It was in the low 20’s, a bright Saturday morning with crisp blue skies and bright sun reflecting off the snow on the ground. The pager sounded for a car fire at the gas station on South Main Street in Doylestown Borough, so off I went. I parked at the Pizza Hut and walked carefully down the icy street.
It was a vehicle at the pumps, engine compartment going. Engine 79 arrived and Bret Morris and Ellyn Forquer pulled a line to attack the fire. I was using a Nikon point and shoot, an E5700, pretty advanced at the time and the best alternative to a DSLR for the money. Got quite a few images that morning, was keeping batteries warm so if the active set got cold I could swap them out.
I recall liking the photo at the time alot. What struck me was the steam and smoke rolling around his helmet. The texture of the smoke was evident in the original, but when I dug this photo up when I started to experiment with digital enhancement software around 10 years later, I was really struck by how much of the texture came out.
Later I entered the shot in a few contests. The most satisfying one is below, as I had posted it in the National Geographic online Your Shot gallery, and on September 11, 2015 it was selected the Top Shot worldwide. Also got first place in The Fire Store contest around the same time, and I’ve entered it in a few shows.
Doylestown Droneography 
Leave a comment