It doesn't look anything special to most of us.
It's just a shot out of my front door, taken at dusk yesterday evening. But when I posted it on a local facebook group, it received more 'likes' than any other photo I've ever taken.
Why?
Because early that day, before dawn, the view looked like this...
Well not exactly like that - I'd used a the night-vision setting so people could still navigate around and get their bearings.
The previous evening both the railway and the motorway had been closed due to the fires. The television and social media were full of awful stories and terrifying scenes. People in the next village were being vigilant but every time relatives contacted them to ask if they were ok, they were being assured that there was nothing wrong. So the local facebook group, which the locals don't really use themselves, was full of people who were worried sick about their relatives and not believing a word when they were told that there was no problem.
They calmed down a bit when I posted this the next morning, telling them that the trains were running again and the motorway had re-opened.
And that was when I began to realise what people need in a photo - something that tells them what they need to know in one glance. They know the area, they can see the railway and there are enough clues in it that anyone raised in the area can home in on exactly where it was taken so they can get their bearings. Then they know in a glance how far away the fires are, what they are doing, how much smoke is in the air, and whether or not their loved ones are in imminent danger.
And what that photo did, the one I took at dusk, told them that they could sleep. I did also add...
7.50 pm, Thursday
The planes just stopped and it looks much calmer now. Let's hope it's enough
...as most of them knew that the water bombers had been busy all evening because it was splashed all over the news along with the terrifying close-ups of the fire on the mountain.
Just enough to words to fill in the blanks, and let the photo speak for itself.
I think I've learned something important from this but I'm having trouble putting it into words. Show people what they need to know, not something that catches the eye or sells stories. No hype. Let them find their bearings and answer their questions for themselves. Probably other things too but I can't articulate it yet...
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