Technical Notes

Volcano photography is hard on camera equipment, and I have gone through a lot of it over the years. Basically, anytime I am wearing a respirator to keep the caustic fumes out of my lungs, my camera is being slowly destroyed.

I often shoot with two camera systems at one time. I don't want to miss a moment during film changes. During "magic hour", which is my favorite time to photograph the volcano, I usually use 30 second exposures.

For 35 mm, I use Nikon cameras with lenses ranging from 16 mm to 500 mm. In the medium format, I use the Pentax 67II, with lenses from 45 mm to 400 mm. Fujichrome is my film of choice. For digital capture, I utilize the Pentax *ist D. I use Gitzo tripods with the Arca Swiss ballheads.