I attended my first “burn” in 1992 while a graduate student at UW-Madison. I was hooked. The sights, sounds, smell and the skill exhibited by the burn team made me want to learn more. Then life got in the way.
Fast forward to 2010.
In 2010 I retired from a career in Landscape Architecture and embarked on a new career path in Photography. I began an ongoing project documenting the activity of local burn teams throughout the area.
The pandemic put a hold on burn activity for 2020, which gave me the opportunity to review my work and go forward when the world started opening up again.
Last year 2020 (fall) and this year 2021 (spring) I worked with Graham Steinhauer and the team creating imagery from several burns at the Goose Pond Sanctuary.
Photo by Carolyn Knorr
The question I get asked the most is “why”.
My reason for making these images is two-fold. First, I want to document and bring awareness to the public of the importance of the science of burning. Wisconsin is fortunate to have remnants of prairie, oak savanna and wetlands that are on conservation lands and are managed through burning. These tracts provide shelter to a rich variety of plants and animals. Habitats that would otherwise be overtaken by invasive species, if not for the burning.
The second reason I make these images is for the beauty and artistic nature of the burns themselves. They are a metaphor for so many human emotions. Life, death, rebirth, renewal to name a few.
My goal with this project is to heighten awareness of the importance of land management through burning and to ultimately present this project in book form and a traveling photography exhibit.
Written by Carolyn S. Knorr, fine art photographer and Goose Pond Sanctuary volunteer
