Felicity Johnson, After the Fire (ART 2025)

As a past volunteer firefighter, I was usually caught up in the moment trying to extinguish the fire. But as a photographer and naturalist, I am fascinated with the affect a burn has on the biodiversity of an area. Leaves take on a rusty red colour and if the fire is not too hot, the gum tree trunks glow amongst the ashes. Birds can still be found gleaning the crackly leaves. In time new shoots will spout out from the trunks and I will be back with camera in hand to record natures amazing recovery. In this series, the colours in the post-fire site called for a creative effect that emphasized the incredible hues of brown, red and orange.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.