The Resplendent Demon

About the Book

911 Pictures is very, very pleased to announce the publication of its first book of beautiful fire scene photographs, "The Resplendent Demon"!

This 80-page picture book contains 48 stunning full-color photographs, hand-picked from 911 Picture´s archive of over 2,400 images, of the most magnificent and dramatic fire scenes we have on file, taken by 16 of our most accomplished photographers. For us, the book is our way of showing that the world of firefighting, as dangerous and gritty as it is, can also sometimes be quite breathtaking in its beauty.

If you are someone who is in the fire service, appreciates or loves the fire service, or who even just loves fine photography, we believe this book would make an excellent addition to your library.

"What is beauty? What is considered beautiful? On the surface, we all seem to know inherently when something is beautiful: a spectacular tropical sunset stretching across the sky; a magnificent diamond-and-ruby necklace; a happy toddler´s unadulterated laugh of pure joy. These things seem so obvious that at times we risk taking their beauty for granted.

Just as all of us know what is beautiful, we all know what is ugly and horrible. Strangely, however, as human beings we are equally fascinated by the horrible as we are by the beautiful: tragedy and destruction seem to captivate our attention as just as much as beauty does - if not even more so, as the media floods us on a daily basis with pictures of tragic events from home and around the world, to the point where again we are perhaps guilty of becoming desensitized to the distressing images, and take them for granted.

As photographers, we are charged with the task of trying to show people different aspects of the world that we see and have seen, in ways that perhaps they have never seen before. A successful photograph will not only be captivating to the eye, but will also offer an opportunity to change your mind about how you see the world around you; sometimes in ways that you might not normally expect. A successful photograph may challenge your beliefs, and ultimately may end up changing in some small way how you see the world from that point on in your life to no longer take what you see for granted.

The 16 photographers whose works appear in this book are special individuals. Special, I feel, because with their unique talents they are able to take something that by all rights could be considered horrible and tragic -- fire, and the death and destruction that it can bring -- and show us a different view of fire that we haven´t seen or thought of before: within that horror there can be a terrific beauty as well. A beauty that is both magnificent and horrible at the same time -- a Resplendent Demon.

It is a form of beauty that few ever get to see, let alone experience. It shows itself only rarely, and only if you know where and when to look for it -- a rare thing, as many beautiful things can be. The images in this book are those rare moments, captured by those who are most adept at finding them. For those of us who are fortunate enough to have experienced it personally, we are always left awed and humbled by the power, magnificence, grandeur - and yes, beauty, of fire. It is my hope that the images in this book will make you feel the same way too."

Michael Heller, August 2003

About the Author

Michael Heller, 45, is a Professional Photographer who resides in East Hampton, Long Island, New York. A graduate of Bard College in New York and the Art Center College of Design (BFA, Photography) in Pasadena, CA, Mr. Heller has been photographing for over 21 years. In addition to spending many years working in photo labs in both New York and Los Angeles, Mr. Heller has been a contributing photographer and/or a staff photographer for several newspapers and numerous publications in Los Angeles and New York City. For a period of time, Mr. Heller also shot mug shots as a member of the N.Y.P.D. Photo Unit. Within the fire service, Mr. Heller has written and illustrated numerous articles for Firehouse Magazine and National Fire & Rescue Magazine, documenting the involvement of the fire service with such events as the Super Bowl, the Indianapolis 500, Spring Break in Panama City Beach, Florida, the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and most recently Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Mr. Heller has been an active, Class-A Certified Interior Firefighter with Hook & Ladder Co. #1 of the East Hampton Fire Department for the past fourteen years, and is the Department Photographer. In 1992 he received the honor of Company Firefighter of the Year. He is an active member of the Long Island Fire Photographers Association, and is currently Vice President of the International Fire Photographers Association. His photography honors include ten first-place trophies and numerous second- and third-place trophies in the annual IFPA photo contest over the last six years, as well as two honorable mentions in the international photography “Bombero de Oro” (fire photography contest) given in Spain in 1998. On September 11th, Mr. Heller spent many hours at Ground Zero assisting with the rescue effort and making photographs that were significant for him personally as well as professionally. In 1996, Mr. Heller formed 911 Pictures, a stock photography agency representing over 90 of the finest fire/police/rescue photographers in the country and abroad. 911 Pictures can be found on the World Wide Web at www.911pictures.com. All of the images in this book are part of their catalog of over 2,300 images. In other, non-fire areas of photography, Mr. Heller has participated in and assisted with the renowned American Photo Trek Photography Workshops, and has taught photography part-time at a community college near his home. His other interests include computers, science fiction and travel.