TOPSHOT - Beach goers rest on the beach of Moutchic on the shore of Lake Lacanau (Etang de Lacanau) in Lacanau , southwestern France on July 24, 2026, as clouds of smoke rise into the sky from the Gironde wildfire. The fire raging in the northern part of the Arcachon Basin in Gironde, southwest France, has swept through more than 3,400 hectares, according to the latest figures released by the prefecture. More than 20,000 residents and tourists have been evacuated from this part already devastated by flames in 2022. Scientists have long warned that climate change caused by human use of fossil fuels will make periods of drought more intense and longer-lasting, creating the ideal conditions for wildfires. (Photo by Maximilien LAMY / AFP via Getty Images).
As a professional photographer, I’ve seen a lot of stunning photographs – but there’s one image in particular that stopped me in my tracks this week: a “fire-breathing dragon of clouds.”
What keeps drawing me back to Maximilien Lamy’s photograph taken along the shore of France’s Lake Lacanau isn’t just the dramatic cloud rising off the Gironde wildfire, but the beachgoers calmly sitting in the sand, relaxing under an umbrella.
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