Blood Sun

[Mad Aussie]

We have extensive bush fires all the Sydney and Newcastle area of NSW where we live right now. Many homes have been lost.

I took these just after getting home from work today ... the fires causing this beautiful 'Blood Sun'

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3721/10323881483_f39bdd02d9_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/astrovisual/10323881483/)
Blood Sun (http://www.flickr.com/photos/astrovisual/10323881483/) by AstroVisual (http://www.flickr.com/people/astrovisual/), on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2817/10323704054_c2fc1a227c_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/astrovisual/10323704054/)
Blood Sun (http://www.flickr.com/photos/astrovisual/10323704054/) by AstroVisual (http://www.flickr.com/people/astrovisual/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7389/10323703694_244725f767_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/astrovisual/10323703694/)
Blood Sun (http://www.flickr.com/photos/astrovisual/10323703694/) by AstroVisual (http://www.flickr.com/people/astrovisual/), on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2890/10323703504_b5e94ded70_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/astrovisual/10323703504/)
Blood Sun (http://www.flickr.com/photos/astrovisual/10323703504/) by AstroVisual (http://www.flickr.com/people/astrovisual/), on Flickr

[Runmonty]

Amazing intense colour - I like the shots (but not the cause of them) Stay safe

[Mad Aussie]

Thanks RM ... I should mention that we now live right in the city away from any bush so we are safe here.

[QuietOne]

Reminds me too much of this summer, though it looks like it's worse there. The area stank of smoke for weeks. Intense color, though.

[Mad Aussie]

Yeh they are saying it's the worst we've seen in the past 100 yrs apparently.

[Marko]

The colours are wild - sorry to hear about all those fires. Last shot is my fave of the set.

[Mad Aussie]

Cheers Marko :)

[Hillbillygirl]

Very cool looking sun, and captured very well MA.
Unfortunately have had first hand experience with this also. Very unnerving not knowing where, or when the next fire would be, and could not go outside for the choking smoke. We had 5 bush fires with 100,000 acres burning near us last summer.
Stay safe MA.

[Matt K.]

Cool, dig it big time. Very well done, MA, 2 and 3 are my favs

[Mad Aussie]

Thanks Matt and HBG :)

They've just issued a warning for the Blue Mts ... my destination next Sunday with my parents, although that's looking unlikely now. A 300 km (186 mi) wide fire storm is approaching that area and the weather is likely to make it worse. This one might burn all the way into Sydney itself.
Thankfully I've never been in the path of a bush fire, but I have seen them. Eucalypts burn with a ferocity like no other, shooting flames across highways at will with a rush of noise that would scare Chuck Norris. Yesterday we had to drive an hour or so south and drive right through some of the areas hit over the past few days. There are still choppers with the water bombing baskets flying around, fire trucks everywhere, scenes such as a burn out service station (Gas Station over there?) on the side of the road. We also saw where the fire had got right up to peoples homes or businesses and was stopped! Much of it still smoulders away of course. Nasty stuff.

[missyinmuskoka]

Beautiful!

[Mad Aussie]

Thanks MiM :)

[beatles2]

Very cool shots, Heres hoping it gets better there.

[Mad Aussie]

Very cool shots, Here's hoping it gets better there.
Thanks ... but it's about to get worse for those in the area of the current fires. They are even talking about flying in firefighters from New Zealand to help now.

[Jim Scrimger]

Nice shooting - no 2 my favorite, but a very sad business.

[Mad Aussie]

Nice shooting - no 2 my favorite, but a very sad business.
Thanks Jim :)

[JustinRyan215]

Nature's eraser...very devastating to the life in the area, Very beautiful images, but nature will recover, just as strong as ever.

Justin

[Mad Aussie]

We have a new fire not far from where we live. We are in no danger at all but the smoke is a bit thick this afternoon. Thankfully the predicted high winds only reached around the 70 kph and the 100 kph as we were fearing.