Terra Flamma: meet the photographer using wildfire as light

From the Airport Fire in the Santa Ana Mountains in Southern California in September, 2024. Fujifilm GFX100 II | GF 20-35mm F4 R WR | 25mm equiv. | F5/0 | 1/20 sec | ISO 800 Photo: Stuart Palley When Stuart Palley began photographing California wildfires in 2013, the data already pointed toward more serious wildfire problems ahead. Over the next 13 years and nearly 200 fires, he watched that prediction come true. Fire seasons grew longer, fires burned faster and more aggressively, and January 2025 brought an inferno to the hills of Los Angeles at a time of year that usually felt like a safe time. Through all of it, Palley has been there with a camera, building a visual record of the American West's fire crisis. I had the opportunity to chat with him about his journey capturing wildfires, the toll it takes and Terra Flamma, his current ongoing series dedicated to a fresh perspective. Fire as light From the Dragon Bravo Fire on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in July