jadewolf
Well-known member
- Post score: 38
- #1
Mauna Loa, the largest volcano on earth, is erupting for the first time in 38 years. I've been waiting my whole life for this volcano to strut her stuff, to be honest. I grew up fascinated with Hawaii's volcanoes and that love never left me. So after two days of indecision, where I hemmed and hawed about the money, I finally just decided to just drop everything, pull out the credit cards, and fly out to see it for myself.
And here's a few of the photos...
The eruption at sunset on Dec 1st. I shot this photo from a ways up the slopes of neighboring Mauna Kea. You could see the whole flow from here, from the gas plume rising at Fissure 3 all the way down to the leading edge of the flow, about 2-3 miles from Saddle Road. Near to Fissure 3, the slope of Mauna Loa is steep and the lava flows in fast moving channels, glowing red hot. As it reaches the flatter, gentler slopes near the saddle, it begins to slow. A dark crust of cooler lava forms over the top. At the leading edge, it begins to pile up and spread out. Most of the top of the flow is cool and black, but along the edges you can see the red glow as fresh lava breaks out and creeps ever closer to the road.
In the evening, heavy clouds and fog would often roll in and block all but a diffused bright red glow behind them. Times like this, I hurried back to my airbnb to catch a few hours of sleep. Then I got back up at around 3am and drove back out. The tradewinds at night would sweep most of the fog away and leave absolutely stunning conditions like this. I took this shot around 4am or so, again from up the slopes of Mauna Kea.
From nearly all across the island, even far from the eruption, you could see the red glow in the sky. It was surreal to see it glowing on the horizon, a strong reminder of the powerful forces simmering beneath your feet.
And after a couple days of shooting from ground level, I decided to do something I'd never done before and book a helicopter tour to fly over. It was a bit touch and go, as my first attempt got scrubbed due to bad weather on the summit. But I was fortunate to be able to reschedule for early the next morning. The downside, however, was that unlike my initial booking, the reschedule was doors-on instead of doors-off. Obviously that was less than ideal for photography, but as it turned out I ended up getting to sit in the copilot seat up front. And the pilot was wonderful. He let me open the small window up front and shoot through that. He also worked with me, keeping an eye on my screen and helping keep me lined up for the best shots. Absolutely superb pilot, very well versed in working with photographers. I tipped him very well, needless to say.
And these were (some of) the end results...
And so many more, but alas I am constrained by the five image limit.
For a sense of scale, the lava fountains from Fissure 3 on Sunday were reaching sustained heights of about 140' and bursts (like the one you see in the second shot) of 230' or more. The splatter cone building around the fissure is about 150' tall. The lava flows themselves run for about 9 miles down the slope and we regularly saw boulders the size of pickup trucks floating along down the faster moving channels, where lava is more fluid and red hot.
For me, it was my first experience even flying in a helicopter, much less shooting from one. I opted for my 70-200mm f/2.8 on my Z9 with a 1.4TC. I really wished I'd brought a short zoom, but I wasn't anticipating this particular scenario when I hastily packed a stripped down kit for the trip. So, I put my 20mm f/1.8 on my D850 as backup. Turned out that was a bit TOO wide and would almost invariably catch the rotors in the shot, so I opted to just work with the 70-200 primarily. I had considered taking the 500mm, but I was concerned about it actually being too long and would lack the flexibility of a zoom. In retrospect, lacking a short zoom, I probably would have ditched the 20mm and taken the 500mm for some real close shots of the fountains. But honestly, the 70-200mm did just fine. And the Z9 left me plenty of wiggle room to crop in a little bit in post to really emphasize it. So I think it worked out pretty well.
I already had an upcoming trip booked for March of next year, to get more endemic bird photos, but if the eruption is still going on then (an uncertain thing, as Mauna Loa's eruptions can be highly variable in duration), I think I'll definitely book another trip out with that helicopter tour company to do this again.
I gotta say. This was easily one of the most impulsive things I've ever done, but just as easily was one of best experiences I've had in my entire life. Fulfilled lifelong dreams of seeing an eruption like this up close. I would do it again in a heartbeat. No regrets.
And here's a few of the photos...
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
The eruption at sunset on Dec 1st. I shot this photo from a ways up the slopes of neighboring Mauna Kea. You could see the whole flow from here, from the gas plume rising at Fissure 3 all the way down to the leading edge of the flow, about 2-3 miles from Saddle Road. Near to Fissure 3, the slope of Mauna Loa is steep and the lava flows in fast moving channels, glowing red hot. As it reaches the flatter, gentler slopes near the saddle, it begins to slow. A dark crust of cooler lava forms over the top. At the leading edge, it begins to pile up and spread out. Most of the top of the flow is cool and black, but along the edges you can see the red glow as fresh lava breaks out and creeps ever closer to the road.
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
In the evening, heavy clouds and fog would often roll in and block all but a diffused bright red glow behind them. Times like this, I hurried back to my airbnb to catch a few hours of sleep. Then I got back up at around 3am and drove back out. The tradewinds at night would sweep most of the fog away and leave absolutely stunning conditions like this. I took this shot around 4am or so, again from up the slopes of Mauna Kea.
From nearly all across the island, even far from the eruption, you could see the red glow in the sky. It was surreal to see it glowing on the horizon, a strong reminder of the powerful forces simmering beneath your feet.
And after a couple days of shooting from ground level, I decided to do something I'd never done before and book a helicopter tour to fly over. It was a bit touch and go, as my first attempt got scrubbed due to bad weather on the summit. But I was fortunate to be able to reschedule for early the next morning. The downside, however, was that unlike my initial booking, the reschedule was doors-on instead of doors-off. Obviously that was less than ideal for photography, but as it turned out I ended up getting to sit in the copilot seat up front. And the pilot was wonderful. He let me open the small window up front and shoot through that. He also worked with me, keeping an eye on my screen and helping keep me lined up for the best shots. Absolutely superb pilot, very well versed in working with photographers. I tipped him very well, needless to say.
And these were (some of) the end results...
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
And so many more, but alas I am constrained by the five image limit.
For a sense of scale, the lava fountains from Fissure 3 on Sunday were reaching sustained heights of about 140' and bursts (like the one you see in the second shot) of 230' or more. The splatter cone building around the fissure is about 150' tall. The lava flows themselves run for about 9 miles down the slope and we regularly saw boulders the size of pickup trucks floating along down the faster moving channels, where lava is more fluid and red hot.
For me, it was my first experience even flying in a helicopter, much less shooting from one. I opted for my 70-200mm f/2.8 on my Z9 with a 1.4TC. I really wished I'd brought a short zoom, but I wasn't anticipating this particular scenario when I hastily packed a stripped down kit for the trip. So, I put my 20mm f/1.8 on my D850 as backup. Turned out that was a bit TOO wide and would almost invariably catch the rotors in the shot, so I opted to just work with the 70-200 primarily. I had considered taking the 500mm, but I was concerned about it actually being too long and would lack the flexibility of a zoom. In retrospect, lacking a short zoom, I probably would have ditched the 20mm and taken the 500mm for some real close shots of the fountains. But honestly, the 70-200mm did just fine. And the Z9 left me plenty of wiggle room to crop in a little bit in post to really emphasize it. So I think it worked out pretty well.
I already had an upcoming trip booked for March of next year, to get more endemic bird photos, but if the eruption is still going on then (an uncertain thing, as Mauna Loa's eruptions can be highly variable in duration), I think I'll definitely book another trip out with that helicopter tour company to do this again.
I gotta say. This was easily one of the most impulsive things I've ever done, but just as easily was one of best experiences I've had in my entire life. Fulfilled lifelong dreams of seeing an eruption like this up close. I would do it again in a heartbeat. No regrets.
