"The whole place just stank of bonfire. The smell will haunt me for a long time."
Rather than his usual lively family portraits, fine-art and fashion photography, Dunedin photographer Alan Dove's recent trip to witness the aftermath of the Australian bush fires produced some comparatively sobering images.
The award-winning photographer has just returned from a three-day tour around Victoria, capturing the devastation of Black Saturday (February 7) on camera.
Mr Dove said he was so horrified by the images of the fires on television, he decided to take time out from his busy photography studio on George St and document the historic blaze.
"The Australian bush is usually full of life. But there was an unearthly quiet about the place.
"People didn't go back after the fires. There was a sense that there was no point - the tidy-up job would be too big. Most houses left were just a pile of tin."
Mr Dove said he was intrigued by the random nature of the fires. There would be some houses surrounded by bush that were untouched, and then other houses not surrounded by bush that were totally devastated.
Mr Dove said he had never been to a disaster zone before. Although the experience was not overwhelming, it was definitely "sobering and sad".
"Listening to a woman talk about how she was talking on the phone to her son as the flames surrounded him - it made you want to cry," he said.
"I came back feeling so wiped out after seeing so much devastation and hurt. But it made me realise there's a world of stuff out there that needs recording."
Mr Dove said he tried to enter worst-affected areas such as Kings Lake and Marysville but was turned away by police because the coroners had closed the areas to the public while they tried to identify bodies caught in the blaze.
He was now keen to return to these areas in a bid to document the devastation there.
"This story is not finished."
