Sugar Cane Burning Photo

Photographer’s Note

In this shot you see a sugar cane crop being torched by the farmer (he is in the bottom left of the picture). He walked along the edge of the field, shooting fire from an implement he carried, into the dry cane. This is done just prior to the harvest to remove the dry chaff. In the days before there were mechanical harvesters it would help clear out the taipans and other deadly snakes, that made their homes in the fields, making for a safer manual harvest.

In the patch of open sky you can see the Hummock (between Bundaberg and Bargara), an ancient volcano, now reduced to a small hill. I was having supper with some mates who live on the hummock when we saw this fire. We raced down to see the spectacle. It was a truly awesome sight (and sound). The fire was huge, as you can see when compared to the size of the farmer, but it burned very quickly and was soon out.

touristdidi, pudipie has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

avigur_11 (21315) 2004-02-01 8:43

This is an excellent shot, John. Very good capture of the fire and the sugar canes. Thanks for the good note either. Well done.

flip89 (3351) 2004-02-01 9:33

I knew it! As soon as I saw the thumbnail without reading where it is, I thought this must be in Australia. I saw a similar spectacle twenty years ago in Coff's Harbour in NSW. (I am not sure if they do this in the sugar centrals in the Philippines, perhaps it's a matter of labor intensivity - we've got more people to work in the fields and people need jobs even if they're low paying.) It was really awesome and this one is awesome too - controlled fire by only one person. I like that you were able to include the farmer in the shot ... gives it more perspective and this makes the shot effective. It is remarkable that he seems to be walking so nonchalantly inspite of the inferno behind him. The clarity of the fire and the sugar cane stalks are amazing too. Good job.

Cat (0) 2004-02-02 12:20

Excellent capture and informative notes. I like the farmer in the shot, it truly defines the massive size of the fire. Great job!

Josh69 (1427) 2004-02-07 7:59

I like this a lot, I have spent most of my life in Australia, but have yet to see something like this. The farmer really adds a lot to the sense of scale in this image. I even like the microwave tower in the background, which gives a sense that it is not in the middle of nowhere.

Topy (139) 2004-03-07 9:35

The farmer on the left definitely gives a huge scale to the flames.
Very nice Fire Shot.

nmaia (190) 2004-03-10 22:39

Impressive photo.
Although I get a bit worry about pollution, all is set aside due to the dramatic view you manage to capture.
Very well done!

touristdidi (8563) 2004-03-17 11:56

wow..... seems like it would be hard to control...... scary looking!

djslim (552) 2005-10-09 18:46

What an interesting shot. I'm quite surprised the fire doesn't injure the farmer. I might say the fire looks a tad over exposed but it still looks good. Either way I'm not overly picky! Great shot none the less!

pudipie (77) 2006-08-19 6:16

Nicely done.I lived just up the road from here at Burnett Heads and I dont miss this one bit.Fortunately it doesnt last long but boy makes a mess of any washing you have out.Most people in the area also have rainwater tanks which need to have the downpipe taken out of so you can wash the roof before collecting drinking water,They have ben encouraging growers not to burn over the last few years but it is a really spectacular sight late in the afternoon early evening. Well done John
Diane