB Bush Fire Photo

Photographer’s Note

1.05 p.m. - I have been mentioning about haze in my last posting so I thought I must show one here. I was driving down to Kuala Belait or KB as most people would refer to, when I saw this bush fire. It was not very big and under control. In this shot you will see a number of big trees in the background with only the branches left. These were the left over of the much bigger bush fire which ravaged this place back in 1998. It was in March 1998 when Brunei experienced the worst haze in history, forcing schools to close down and people confined to their house. Air conditioners, Air cleaners and face masks were hot items then. Imagine going to church to attend mass with face mask on.
In fact the condition was aggravated by the many bush fires around countries in South East Asia. The extensive clearing and burning to make way for big plantations by companies are also to be blamed. The traditional slash and burn method of farming among the natives in this region was another contributing factor. Visibility was down to 100 metres on worst days. It literally choked the whole of South East Asia prompting meetings by leaders of the affected countries to solve and prevent it from happening again.

arnabchat, bantonbuju, ChrisJ, Gix, weswang, alvaraalto, jjbach, MoosicMan, jmdaoudal, sarju has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

arnabchat (7058) 2005-05-03 2:57

sensible note. pity that we are helpless against it, but we can stop afoerstation. a timely image, well seen and captured.

bantonbuju (48856) 2005-05-03 3:15

hi aloysius,
an excellent shot - i love this idea of presenting the place during the disaster: if this is a daily life, we must show it;
i like the dof used here - layering of the image is excellent;
very mystic;
nice work
have a nice day, jerzy

Tue (25608) 2005-05-03 4:00

Hi Aloysius,
Very good capture! The haze looks very good here in combination with the trees.
Very well done! :-D
Grtz, Lars

joaoferreira (0) 2005-05-03 9:21

Interesting information and well captured scene. Good job!

Gix (3559) 2005-05-03 10:30

Hi Aloysius,
indeed an excellent shot: i like the pastel colors and the contrast with the (relatively) dark frontend. Even the graphic effect of the naked trees is very nice. And an interesting and informative note, too.
I have exausted my 100 favorite photos, but this is my 101!
Very nice, compliments.
ciao, Giorgio

ndb1958 (9249) 2005-05-03 11:06

I didn't associate it with fire by looking. It looks like aqua paintings. Very beautiful!

weswang (18223) 2005-05-03 13:39

Hi Aloysius, A nice photo in capturing the mist of the forest. Based on the clarity, we can tell the distance of each tree to the lens. A well seen and well taken picture. The mist adds some mystery mood to this photo. Well done.

Jeppe (18623) 2005-05-03 13:52

I have seen this on TV - I believe to remember it - Kind of tragic - too bad what we do to our earth - you captured the sad atmosphere nicely - thanks Aloysius for a fine job.

alvaraalto (5305) 2005-05-03 17:22

A beautiful, but sinister picture. It should be better if you could take this shot. I can remember the many fires from a few year ago and the great worry about them.
groet Rob

jjbach (9111) 2005-05-03 20:03

Hi Aloysius,
Fire is very sad story for many areas on earth. I hope someday this will stop.
Your shot is great and you captured the haze very well. Very sensible notes.

Regards John

MoosicMan (1231) 2005-05-03 22:47

Aloysius,
Cool shot, the blue haze contrasting with the sharp foreground makes a pleasing sight, even if we are all uneasy with the fact that the whole place is on fire. Good work,
Best wishes,
Matt

jmdaoudal (82) 2005-05-04 3:28

Sad one and you note shows it.
The shot is giving a true situation.
Compliments
jean Michel

Graal (59126) 2005-05-04 5:18

Hi Aloysius,
dramatic shot. Good picture with nice of colours. Interesting note. well done.
Regards,
Aleksander

ChrisJ (70521) 2005-05-04 5:41

Hi Aloysius

It looks like an attractive watercolor painting. This would also look good in b&w (hitam dans putih), with a slight increase in contrast. Bagus sekali!

PJE (19575) 2005-05-04 17:23

Well this sure makes for a eerie mood in this photo. The smoke really makes it a winning shot. Good color too.

colinbrenchley (6133) 2005-05-07 4:50

Good environmental photograph with excellent notes. The dark ghostly forms of the trees in the foreground stand out well against those in the haze behind.

garrbus (210) 2005-08-24 15:16

Nice shot. Very interesting is border between demaged wood and fresh green trees just near photographer. Vell done.

sarju (5308) 2005-12-18 14:01

Hi Aloysius
I had missed this such a nice photo in your gallery. I would say that you did a very good job in capturing the mood in this photo. This place does have a very eerie feeling with it. thanks for sharing this and all the information about the bush fires and the haze
regards .... sarju