I took this picture whilst driving along the coastal road between Stoney Point and Gordon's Bay, on the night of the Overberg fire that was destined to burn two houses and eliminate thousands of hectares of natural vegetation . I had just taken a picture as I left Kleinmond, of a radiant, shiny, white moon - it's clarity grabbed my attention. Jupiter and Venus were still visible on the horizon, so I pulled into Pringle Bay to try get steady pictures of them, with the idea of using the car to clamp the camera to.

The wind was howling that night, and any attempt at stability was dashed because even the car was buffeted from side to side.

I was so glad I'd chosen to go out there in a car - riding the bike would have been disasterous! All along the road the smoke got thicker and it became difficult to breathe. Inside the car the air was stuffy, yet opening the window let in air that burnt my lungs! I had to get out, even if just for a moment - maybe standing out in that air would be different from the mobile stuffiness I called my car.

The odd colour of the moon, so recently white, demanded another pic.