Ignited

Nature, third prize stories

30-12-2001

At 4am on Christmas Eve, a single lightning bolt ignited one of the most destructive bushfires in Australia's history. Within days, more than 100 fires were burning out of control near Sydney, forcing the evacuation of 3000 people. Arson was suspected as new fires broke out, testing the efforts of 10,000 firefighters battling the flames. Hot, dry and windy weather combined to fuel the bushfires, producing the worst conditions possible for firefighters.

Commissioned by: Oculi for The Sydney Morning Herald

Photo Credit: Dean Sewell

Dean Sewell (b 1972) is an Australian documentary photographer. He has won a number of awards. Sewell grew up in Sydney and started his career as a news photographer for The Sydney Morning Herald. His first major award was in 1994 when he received the Nikon-Walkley Australian Press Photographer of the Year.

Based in Moscow in 1996 and 1997, Sewell covered the First Chechen War and Russian Federal Elections as well as documenting social issues in the Post-Soviet states.

Sewell's series on The Block, an Aboriginal community in Redfern, an inner suburb of Sydney, was showcased at the Visa pour l'image festival of photojournalism in Perpignan, France.

In 2001, Sewell was a co-founder of the Australian documentary photography collective Oculi.

In 2004, Sewell flew to Aceh just after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami and photographed the aftermath. His work won a World Press Photo award.