The Biography of Fire Photographer Rick Burnham
Hi, first off I want to welcome you to my site, "Firepics". This site came about after I finally got a computer and decided I wanted to be able to show anyone who was interested in my work as a fire photographer. So in December of 1999, "Firepics" came alive and has been continually updated several times a year ever since. Due to space requirements you may find when you visit from time to time that previous shots no longer exist. I really wish I had unlimited space because I would put up everything I could for all to see. You will notice while you are here that being a photography website it is a very photo intensive site and depending on your connection speed and file size it may take some time to load. Most of the photos are scanned low resolution (72 dpi) and are sized to 60 picas so when you click on the photos (in netscape, right click and view photo. In IE, I am not exactly sure how to do it, hey I didn't claim to be a computer wiz just a photographer) the image will open to a larger one. Some photos are higher resolution because they were either scanned that way by someone else for me or I was in the beginning stages of learning how to scan photos. That is why the quality of the images vary as well because alot of this was done as I was learning. All of the photos you will see on this webiste were actually taken by me. No one else's work appears here on the actual site, although you can see other photo's by visiting my links section.
All of the photos on this website have been taken by myself since 1990 when I purchased my first camera. Most of the images are also for sale and you should contact me for prices and orders. Images may be cropped or edited for size and content. All photos are ©copyright 1990-2003 by Rick Burnham and appear courtesy of the photographer and may not be reproduced without the permission of the photographer. Republication and/or retransmission is strictly prohibited without expressed written consent of the photographer.
As I just mentioned I started taking pictures in 1990. I have never had a photography class in my life, I just went and bought a 35mm camera and series of photography books by Kodak and went out shooting stuff. Lots of stuff, there were times I would go a nothing fire and shoot 2 rolls of film. Now sometimes I go and never even take the camera out of the bag. In 13 years of shooting I have learned many things, the biggest is you are always gonna be surprised about something in a shot you took. Alot of times I get so wrapped up in the shot when you get the prints back or you look at the digital images you see things you hadn't noticed when you lined up the frame. Or you took a shot because it looked like something was going on and you really can't tell until you see the print what it was.
Over the years my photography has gained me some noteriety. I have gone into firehouses or been introduced to someone and they tell me they have seen my fireground photos. My website also generates alot of email from people telling me how much they enjoyed it. I really appreciate all the comments and even sometimes criticisms, it is how we all learn. My images in addition to appearing here on my site have appeared in local newspapers, regional fire service newspapers, national magazines, calendars, advertisements and on actual products such as mouse pads and t-shirts. I have shot fires, fire apparatus, fire stations and accident scene photos in Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Most of my action photos come from buffing or sparking (this is when a person spends some specific amount time just dedicated to chasing fires) in a city while sometimes I get stuff while I am at home or in my car listening to the scanner or via alpha text pager.
Look for my sports photo website which will be coming soon. You wil be able tolink to it from here.
Here is a brief overview of me and my background:
Reside in Enfield, CT (38 years old as of January 2003)
Secretary/Treasurer and Director of Public Information for the Hartford Citywide Radio Association
President of the CT Fire Photographers Association,
Freelance photographer for the Journal Inquirer of Manchester CT
Senior Editorial Correspondant with First Responder News
Contributor to 9-1-1 Pictures
Dispatcher for Citywide Communications
Life Member of the Box 174 Associates of Boston MA
Member of the Hartford Fire Department Emerald Society
Photographer for the Hartford Firefighters Local 760
Captain with Hazardville Fire Department in Enfield, CT.
My current camera equipment includes :
Nikon D-1 (Digital SLR) camera body
Two compact flash cards (256meg and 128meg) that allow me to shoot over 500 frames
Sigma flash
Sigma 28mm-70mm lens
Sigma 70mm-300mm lens
Minolta Maxxum 7 35mm SLR film camera body
Minolta 450si 35mm film camera body
Sunpak flash
A 35-70mm Minolta lens
Prospec 70-210mm lens
Quantaray 70mm-210mm lens
Quantaray 135mm-400mm lens
I hope as you look through this website, that you enjoy looking at the photo’s as much as I have taking them. Enjoy my site and if you have any questions don’t forget to E-mail me or look for me on AOL Instant Messenger my screen name is CaptainE34.
On to the photos
This website is © 1999-2003 Rick Burnham
