In doing research on forest fires for my previous article, I ran across a fascinating person who has embraced the world of forest fires. His name is Mark Thiessen, and he is a staff photographer for National Geographic magazine. That in itself, may not be fascinating, but Mark’s hobby certainly is. You see, Mark Thiessen is drawn to forest fires, even to the point of that is where he spends his vacations – inside forest fires. Do yourself a favor and click on the links provided to learn more about Mark and especially the brave souls who fight forest fires. You can also google Mark Thiessen Photographer to find more of his work.

A National Geographic staff photographer since 1990, Mark Thiessen has published numerous feature stories and covers for National Geographic magazine and other Society publications on subjects ranging from Peruvian mummies to Egyptian archaeologists to Russian smokejumpers. He recently documented film director and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence James Cameron's dive to the ocean's deepest location at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Mark's photographs for the July 2008 National Geographic cover story “Under Fire: Why the West Is Burning” earned first-place recognition by Pictures of the Year International. Mark also directs the National Geographic photo studio, and was featured in Out There, a series aired on the National Geographic Channel.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150820-fighting-forest-fires-first-person/

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/mark-thiessen