Lava flows - Hawaii - Tricks ?

I am doing some plannig for a future trip to Big Island, and of

course I want to make photos of the volcano / lava flows. I am

shooting color slides only (provia 100F mostly). I suspect that the

best time for lava flows is late in the day or even try some night

time photos. What is the best films for such photos ? I was thinking

of Provia/sensia 400 ? Or will I have no other options than going

fora 1600 or 3200 negative film ? Any valuable tricks for these kinds

of photos will be appreciated !Thanks !

Ollivier - France

From what I have seen, you won't even see the flow during

daytime. The lava just looks grey then. You see the glow

at night, but then the rest is dark, so the best time would be

a very short window at dawn and dusk. I wouldn't be without

a tripod and fine-grained film. Last time I was there I was sick

and my equipment

failed, so I have not much to show, but I intend to be again at the

Chain of Craters road

from July 2 to July 5. In case any readers are around, we could

go together, as the trek can be long and a bit hazardeous. Tuan

<a href= "http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np.hawaii-

volcanoes.html">Hawaii volcanoes NP images</a>

Please remember a few other things when hunting for lava photos:

 

1) Lava (that has cooled and solidified) is very hard and abrasive. You'll be hiking over a lot of it to get to current lava flows. If you fall down on it, or drop camera gear on it, there will be painful damage. Wear good shoes, not sandals, and consider long pants.

 

2) When the lava hits the sea, the big steamy clouds that result also carry very fine particles of volcanic glass, which is picked up by the offshore winds and thrown good distances. Bare skin can get lots of fine, bleeding cuts that really won't hurt you too much. However, you might want to put a cheap filter over that expensive lens.

 

3) Because the lava is so hard and geologically new, even thousands of feet wandering over it the past 20 years haven't worn a recognizable path through it. Since you have a long hike to the hot lava at dusk (and a long hike back in the dark), I strongly advise you to pay for a local to guide you there and back, if you can find one. The US National Park Service, while it doesn't forbid you from going into the lava fields, advises against it, and says they won't come in to rescue you.

 

4) Carry lots of water, too. And a flashlight (or two) for every person.

 

5) Photographically, Provia 100F and 400F should be fine. Bring a tripod.

Having taken photos of lava flows in similar situations--in the Galapagos--let me urge you to be careful of metering. The problem in the Galapagos was to get good meter readings with a black background of lava and bright white seas, green vegetation, or birds and animals. I don't know whether Hawaii will expose you to such high contrasts, but lava is tricky.

 

You can take an incidence meter, a gray card, or figure out what is neutral gray and meter off of it, holding the readings for your composed shots.

 

Linc Wolverton

I would think some infra-red film would be worth taking.

From Hilo, drive south to Hwy 130 then follow 130 as far as it goes. (Lava flows cut this road off some years back.) You will encounter a series of flows over the road that are passable by auto. At the end of 130, you will find a booth with an employee of the County of Hawaii. For a fee, they will allow you access on foot across the lava flow marked with spray paint to the ocean's edge where lava flows into the sea.

 

If you are going to do this after dark, bring a good flashlight. The sun is quite intense except when it rains, which is frequent. Wear appropriate gear and hiking shoes. Bring drinking water.

 

Depending on a lot of factors, you will see orange lava flowing into the sea making huge clouds of steam. Because of the distance, bring a telephoto lens (200+) and tripod.

 

Caveat: We did this in December 2001. I don't know what the current conditions/access are.

 

(The photo is from a Nikon 950 Digital P&S at its max optical zoom.)<div></div>

See the previous post for directions to the best viewing spot. The best time to go is just before sunset. The viewing spot is just east of the flows, on a bit of coastline that runs east-west, so you can get great shots of red hot lava flowing into the sea, with the sunset in the background (would post pics but they're not scanned!). I would use the provia 100 and a good tripod. This will probably be enough, but if need be you could push it one stop as it gets darker. Remember that long exposures will blur the ocean waves, but also will capture more of the lava flow on film. For most purposes a 28-135mm lens will be about right (depending on whether you zoom in on the flow or do a wide angel shot to get the whole sky). Your biggest problems are going to be two-fold: First, the lava changes *every* day. One day you won't see any and the next it will be raging. It could easily not flow at all during your whole stay (there's a phone number to call that gives daily lava conditions reports). Second, depending on when you go, there could be throngs of tourists fighting for the best view behind the barricades they put up near the flows. This will make it difficult to setup a tripod in the best spots. By the way, assuming they are actually flowing, you most definately can see the flows during the day, but they show up better at sunset and just after dark. Hope this helps.

Sad to say, the county viewing site mentioned in the previous two posts was closed in January 2002 - due to lack of lava. In fact there has been no ocean entry at all since then. The lava is still flowing down the pali though, and you can approach from either side - the end of the road in the national park or the end of highway 130 in Kalapana. Here's a site with a daily update of the conditions, as well as frequently updated maps and photos:<p><a href= "http://wwwhvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/update/">http://wwwhvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/update/</a>

<p>But be aware, the viewing conditions change from hour to hour (especially during ocean entries) so a hike out to the lava is always a gamble!

 

The best time to shoot is either dusk or dawn. Obviously it's easier to compose at dusk because you can see what you're doing - but it's less likely to rain at dawn. If you do go at dusk it will be extremely hard to get yourself back out there for the following dawn (it's usually a long, strenuous hike and it's been a long drive to the nearest accomodation since the Kamoamoa campground got buried under lava).<p>

 

Twilight in the tropics seems to last for only moments so allow yourself plenty of time to get into position. Practice your twilight techniques before you go (you'll probably need multi-second exposures when the light is best). In fact, some of my best shots have been taken at night, just because I had so much more time to work. Take a heavy tripod (last time I was there the tradewinds were blowing 40-50mph!). A beanbag is even better in high winds, if you can find a good place to put it.<p>

 

I prefer Provia 100F for twilight shots. But it does give cool results; if you don't like that try E100SW instead (test at twilight at home to see which you prefer). Provia 400F/Sensia 400, Velvia and Kodachrome all suffer from reciprocity failure during multi-second exposures, causing an increase in contrast - better to stay with Provia 100F or the E100/Elitechrome 100 films.<p>Spot metering on lava is problematic... a fresh breakout is very bright but can fade by several stops in a matter of seconds! Also, frozen lava eats light. It can be almost as black as the flocking inside your lens hood. Better to meter for the sky, start shooting a bit early and keep shooting as darkness falls... let the glowing lava fall where it may, at some point the balance will be just right.<p>

 

Infrared film is a great idea, it would probably allow you to shoot molten lava in the daytime. In fact I wanted to try it last time I was there but I didn't have time. I don't know about exposure, I suspect glowing lava is EXTREMELY bright in the near infrared... if anyone tries this please post some results here!

<p>Karl Lehmann<a href= "http://www.lostworldarts.com/new_page_3.htm">Lost World Arts</a><div></div>

Man, I wish this question had been posted before I went to the <A HREF="http://www.photo.net/photo/161124">Big Island</A> a couple of years ago! This is excellent information. The only tip I can add is to ask one of the Rangers at Volcanoes NP for advice on where to go when you are there, since conditions can change from time to time. They told us the best locations to see the lava, but we did not have time to hike out there in the evening, the only time it is visible.

1) Don't fall in - I assume it would be painful

 

2) If your a bit short on cash, forget the trip to H, and buy some bicarb, vinegar and plaster instead.

 

:-)

As a resident of Oahu, I went along with a Punahou school (www.punahou.edu) photography group to the big island last year, October 2001. We drove in a few miles and then had to hike about another mile over abrasive hard rock, and yeah, I managed to earn myself a few cuts. We were able to see the lava hit the ocean, with the sulfur gas bursting into the air. We were strongly discouraged, but not prevennted from going past the Yellow cordoned off area to get a little closer to the ocean.

I just returned from 5 days in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and was lucky enough to have had a front row seat 6/27/05 for a decent lava fountain eminating from the "bench" at the East Lae'apuki ocean entry.

 

Not only was I lucky to have seen the lava fountain, but I was also lucky that the area was open to hikers. Only 4 days afterward, the Park Service closed off the area to visitors because the "bench" was seen as likely to break off and go into the ocean at any time.

 

So Rule #1 is that conditions can change fairly quickly.

 

For anyone planning a trip to HVNP, I recommend good hiking boots (to prevent twisted ankles), lots of water (2-3 liters per person) and a really good flashlight (since the hike back after dark will be at least 2.5 hours over rough terrain). Also pay close attention to wind direction since the steam plume generated when molten lava meets the sea is nasty stuff.

 

I had thought that nighttime exposures for molten lava would be consistent enough to develop a "Sunny 16" type of guideline, but I found nobody in the park who could offer such advice.