Nick is chief photographer for the Sydney Morning Herald. For the past 20 years he's chased bushfires and storms around the globe, capturing the beauty—and devastation—unleashed by the natural environment.Ahead of Nick's conversation at Storyology on Saturday, we caught up to discuss Nick's method and determination to photograph the most extreme weather in Australia.VICE: Where did you grow up and how did this influence your photography?
Nick Moir: I grew up mainly in Sydney’s Blue Mountains, where storms and bushfires are a regular feature. And that had a big impact on me. Plus, my father’s an editorial cartoonist, so art and journalism was always a feature of my life growing up. But, as far as going into storms and bushfires, growing up in the blue mountains had a big impact.
Nick Moir: I grew up mainly in Sydney’s Blue Mountains, where storms and bushfires are a regular feature. And that had a big impact on me. Plus, my father’s an editorial cartoonist, so art and journalism was always a feature of my life growing up. But, as far as going into storms and bushfires, growing up in the blue mountains had a big impact.
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At what point did you decide to start covering weather events?
In about 1998 I contacted the Australian Severe Weather Association and I went out on a very long storm chase, which lasted for two weeks with other Australian storm chasers in NSW and Queensland. After that I really learned quite a bit and I was hooked. And I’ve been chasing every year in Australia since then and I’ve done four big storm chases in the US.
In about 1998 I contacted the Australian Severe Weather Association and I went out on a very long storm chase, which lasted for two weeks with other Australian storm chasers in NSW and Queensland. After that I really learned quite a bit and I was hooked. And I’ve been chasing every year in Australia since then and I’ve done four big storm chases in the US.
What drew you to this type of photography?
Day to day I’m doing news, politics, crime, and anything else but really my main love is to get out to witness storms and fires when they’re at their most ferocious or most amazing. For me the most exciting part is that you might be the only person who photographs a storm.Some of these storms may only live for a couple of hours and they won’t exist anymore. They’re like a giant animal particularly when they become really organised. They have features similar to a life form. Photographing them at their most exciting and organised is really awe-inspiring. It makes you feel very small, but it’s also quite an achievement to get into the right position and the right time to witness them when they’re at their best. In Australia, you can be so remote that sometime there may be very few people who actually see a storm.What have you learned from nature?
It reminds us of how insignificant we are. Black Saturday in Victoria, on the second of day it happened, I covered some of the fires. And when 170-plus people are killed you realise how bad things can get. And it really doesn’t matter how much experience you have, when things turn, you realise how small you are in comparison.
Day to day I’m doing news, politics, crime, and anything else but really my main love is to get out to witness storms and fires when they’re at their most ferocious or most amazing. For me the most exciting part is that you might be the only person who photographs a storm.Some of these storms may only live for a couple of hours and they won’t exist anymore. They’re like a giant animal particularly when they become really organised. They have features similar to a life form. Photographing them at their most exciting and organised is really awe-inspiring. It makes you feel very small, but it’s also quite an achievement to get into the right position and the right time to witness them when they’re at their best. In Australia, you can be so remote that sometime there may be very few people who actually see a storm.What have you learned from nature?
It reminds us of how insignificant we are. Black Saturday in Victoria, on the second of day it happened, I covered some of the fires. And when 170-plus people are killed you realise how bad things can get. And it really doesn’t matter how much experience you have, when things turn, you realise how small you are in comparison.
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What’s the most dangerous situation you’ve been in?
At a Canberra fire, I got myself into a situation where I lost visibility on a road. I couldn’t see where I was going and I actually had to open up a door to look down at the white lines on the road. The fire came quite close and I had to essentially drive through a field and that’s really a bad situation to be in. I try not to put myself to any situation where I don’t have good visibility, or where I can’t see where I am in relation to the fire.Any other close calls?
Storm-wise, I got very close to a couple of very large tornados. Potentially it was dangerous if I went another kilometre down the road. It’s more when you don’t really know where you are in relation to what you’re chasing whether its fire or tornados. Often tornados can only be visible from a very small area, quite close to the storm, and that can be very tricky to do safely. You’ve got to constantly be aware of your exits. It’s very tricky but when you do it successfully it’s a huge feeling of accomplishment.
At a Canberra fire, I got myself into a situation where I lost visibility on a road. I couldn’t see where I was going and I actually had to open up a door to look down at the white lines on the road. The fire came quite close and I had to essentially drive through a field and that’s really a bad situation to be in. I try not to put myself to any situation where I don’t have good visibility, or where I can’t see where I am in relation to the fire.Any other close calls?
Storm-wise, I got very close to a couple of very large tornados. Potentially it was dangerous if I went another kilometre down the road. It’s more when you don’t really know where you are in relation to what you’re chasing whether its fire or tornados. Often tornados can only be visible from a very small area, quite close to the storm, and that can be very tricky to do safely. You’ve got to constantly be aware of your exits. It’s very tricky but when you do it successfully it’s a huge feeling of accomplishment.
What drives you to keep chasing these photos despite the dangers?
Sometimes these storms and fires produce stuff that really hasn’t been seen before. Like fire tornados, which is when fire whirls out of a bushfire and develops into a big tornado—things like that are very rarely seen. In Australia, it’s the closest you get to seeing combat conditions. If the RFS or the CFA are fighting to save homes on a bushfire day, you really get to see the bravery of a lot of people. When I’m photographing bushfires I’ll be trying to have the firefighters in there, just so people really understand the beast they’re standing up to.
Sometimes these storms and fires produce stuff that really hasn’t been seen before. Like fire tornados, which is when fire whirls out of a bushfire and develops into a big tornado—things like that are very rarely seen. In Australia, it’s the closest you get to seeing combat conditions. If the RFS or the CFA are fighting to save homes on a bushfire day, you really get to see the bravery of a lot of people. When I’m photographing bushfires I’ll be trying to have the firefighters in there, just so people really understand the beast they’re standing up to.
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How do manage fear when you’re in the middle of a raging bushfire or storm?
It’s about staying logical. I’ve got a lot of experience now but there were times earlier on when I did things that were dangerous. I guess, it’s when you start pushing boundaries is where things can get problematic. But when you’ve got more experience you tend to get closer and closer. It can get a bit scary but it’s about keeping calm and composed and knowing where you are in relation to a danger.
It’s about staying logical. I’ve got a lot of experience now but there were times earlier on when I did things that were dangerous. I guess, it’s when you start pushing boundaries is where things can get problematic. But when you’ve got more experience you tend to get closer and closer. It can get a bit scary but it’s about keeping calm and composed and knowing where you are in relation to a danger.
What does it feels like when all your hard work comes together?
It’s an awesome feeling to predict where you think a storm is going to be and narrow it down multiple times until the day. You have to pick a storm because there might be storms all over the place starting up. It’s really important to pick the right one, and for it to come off and start dropping tornados. It’s exhilarating and a huge feeling of accomplishment. But then you’ve got to get a good picture out of it. For me it’s not just about taking pictures of the storm, it’s also photographing how people are engaging with it or things in the foreground and I’ll often have another person in the photograph or animals. It’s about trying to capture the atmosphere of what it’s like to be in that situation with a tornado.
It’s an awesome feeling to predict where you think a storm is going to be and narrow it down multiple times until the day. You have to pick a storm because there might be storms all over the place starting up. It’s really important to pick the right one, and for it to come off and start dropping tornados. It’s exhilarating and a huge feeling of accomplishment. But then you’ve got to get a good picture out of it. For me it’s not just about taking pictures of the storm, it’s also photographing how people are engaging with it or things in the foreground and I’ll often have another person in the photograph or animals. It’s about trying to capture the atmosphere of what it’s like to be in that situation with a tornado.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned about our relationship with mother nature?
We tend to have very short memories. We don’t think in broad time. Things like climate change might occur over a 30-40-year period. People might see that it’s snowing more than ever in one section of the world, or that in Australia the frequency of bushfires and their duration is increasing, but some people don’t connect how that’s all connected to climate change.Hear Nick Moir and wildlife photographer Gary Cranitch talk about plunging into bushfires, volcano territory, and deep-sea depths—all for the sake of an image. That's at Storyology in Sydney. Click here for tickets.
We tend to have very short memories. We don’t think in broad time. Things like climate change might occur over a 30-40-year period. People might see that it’s snowing more than ever in one section of the world, or that in Australia the frequency of bushfires and their duration is increasing, but some people don’t connect how that’s all connected to climate change.Hear Nick Moir and wildlife photographer Gary Cranitch talk about plunging into bushfires, volcano territory, and deep-sea depths—all for the sake of an image. That's at Storyology in Sydney. Click here for tickets.