Burning Fields in North East Thailand.

Burning fields of sugar cane following a successful harvest. Thailand 2011.

The first indication was not the fire but the orange glow in the evening sky. Then the scent of burning sugar cane which drifted into the village in which I was fortuitously staying. Pick up the camera and walk, this occurrence was simply impossible to ignore.

As the fire advanced, sections of the field collapsed into glowing embers. The bright flames were gradually replaced by a illuminated wall of smoke and heat stretching across the ground.

Photographs rarely convey the heat. Even standing some distance away, the radiated warmth from the fire was clearly felt on the face, legs and arms. The air itself now transformed into a hot, gaseous, penetrating atmosphere.