I am fascinated by the power of volcanic eruptions, and capturing them in a photograph is a dream come true. That’s why I frequently hike around volcanoes in Guatemala. In fact, my fascination with volcanic eruptions inspired me to start running photography workshops and private tours to see them. I want more people to experience the Earth in all its fierce glory, and helping them to capture that perfect shot motivates me to do my best. I want them to return home with incredible photos and memories from a real adventure.
“In this shot, my goal was to capture the aftermath of a volcanic explosion, with the cone of the volcano covered in the molten rocks that have just come out of the crater. To avoid a trial on the rocks rolling down the mountain, I wanted to freeze them in the photo so I used a short exposure of three seconds.
It’s always a challenge to stay awake throughout the night while being exposed to the elements. For this capture, I was shooting from another volcano at a distance of 2km away from the Volcan de Fuego – the most active volcano in Latin America. The altitude and the cold weather are always a challenge, but the excitement of seeing the volcano erupting in the distance is a great reason to get out of the cabin.
I didn’t have to do too much editing to this image in post-processing. I only added some contrast, increased the colors slightly, and decreased the highlights close to the crater.
Tech details
Camera: Nikon Z 6
Lens: Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S
Aperture: f/3.2
Shutter speed: 3 sec
ISO: 800
