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Volcano for the People: Stunning visuals from Iceland’s spectacular volcanic eruption

19 Apr

Following thousands of earthquakes beginning in February, the Fagradalsfjall volcano on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula erupted on March 19. Since then, the volcano has been erupting with new fissure vents opening, including a new one over this past weekend. Given the volcano’s accessible location, thousands of people have visited the site and seen the eruption for themselves. Photographer and wildlife conservationist Donal Boyd and director and filmmaker Frank Nieuwenhuis created a short human interest film, ‘Volcano for the People,’ about the incredible natural event and the experience of enjoying it with others.

Nature is often enjoyed in solitude or in small groups. However, the ongoing volcanic eruption in Iceland is attracting hundreds to thousands of people at a time. Enjoying nature has transformed from something enjoyed independently to something enjoyed as a collective experience. The video below touches on that shift and what it means to the people enjoying the spectacle. The video includes breathtaking visuals, including stunning drone shots.

Boyd and Nieuwenhuis also created a behind-the-scenes video, showing how they were able to make the short film above. The duo spent just under a week planning, shooting and editing their video. Isn’t it dangerous to visit an active volcano? The eruption event on the Reykjanes Peninsula is unique. As Iceland was hit with thousands of earthquakes, scientists could track the magma flowing underground until it finally broke through the surface. The eruption occurred in a valley, so there are many safe viewing areas surrounding it. So long as the wind is at your back, blowing away toxic gases from the eruption, it’s safe. The Icelandic Meteorological Office, Icelandic Search and Rescue, and on-site advisors have regularly updated safety protocols so that risks to visitors are minimized. It’s an ever-changing situation, of course, so what was safe during the making of Boyd and Niewenhuis’s video may no longer be safe.

Although the volcano site was accessible, the hike to and from the area was still 2-3 hours. This meant that Boyd and Nieuwenhuis wanted to keep their gear as light as possible, although it’s easier said than done. Since they wanted to record not only the eruption itself but also the people at the site, their bags were essentially packed to the brim. Interview sequences were shot on Sony A7R III, Sony A7R IV and Canon EOS R5 mirrorless cameras with a Sigma 24mm F1.4 Art lens. Distant shots of spectators were captured with a Sigma 135mm F1.8 Art lens or a Sony FE 135mm F1.8 G Master lens. Other lenses used during production included the Canon RF 50mm F1.2 and an older Canon 300mm F2.8 lens for extreme close-ups. Aerial shots were captured using a DJI Mavic Air 2. At times, the lava was so bright that Boyd needed to attach his strongest ND filter to the Mavic Air 2.

Alongside the pair of videos above for Adorama TV, Donal Boyd also wrote an article for Adorama about how to photograph an active volcano. The article includes some background about the volcano, tips on gear and, importantly, safety advice and where to get the latest viewing conditions. In addition to a lot of useful information, Boyd’s article also includes amazing images, so be sure to check it out.

If you’d like to see more from Boyd, follow him on Instagram. More of Niewenhuis’s work can be seen on Instagram and YouTube.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Behind the scenes: The story behind this volcanic eruption wedding photo

02 Feb

Photograph by Jack Kurtz/ZUMA Press

Photojournalist Jack Kurtz was in the Philippines covering the eruption of the Mayon volcano for ZUMA Press this past month, but the photo that’s gotten him the most attention wasn’t one of his press shots. Instead, it’s this serendipitous wedding photo that has spread across the Web like wildfire—a once- or twice-in-a-lifetime kind of photograph that captures the power of nature as a backdrop to the human experience.

The story behind this shot is simply about being in the right place, at the right time, with the right attitude.

Kurtz tells DPReview he arrived in the Philippines on Saturday, January 20th and proceeded to spend most of the week capturing photos for his agency—mostly “photographing people in evacuation centers and the volcano when it was erupting.” But after five intense days of photography, he needed a break, so he took Thursday as a “personal day.”

“I needed to run some errands and since the volcano was quiet it seemed a good day to do that,” says Kurtz. “I finished my errands about 4:30 in the afternoon and decided to go to a church a few kilometers away to try to make a sunset photo of the volcano erupting.”

The volcano had been quiet all day that Thursday, so it was a risk, but as Kurtz told us: “nothing ventured nothing gained, and off to the church I went.”

When he got to the church, there was no sign of an eruption and clouds were obscuring the cone, but he decided to wait and was rewarded for his patience. In his own words:

As it got later, the clouds drifted off and smoke started to puff its way out of the cone, signaling a likely eruption. All good signs. I set up my small table top tripod on a flat rock, made a couple of test pictures with my Pen F and iPhone controlling the camera with the Olympus OI Share app. Everything was working so I sat down and waited.

While I was sitting there, a couple who had just been married in the church came out to a restaurant next to the parking lot to make their wedding photos. Just as they got to the overlook, the volcano started its eruption. I grabbed my gear and ran over to the restaurant to photograph them.

Before I started photographing, I introduced myself to their wedding photographer and asked if I could make some pictures (I think it would have been rude of me to butt in on his job) and he said okay. I started photographing the couple. During a break, I talked to the couple. I told them who I was and asked if I could put the photos on the wire. They said it was fine. Then I went back to photographing.

A few minutes later, they finished up, everybody thanked everyone else, and Kurtz went back to his spot in the parking lot to set up the exposure that would yield the photograph below.

Photo by Jack Kurtz/ZUMA Press

Speaking with DPReview about the technical details behind the photographs, he says the wedding photo was made with his Olympus Pen F and 17mm F1.8 lens at ISO 400, F4, and 1/30. Color balance was set to daylight, and the photo was later edited in Lightroom 6 to straighten the horizon and adjust the color balance (“Because of the time of day and light, the skintones were a little warm, so I knocked the color temp down a little.”)

The eruption photo above was also shot on the Pen F, this time with a 25mm F1.8 lens at ISO 200, F4.5, and 85 seconds. The camera was set on a small tabletop tripod and controlled by the OI Share app on Kurtz’ iPhone. It, too, was edited in Lightroom 6.

A big thank you to Mr. Kurtz for sharing his photographs and the story/technical details behind them with us at DPReview. To see more of his work, be sure to visit his website or give him a follow on Instagram.

Photography by Jack Kurtz/ZUMA Press, used with permission.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Never before seen photos of Mount St. Helens eruption found in thrift shop camera

27 Jun

Photographer Kati Dimoff found this camera at a Goodwill in Portland, OR. The undeveloped roll of film inside contained never-before-seen photos of the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980.

Photographer Kati Dimoff has developed a curious habit. Whenever she enters a thrift shop, she makes a B-line for the used camera section and checks each and every 35mm camera for exposed but undeveloped rolls of film. Recently, this habit yielded an incredible discovery.

On May 26th, Dimoff found herself in southeast Portland, OR. And as is her habit, she stopped by the Goodwill on Grand Ave to have a look at their film cameras. This time, she struck pay dirt.

“I found an Argus C2—which would have been produced around 1938—and it had a damaged roll of kodachrome slide film in it,” she tells DPReview over email. Naturally, she bought it and took it to the folks at Blue Moon Camera and Machine in the St. Johns neighborhood to have it developed.

When I picked up the prints on Monday, June 12th, there was a note on the package that said ‘Is this from the Mount St. Helens eruption?’

Kati tells us Blue Moon Camera is one of the last, best places to get old, expired, and out-of-production film processed, and though they couldn’t breathe color back into the iconic Kodachrome film—the developing chemicals were discontinued years ago—they were able to develop the roll in black and white. What awaited her when she picked up the prints was a short note.

“Blue Moon developed it for me,” she tells us, “and when I picked up the prints on Monday, June 12th, there was a note on the package that said, ‘Is this from the Mount St. Helens eruption?'”

It was. Three of the photos on the roll were taken on or around that fateful day in 1980 when Mount St. Helens erupted violently—considered by many to be the most disastrous volcanic eruption the United States has ever seen.

There were three photos in all. The first, which Dimoff says was likely taken from Highway 30, shows St. Helens in the distance with just a puff of ash coming out from the top. That photo may have been taken during the two months prior to the eruption, when the volcano was occasionally causing earthquakes and venting steam.

The other two photos are more striking. Captured from in front of John Gumm elementary school in St. Helens, Oregon, they show a massive ash cloud—mushroom-like and dramatic.

But this story doesn’t end with three never-before-seen photos of a historic event captured in 1980 and re-discovered in a thrift shop in 2017 (even though that would be enough for us). There was another photograph on the roll: a family portrait.

This photo actually helped Dimoff to identify the owner of the camera. Pictured are Mel Purvis, his wife Karen, his grandmother Faye, and his son Tristan. Mel saw the portrait in The Oregonian and reached out to the paper, who put him in touch with Dimoff.

Now, his grandma’s camera, negatives, and prints are on their way back to their rightful owner.

All photos courtesy of Kati Dimoff, and used with permission.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Old Faithful Night Eruption with Big Dipper, Yellowstone National Park

29 Aug

After departing Glacier National Park last week I made a one night stop in Yellowstone National Park. What do you photograph at night in Yellowstone? If you’re me, Old Faithful erupting at night with the Big Dipper in the background.

I was fortunate that the weather was clear on this particular night as it allowed for the moon to illuminate the scene evenly and it made it easy to capture the starry sky above. On the other hand my timing could have been better. I missed the 10:15pm eruption and had to wait approximately 80 minutes for the next one. For nearly 80 minutes it was just me and the Big Dipper passing time. While I was hoping to avoid a long wait, it was a relaxing evening none-the-less.

Old Faithful Night Eruption with Big Dipper – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Photo Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, f/4, 20 seconds at ISO 2500

Technorati Tags: photography, landscape, nature, Old Faithful, Wyoming, Yellowstone, National Park, stock photo, stock picture, Big Dipper, Ursa Major