This week Aptos resident Kevin Painchaud received an award for one of the photos he took last year during the CZU lightning fire.
His caption: “Local photojournalist, Shmuel Thaler, runs towards the flames in order to get the shot. This is during the Santa Cruz CZU Fire in 2020.”
This is for an international photo competition put on by Life Framers in August’s “Open Call” category. He was one of 20 photographers chosen.
His reaction: “Pretty stoked.”
The judge, South African conceptual photographer Tsoku Maela, said: “The wildfires that ravaged Northern California last year were huge global news, highlighting both the increasing frequency of extreme weather events and the bravery of those that battled them. Here we witness the ferocity of the fires up close, and that bravery in action — the road markings and arc of smoke drawing the viewer into the center of the frame where a lone figure runs into, rather than away from the flames. What appears at first to be a firefighter is in fact another photographer, heading into the fire to ‘get that shot’ as Kevin puts it. It’s a staggering image that examines the risks reportage photographers take to capture and disseminate news.”
•••
Fore more about the competition, visit https://www.life-framer.com/open-call-2021/
