Heroes in Silhouette

This image, “Heroes in Silhouette”, was taken in 2006 during the Shekell Fire which burned almost 14,000 acres near Fillmore and Moorpark, California.  It is also one of the first images I made that really spoke to something other than the subject — the anonymity of heroism in modern emergency services.

Anonymous firefighters standing in silhouette

It was during the fire (one of many we’ve had over the years) that I found myself helping a friend of mine cover the event for a college newspaper.  While being a firefighter is hardly a thankless profession it seems, as a culture, we value the department over the individual firefighter.  Of course it is not a one-man job, but the willingness of emergency personnel to put themselves in direct danger on behalf of people they have never met is just stunning to me.  Even though this image is six years the visage of these three anonymous heroes is still burned into my mind.