Three Devils
It's easy to imagine how ancient cultures viewed volcanoes as openings to the underworld when viewing these glowing tendrils of molten lava winding among earlier, slightly more hardened flows from vents near the Pu'u 'O'o eruption site in Kilauea National Park, Hawaii.
For almost as long as I can remember, I've wanted to see the lava flows of Kilauea's now 33-year long eruption, and I was ecstatic when I received an unexpected call from good friend and regular photographic road tripper Sky Matthews, saying that he had a two-day conference to attend in Hawaii and that, since his wife and kids unfortunately were unable to make the trip with him this time, there could be an opening for a quick photographic expedition.
A very kind invitation like that just can't be missed, so we set about researching what photographic opportunities we could hope to work into the short time we would have in Hawaii.
Much of the credit for this amazing volcano photography experience and all our cool abstract lava images goes to the great help given us by renowned Hawaii lava photographer Bruce Omori. I have to say that Bruce is one of the nicest people you'll ever come across, and he is truly an outstanding photographer. Bruce quickly advised us that the best, and presently only (the active area is closed to hikers right now for good reason), way to see what we wanted to see and maybe get some of the shots we imagined, would be to shoot from a helicopter from very low altitude.
Bruce often partners with the with exceptional professionals at Paradise Helicopters, and he put together this sunrise flight for us and was kind enough to fly with us that morning and give us some great tips, which we sorely needed since neither of us had ever shot from a helicopter before.
While I have to admit to being a little nervous for the first few minutes up there in the helicopter with the doors off, I have to say it absolutely was one of the coolest experiences ever! And I say coolest in a metaphorical sense, of course, because when the helicopter got very low, you could really feel the heat coming off the lava.
Many thanks again to Sky for including me on this trip, and please also make sure to check out Bruce's stunning work online or in the Extreme Exposure gallery which Bruce and Tom Kuali'i have in downtown Hilo. Bruce and Tom also offer excellent photography tours and workshops to visitors to their beautiful area, always giving their all to help visiting photographers like us have an unforgettable experience.
Thanks for visiting!
Three Devils
It's easy to imagine how ancient cultures viewed volcanoes as openings to the underworld when viewing these glowing tendrils of molten lava winding among earlier, slightly more hardened flows from vents near the Pu'u 'O'o eruption site in Kilauea National Park, Hawaii.
For almost as long as I can remember, I've wanted to see the lava flows of Kilauea's now 33-year long eruption, and I was ecstatic when I received an unexpected call from good friend and regular photographic road tripper Sky Matthews, saying that he had a two-day conference to attend in Hawaii and that, since his wife and kids unfortunately were unable to make the trip with him this time, there could be an opening for a quick photographic expedition.
A very kind invitation like that just can't be missed, so we set about researching what photographic opportunities we could hope to work into the short time we would have in Hawaii.
Much of the credit for this amazing volcano photography experience and all our cool abstract lava images goes to the great help given us by renowned Hawaii lava photographer Bruce Omori. I have to say that Bruce is one of the nicest people you'll ever come across, and he is truly an outstanding photographer. Bruce quickly advised us that the best, and presently only (the active area is closed to hikers right now for good reason), way to see what we wanted to see and maybe get some of the shots we imagined, would be to shoot from a helicopter from very low altitude.
Bruce often partners with the with exceptional professionals at Paradise Helicopters, and he put together this sunrise flight for us and was kind enough to fly with us that morning and give us some great tips, which we sorely needed since neither of us had ever shot from a helicopter before.
While I have to admit to being a little nervous for the first few minutes up there in the helicopter with the doors off, I have to say it absolutely was one of the coolest experiences ever! And I say coolest in a metaphorical sense, of course, because when the helicopter got very low, you could really feel the heat coming off the lava.
Many thanks again to Sky for including me on this trip, and please also make sure to check out Bruce's stunning work online or in the Extreme Exposure gallery which Bruce and Tom Kuali'i have in downtown Hilo. Bruce and Tom also offer excellent photography tours and workshops to visitors to their beautiful area, always giving their all to help visiting photographers like us have an unforgettable experience.
Thanks for visiting!