Fire is heat and light, and each season — as we work prescribed burns and wildfires and bushfires, as we travel through fire-impacted and fire-

With a late-season October fire climbing the hill, crews pull back to await the retardant drop. Sawtooth NF, Idaho. Photo by Hannah Burgard.

dependent landscapes — we’ll often pause from our work to document the amazing energy of fires as well as the compelling work of those who manage fires, and the landscapes shaped by fire, and the lives of those affected by fire.

We manage our land with fire. Now you can share your photographs that document our work with fire, in our landscapes and communities.

As the northern-hemisphere fire season winds down and the southern season ramps up, take a look at your photo collection. We ask you to share those images that connect us to the energy, drama, tragedy, and humor that we experience along the firelines, fuel breaks, and landscapes among which we work.

The most compelling photos will be published throughout the coming year, in print and online.

  • To submit photos, create a Flickr account, login, and share your photo with this IAWF Flickr Group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/iawf-share-photos/.
  • For those who have any trouble using the Flickr upload, you may also submit photos at WildfireWorld.org — see the Upload process at the bottom of this page.

Images uploaded to the IAWF Flickr group may be viewed by the general public. A linked discussion board may help the judges identify audience insights into wildfire photographs. All photographs and discussions must meet both Flickr and IAWF standards for professionalism and associated journalistic standards. We ask that you not submit photographs that have been substantially manipulated with photo-editing tools. Photographs and discussions may be removed at the discretion of the Wildfire Magazine Editorial Advisory Board.

Eligibility

We seek photographs by working wildfire professionals, though any member of the public is encouraged to submit their photographs. We ask each individual to limit their submissions to three photos. You need not be a member of International Association of Wildland Fire to share your photos, though we encourage you to join an the only organization supporting the international wildfire profession.

We primarily seek images that document the 2013 and 2014 wildfire seasons, from all countries and landscapes affected by wildfires and bushfires, but photographs dated earlier will be considered. The Flickr group will accept short videos, which will be considered, though our primary goal is to share the power of a single photograph (or two).

Judging and Categories

Judges of this first IAWF photo contest will be two acknowledged experts of wildfire photography: Kari Greer (who’s documented a range of key wildfires in past years and whose work has been featured in Wildfire Magazine and WildfireWorld),  Mike McMillan, a longtime firefighter who publishes Spotfire Images: Wildfire Photojournal, and Michael Kodas, a journalist and author at work on a book on megafires.

Categories will be determined in part by what you submit, with general categories of

  1. On the fireline
  2. Offline (Behind the scenes and in our communities)
  3. Fire landscapes and fire ecology/effects
  4. Aviation

Results

Photographs selected for future publication and sharing may be republished in print and online versions of Wildfire Magazine, WildfireWorld, and other IAWF-associated publications. The photograph selected as grand prize winner may be printed and auctioned as a fundraiser at IAWF functions. A complete list of winners will be published by February 1, 2015.

The Fine Print

Submitted photos may be used by IAWF in our publications and in special presentations, but all other ownership is retained by the photographer. Photos submitted via the Flickr IAWF group must meet and follow Flickr group rules. No compensation will be provided for any IAWF usage of photos and no obligation to publish or share photographs is implied by this process.