ESS - 1st Place Winner

Welcome, nice comp and subject and I really like the black silhouette. The colors in the fire look perfect. To me the sky is too heavy on the blues.

Wow! This is spectacular! Welcome to NPN, Bruce, and what an opening. I've always wanted to see something like this, thanks for sharing! Unfortunately I can't really think of any suggestions to offer on this one, except perhaps wonder if a little detail could be brought out of the blackest of blacks - just enough to let me know that there's something there.

Beautiful motion captured here Bruce. I love that explosion. My only small nit is that the top most trails are cut off a bit.

Sweet shot! I'd like to see the tops of the trails. I might try to move the brightest spot to lower in the frame. Makes me wish I was living on a volcano!

Welcome Bruce, Great first post. The colours are fantastic. You sure have filled the frame with explosion. I might like too see just a touch of detail in the blacks though. Cheers

Welcome to NPN Bruce. This image is a wonderful start. Great composition, thanks for sharing this beauty.

This is just gorgeous... I like all of the colors, the splatter, the long exposure... excellent first post.

Hi Bruce!
Cheers from Argentina.
The photo is spectacular, 16-35 ? Man how close were you to the "danger" ? When I saw the shot I thought "600mm maybe 800" I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw 16-35.
I love Kilauea!

Oh! this is beautiful! Welcome to NPN. What a great first post. Wish some of the sparks had not gone higher that the top edge of the frame, but surely that's hard to plan for.

Spectacular!

Well, Bruce, I don't know how you're going to get any feedback on this one besides 'WOW! Look at that! AMAZING!!!!!' Better luck posting something in need of critique next time.

Bruce,

Welcome to NPN and the ES&S Gallery! So did Justin recruit all the photographers from Hawaii! We'll we're sure glad you found your way here. We're glad to have you here.

And what an introduction! This is phenomenal! I thought it was fireworks from the thumbnail and I thought I would have to move this to the Man & Nature Gallery....

Not only is this a fantastic nature story, it's just a flat out gorgeous image. Great colors. Not sure if there's anything to suggest that could improve this.

We look forward to more images and your participation!

Lon

A beautiful and dynamic scene. I think my favorite part is actually the small bits of lava pooling on the ground at the end of each stream. Very cool. I see what Todd means about the blues, but the vivid colors really boost the image, so I'd be fine considering this a lovely piece of "art" in that case.

Max

Stunning!

you've started with a bang! Great stuff!

Great first post! And welcome to NPN.

You nailed the perfect shutter speed here to show just the right amount of movement in the lava. My favorite part of this image is the spots where the lava is impacting the ground. The only thing I don't like is the big blotch of negative black space in the LLC, but I'm guessing you couldn't get any closer. Don't wanna end up being a permanent part of the volcano, right?

I will join the choirs of others. this is a terrific image and welcome to NPN. I stood on the edge of Kilauea a few years ago. While we were there I really wanted to get a chance at something like this, but a lass the lady was asleep, no action.

Just a great moment captured. Wonderful color and the lines of the spewing lava are as good as fireworks, which I guess they are in a reality. Aloha.

Welcome to NPN, bruce!
This is a very powerful first image here. Those colors are amazing. Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

Stunning, nothing but praise for this image!!

Hi Bruce!
Welcome to NPN. I'm a huge hawaii fan, much of my own personal work is from your beautiful state.
What an amazing picture. The streams of fiery light and the pockets of collected residue below is intriguing. The contrasting blue sky above makes for a very inviting color palette yet a very dangerous place to be close!
I look forward seeing to more of your images!

Welcome to NPN, Bruce. It's been fascinating to see all these wonderful images of lava, and it's great that you decided to join. The glowing arcs of lava here are really nice, and it reminds me of a natural 4th of July. It looks as if you must have been fairly close to this scene, unless my sense of scale is totally off.

Super shot! This has a very 3D look to it. Though the trails at the top don't bother me too much, it would be very easy to clone them out if you felt the need.

Wow...maybe one of the coolest pictures I've ever seen. So dramatic! Welcome to NPN!

Fantastic image, and subject! I love it, and only have one very small nit. The light trails exiting the top edge of the frame, I wish were left with just a little room. very minor though.

Chris

Way to knock it out the park on your first post Bruce! So glad you're posting! You already I know I LOVE this shot.

This image printed large in your gallery is STUNNING!

Awesome!!! I just would like to see some of the top trails not cut off but that's a minor nit.

Welcome, Bruce! This is CRAZY good I really like how this is glowing. Wonderful image and I can't wait to see more!

Wow!! Thank you for the very warm reception, and for the very kind words as well!! Coming from a group of such talented photographers, it means a lot! The work I see here is just outstanding, and I'm humbled to have the privilege to post amongst all of you!

And, for those who asked, yes, I was VERY close to the action. The glob of lava near the bottom of the frame was basketball sized and landed just a few feet from my tripod. I actually took off running when I saw all that airborne lava headed my way, prayed that my camera wouldn't get hit, and this shot was the result!

Aloha,
Bruce

Oh, good grief. This may be the best "first post" ever. Stunning! How, may I ask, do you get close enough to shoot this with a 16-35 lens

its all been said. spectacular image. all I can do is

Holy Moly!!!

You want critique on THIS??!!!! Yeah... Good luck finding something to improve here! Can't wait to get out there and join you! Hope that flow is headed back towards the water!

Fantastic

Aloha, Bruce! This is amazing. WOW is all I can think of. Hope to make it out there sometime in 2011....maybe we can meet up.

Spectacular image as posted. In a perfect world, yes, I would like to see just a bit of detail in the fg, and I would tone down the blue in the sky - wouldn't even mention it if it weren't a critique forum! And yes, I'd love to know how close you were with a 16-35 - is this cropped much?? Anyways - wow!

Welcome to NPN, nice to share your art works here

this is very spectacular image, i really like it

Hamed

Welcome Bruce to NPN
first post with unique subject from different environment

Perfect technique you have applied here

Great work Buddy

This is simply stunning, Bruce. Not only a fascinating phenomenon but your ability to compose it so well is impressive. Welcome to NPN!

Guy

Welcome to NPN Bruce. This is an amazing first post and I can't wait to see more of your work. Great use of the long exposure and I really like the colors in the sky. I can't believe you got in this close with the 16-35!!! sounds like a terrifying experience.

Basketball sized? WOW! I had no idea the size/scale of what we are looking at here, Bruce. This is just totally amazing. Hawaii is the only state I've never been to. Your imagery from this unique place may just convince me to make the trip. What a stunning area to witness and be part of regularly. I'll have to bring three or four cameras to set up in case I loose a couple to flying lava. If you don't mind me asking, are eruptions like this really all that frequent?

Very cool photo Bruce. I love the color contrasts they work very well together. The parabolic arcs of lava are incredibly fascinating. Really well done.

Aloha Bruce! welcome to NPN! This is mind-blowing, and I hope one day I will have the chance to get up close to lava like this. I can't get over how close you were dodging those basket balls. Look forward to Ewing more of your work here. Cheers.

Aloha Bruce! This shot is beautiful. Amazed it was shot with the 16-35 (that close?)! Anyways, I suppose I'll meet you soon. I too wish the lines were not cut off on the top, but its smooth longer exposure and surreal moody feel make this sing!

Hi all! Just got back from an off island assignment, so haven't been able to keep track of the posts here. Surprised to see even more posted than what I last saw! Once again, thanks to everyone for the very warm welcome!! Big mahalo to Justin Reznick for turning me on to this site!! You all have made me feel at home and amongst friends already, but I guess may be due to the fact that I haven't received a harsh critique yet!

Thanks for the feedback. For the record, there were 7 of you that mentioned the arcs moving through the top of the frame, 4 that wished to see details in the blacks, and 3 who thought the blues were a bit much. I'll try working on those suggestions and see if I can improve the final product. I'm a novice at post processing, so I'll be looking to all of you for help.

Tony, as for how is it possible to get close enough to shoot with a 16mm? Well, toss every bit of common sense out the window! It was, actually, very risky to get that close, as there's no telling what will happen out there. The explosions that morning were quite a bit smaller, so I setup a bit closer than what was comfortable (safe), hoping to get a different look. Well, this one caught me by surprise, to say the least! These fragments of lava, or ejecta, are very dense and nearly solid, so they are like rocks or boulders flying through the air, and getting hit by one of these could easily be fatal. I'm back to shooting explosions using a telephoto!!!

Marc, as for whether these eruptions are frequent, technically, this one has been ongoing for almost 30 years. Episodes such as this littoral explosion though, are not that common. We've had some rare extended periods of explosive activity, but haven't seen those in awhile. Yes, do visit!! And, losing a body to the flow would be the ultimate sacrifice for a photographer! Let’s hope that does not happen!!

Mark, I look forward to meeting you soon! Ready for a walk on the wild side? It’ll be a blast!!!

Miles, the flow is slowly making its way down the hillside, and should be near the coast in a couple weeks, as long as the volume is consistent and doesn’t stop. Keep your fingers crossed!

Geez! Your first post and already a weekly pic!

Congrats, Bruce! Well deserved.

Incredible first post - and an EP with it too!
Way to go!
Hope to get there this year and will be asking for some thoughts later on, if you don't mind..
Sandy

Your first post gets an Editor's Pick! Holy cow! And I can see why. Many congrats, and welcome aboard!

This is really great. You could sell a million of these in the Volcanoes National Park gift shop. If there is one. I'll try not to drone on too long, but I do have a lot of thoughts about this photograph. Just from the thumbnail it was obvious that it is a high impact image. I think a lot of what makes this so strong is the contrasts. Colors - the blue sky nicely contrasts with the warm colors. Motion & lack of - the strong sense of earth as shown by the dark silhouettes of the ground are a wonderful contrast with the motion showed in the arcs of the lava pieces. Near/Far - The smoke and haze at ground level gives aerial perspective to the scene. Also, there is something very arresting about seeing parabolic trajectories. We all know this is the way stuff goes up and comes down, but rarely to we see it, let alone see it in a beautiful image. The only thing I'd be tempted to change is the relatively intense track of light that goes right out of the top of the frame. The smaller ones are ok, good in fact, but the one that shoots up to the right just off center is every so slightly distracting to a photographer. Normal people would probably never notice it.

Pete D.

Wow, that's awesome, Congrats!

Hi Bruce You are a very good and brave photographer . I was going to mention a telephoto for your next captures. glad you did Considering the dangerous environment. you really deserve the E.P. for this awesome well composed shot
Albert Darmo. Canada

Congrats on the 2010 ESS 1st place award!
Beautiful image!
Sandy

Wow, good thing you won the year's pick Bruce cause otherwise i might have missed this! As i was just saying in another volcano shot critique, the best photos are not the ones that capture dramatic moments--but are the ones that make you feel the drama. You did an outstanding job here accomplishing that with the comp/colors etc (although i would have liked a bit more on top--always room to improve ) Congrats, look forward to more from you this year!

Fabulous image and congrats on the 2010 EP! That's a huge field to compete with, so it means a lot.

Bruce! Quite an achievement, this photograph! And for a first post to NPN at that-- well worthy of the ESS 1st Place EPA. Hearty congratulations!

Stunning work, congratulations!

Beautiful shot Bruce! Perfect shutter speed here and great comp...hope to see more soon.

I thought I posted on this a long time ago. Well deserving of the ESS photo of the year. This is the type of shot I've dreamed about capturing since I was a kid. I was lucky enough to witness Kilauea erupting when I was a kid living on the Big Island, it left an image burned in my brain. This brings it right back.

I have no idea how you could improve on that. Holy shitI!!