Pele's Passion

Gallery: LandscapePosted June 4, 2013465 views22 comments

From my recent trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. Halema'uma'u Crater is an active vent of Kīlauea, one of the volcanoes on Hawaii. This is the view from Jaggar Museum, which is the closest and best view you can get(as far as I know). The road and trails going around, and closer to the vent are closed because of high amounts of fumes that have started to come out in the past several years. Seeing this at night is amazing. During the day, it just looks like some steam coming out of a hole in the ground, but once the sun goes down, a different story gets told. Low clouds passed over the crater in the night sky, and as you can see, created an amazing light show. Was quite a sight to see. Headed up just before sunset to witness the entire transition from day to night. It's beautiful!

3 exposures. One for the foreground shot just after sunset, and then one for the sky/crater glow about an hour later. ISO 2500, 30 seconds, f4. An additional exposure to bring back some detail in the crater flame/glow which was pretty blown out in the 30 second exposure.

C&C is welcome!

Comments

22 comments

Comment posted by Jeremy Kessler on June 4, 2013 at 1:40 AM

Stunning! Might be my favorite image of the Hawaii volcanoes I've seen yet. Congrats!

Registered on September 13, 2007, 36 Posts, 1283 Comments

Comment posted by Iain McGill on June 4, 2013 at 2:29 AM

That's simply amazing!
congrats

Registered on April 8, 2013, 11 Posts, 24 Comments

Comment posted by Roel Wijtmans on June 4, 2013 at 2:30 AM

Usually orange clouds and stars are a bad sign, because of the light pollution that causes it. But this time the light source is natural and it results in an extraordinary picture! And the blending is done perfectly, because it looks nothing like a blend to me. Nice!

Registered on September 30, 2012, 116 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Tom Kualii on June 4, 2013 at 2:57 AM

Howzit Ted. Nice Shot.

Registered on November 24, 2010, 53 Posts, 139 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Cameron on June 4, 2013 at 4:11 AM

What Roel

says it looks very natural I like this a lot.

Registered on August 6, 2004, 1125 Posts, 3318 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Greenwood on June 4, 2013 at 6:04 AM

Very beautiful, and very well executed to capture the visual impact of the scene. I was at HVNP about 11 years ago. Kilauea was not as active then, so I witnessed nothing as spectacular as this. I felt very fortunate at the time to have seen some lava flowing into the ocean at night.

Registered on November 9, 2003, 229 Posts, 1523 Comments

Comment posted by Joe James on June 4, 2013 at 8:09 AM

Stunning, amazing and thanks so much for sharing how you put this together! This is my favorite image of Halema'uma'u Crater by far. I spent three nights and three mornings there this past Christmas and didn't come close to getting one this nice.

Registered on November 20, 2009, 89 Posts, 808 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Coskun on June 4, 2013 at 8:26 AM

This is great Ted. The colors reflected from the lava looks amazing and the stars behind it all make it much better. One of the most unique I've seen from here.

Registered on October 31, 2011, 170 Posts, 1240 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on June 4, 2013 at 8:32 AM

Very beautiful and dramatic.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on June 4, 2013 at 11:22 AM

Captivating. Volcanic glow and cold crisp stars...excellent!

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Ted Gore on June 4, 2013 at 11:30 AM

Thanks everyone! Glad you like it! It was a pretty difficult photo to process. I had originally wanted to get a shot of the crater with the milky way blazing above, but when I came back later that night when it was up in the sky, it was raining. But, I'm quite happy with how this turned out. I'm so glad to hear people say this is their favorite image of this place!

Mahalo Tom! Sorry I didn't get to meet you when I was out! Next time! (which there most definitely will be

)

Registered on April 25, 2013, 36 Posts, 149 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Fricke on June 4, 2013 at 11:40 AM

Stunning image Ted. I like the motion in the cloud and the steam created by the long exposure and that you left plenty of room for the stars in the background. A nicely conceived and executed image.

Registered on January 19, 2007, 133 Posts, 1448 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on June 4, 2013 at 1:27 PM

Amazing photograph Ted. Looks like a prehistoric landscape or alien world.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on June 4, 2013 at 1:57 PM

Amazing. Processing looks spot on

Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments

Comment posted by Michel Lamontagne on June 4, 2013 at 3:45 PM

Now this is wicked. Well done Ted!

Registered on April 30, 2009, 9 Posts, 53 Comments

Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on June 4, 2013 at 7:08 PM

This is unbelievable!! A real stunner. The most unique photo I've seen of our living planet. Congratulations!
I took notice of the hole in the clouds, where the steam plume is headed and the stars shine through. I think a pano crop would highlight that and make another must-have, best seller for you.

Registered on August 16, 2006, 603 Posts, 9192 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on June 4, 2013 at 7:32 PM

I love this! Wonderful work on this, Ted!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on June 4, 2013 at 8:30 PM

Just a great image. There is nothing to nit about in this pic. Great conditions and color.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Dawson on June 5, 2013 at 12:14 AM

One word, Fantastic!

Registered on February 4, 2006, 364 Posts, 8872 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on June 5, 2013 at 3:39 PM

Great shot from a phenomenal location!

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on June 5, 2013 at 9:22 PM

Erie image, the cloud and vent are just fantastic. The starry sky is a nice touch but the light just makes it.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on June 7, 2013 at 12:51 AM

Ted,

Phenomenal. Terrific job on the capture and execution. Hard to be critical here, this is just awesome.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments