This year, a long cherished wish came true for me: to photograph a volcanic eruption in Iceland. I was able to photograph the Fagradalsfjall volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula for a whole week. Today, on December 19th, the eruption of this volcano has officially been declared as ‘over’. A good moment to look back on my trip to Iceland in 2021.
Anyone who knows me is aware of my great fondness for the North, with Iceland as the undisputed hors catégorie. With four long journeys I have already seen a lot of the country, in summer, autumn and in winter. Every trip I secretly hoped for a volcanic eruption; preferably a subtle approachable one. It didn’t happen. The volcanic eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 and Holuhraun in 2014 were too explosive and too unapproachable, respectively.
Fagradalsfjall, March 19
The anticipated volcanic eruption occurred on March 19, 2021 on the Reykjanes peninsula in southern Iceland. After many months of earthquakes, lava suddenly poured out of the Fagradalsfjall mountain (which loosely translates as ‘beautiful valley mountain’). Within a few hours the first images of the volcano came through already, thanks to the Instagram stories of Chris Burkard.
The opportunistic feeling that had taken hold of me at that moment soon gave way to reality. We were in the middle of preparations for our move to Rīga, Latvia. Lieske had already left a month earlier and me and Ala were staying in Rotterdam until mid April. I had nowhere to go.
What followed were days of frustration. My Instagram feed slowly filled up with the most amazing experiences and visuals of fellow photographers. It also turned out to be the perfect eruption: small-scale, easy to reach on foot and approachable to a few (dozens of) meters. Ugh. After a few weeks I slowly accepted that I probably had to let this eruption pass me by.
Rīga, April 28
Just a week and a half after our move to Rīga, there was already some peace in our household. Meanwhile, the Fagradalsfjall volcanic eruption in Iceland was still in full effect. It pulled me. Would it be possible? I dived into my computer and looked into the possibilities to travel to Iceland. Normally that would have been very simple, but due to all the COVID-19 measures it was a bit more complicated this time. Just a few hours later I had booked my ticket for May 1st. There I would then have to quarantine for five days between negative tests before I could travel to the volcano. Nothing ventured nothing gained. It would be the motto of the whole trip.
There I was at Rīga airport. Negative PCR test? Flight not cancelled? Volcano still active? Check! Everything in order, you would think, but new entry restrictions in Iceland made the trip exciting again. Due to the rising contamination figures in the Netherlands, Iceland had decided to immediately close its borders to travelers from the Netherlands. Luckily, I was flying from Rīga and not Amsterdam. Relieved, I sat down on the plane; at least this hurdle had been taken.
Keflavik, May 1
During our descent to the airport of Keflavik I could already catch a first glimpse of the volcano. That’s when I first noticed how small the eruption actually was.
Finally, as a traveler from Rīga, I passed through customs without any problems. After another PCR test, I got into a taxi to my hotel. The taxi driver told me that the volcano had been behaving strangely since yesterday. The continuous lava flow had suddenly stopped and after some inactivity, the volcano started to spew lava high into the air every five to ten minutes. No one knew what this meant, but it was by no means certain that the activity would continue for long.
It took a while before my room was ready at the hotel. There was a large television in the lobby showing the live stream of the volcanic eruption. The receptionist told me a similar story to the taxi driver. At the moment of another outburst she pointed enthusiastically to the television.
The quarantine itself was not a problem at all. The presence of the volcano’s live stream, however, caused continuous FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). Every morning I immediately turned on the television to see if the volcano was still active. Sometimes it took ten nerve-racking minutes before activity was seen again.
On the sixth day after arrival I needed to do a second negative PCR test to be released from quarantine. I filled the week with work, home-delivered meals and physical exercises. luckily I had a balcony overlooking the sea. From that balcony I could also see the ash cloud of the volcano rising above the nearby buildings.
On the sixth day, I was finally allowed to go to the test center, which was about five kilometers away. A taxi would have been an option, but after five full days of quarantine, a long walk was a lot more attractive. I could expect the result of the test “in the course of the afternoon”, so I already reserved a rental car at the airport. It would be ready for pick up until 6 pm at the latest. I filled most of the afternoon with twiddling my thumbs.
Fagradalsfjall, May 7
At 5pm, the redeeming answer finally came: my second test was negative. I hurried to the airport to pick up my car and drove – via a supermarket – straight to the parking lot for the hiking trail to the Fagradalsfjall volcano. Around 7pm I started the four-kilometer hike up there. What followed were the most special 12 hours of my life as a photographer.
The route up went over a well-worn hiking trail, only on a few steep parts did my walking sticks come in handy. Along the way, the roar of the volcanic eruption provided growing anticipation and anticipation. After more than half an hour I arrived at the site of the volcano; I would still be able to get much closer, but was already impressed by what I saw. I continued my route to the hill that provided the best view of the volcano crater. As the crow flies, the distance to the crater was only 200 meters.
Still deeply impressed, I started shooting the first images. The conditions were perfect: dry, but with dark, dramatic skies as I always prefer them. It could not have been better.
A volcano evokes the logical association with extreme heat and it is therefore logical to assume that it was also particularly warm here. On the contrary. The temperature fluctuated around freezing and the strong wind made it treacherously cold. Except during the explosive eruptions: at those moments I could always warm myself briefly from the radiant heat. Even at more than 200 meters away, the heat of the lava was as strong as that of a campfire that you stand just a little too close to. But as soon as the last lava had descended, the freezing cold would immediately take over again.
As the evening progressed it slowly got darker and I was also able to shoot nighttime images; something that – due to the longer days – would no longer be possible a week later. Now that I was here, I didn’t want to miss a moment and an opportunity. If the volcano would stop this evening I would at least have made the most of it.
It was now well past midnight. Earlier in the evening I was accompanied by hundreds of other spectators, but now there were only a handful of people left on the mountain. The volunteers of the Icelandic Search and Rescue Service (SAR) had already left around 11pm, as they do every day.
Among the people on the hill was a lady in a red dress trying to portray herself in front of the erupting volcano. Again and again she took off her warm coat and braved the freezing cold and vicious wind; looking for the perfect picture. It gave me the opportunity to create this mystical image.
The night then slowly turned into dawn again. I could see that a thin strip of clear sky was now emerging on the horizon. Using the PhotoPills app, I figured out where the sun would rise and whether I could combine that with the erupting volcano. It took some puzzling; I had to keep a hill in the background from blocking the sun. I manoeuvred myself on the difficult terrain to the right place and waited patiently. At 04:52 am I seized the opportunity to capture the sunrise and the volcanic eruption in one image. Just a few minutes later, during the next eruption, the sun already moved behind the clouds. I quickly realized that I had just created a unique image.
The realization that I already had all these images I wanted, gave me a lot of peace of mind. This really helped to shoot additional work that could provide a bit of depth to the whole series. In retrospect, those first alternative images formed the basis of the many complementary photos that I would take later that week.
Fagradalsfjall, May 15
I had deliberately booked a one-way ticket, to have complete freedom and to be able to wait for the weather conditions, for example. After visiting the volcano for a few days in a row, I decided to fly back on May 15th.
Originally I had planned to also do a bit of driving around the southern part of Iceland during the week. Eventually, I only drove around on the morning the route to the volcano was closed due to heavy ash rains. Every day I went up at least once and enjoyed the experience as if I was seeing it for the first time.
During that week I was still able to photograph the volcanic eruption in many different conditions (including rain and snow), fly the drone many times and even fry some marshmallows over flowing lava. It was the perfect week.
Only after returning did I realize how lucky I was. With lava fountains reaching 400 meters, this was the most spectacular phase of the eruption and the weather conditions had been near perfect for a week. Of course I would have liked to capture those first days and weeks, or the huge lava waves that could be seen some weeks later. But if I had to choose just one week, this would have been the one.
Fagradalsfjall, December 19
Today three months passed since volcanic activity was last observed at Fagradalsfjall volcano. The Icelandic Meteorological Office uses this term to declare an eruption “over”. For now it is unclear whether that is actually the case; the ground around Fagradalsfjall and nearby Keilir still shakes with great regularity. It is therefore possible that this volcanic eruption will have a sequel in the foreseeable future. Until then, rest in peace, Fagradalsfjall.
You can watch my definite selection of photographs of the Fagradalsfjall volcanic eruption in Iceland here..