Flowing Lava

We spent this morning hiking 3+ miles each way, across unstable, rough terrain to reach a couple of small lava flows that have sprung out above the chain of craters road on the Big Island.

We were very fortunate today. By the time we had gotten up the hillside, and found the lava flows, it was mid-morning (despite getting up at 4am, and starting the hike at 6am), and the light had turned harsh and unpleasant. Fortunatly, right when I was packing my gear up to leave, a couple flows broke out, and a series of clouds moved in, and I got a few minutes to photograph the breakouts.

Conditions didn't allow me to get any closer than about 25-30ft, but fortunatly, I decided to bring my 300 despite the extra weight. Ended up being the only lens I used all morning.

It was the toughest conditions I have ever photographed in. Lots of heat, high winds, and we were unfortunatly downwind so we were getting lots of the fumes. Also, the heat created so much mirage that it was very tough to focus, even with a manual focus lens. Between the mirage and the wind, roughly 2/3rds of my images ended up soft.

Nikon D-100,
Tokina 300 2.8
1/500th @ (i think) 5.6
ISO 200
tripod

Conor