Five days on the edge - Photographing red hot lava on the Hawaiian Big Island If you are a volcano junkie and hungry for red hot glowing lava than you will one day end up on Hawaii. And being on the Big Island November 2008 it became quite obvious that Madame Pelé, the Hawaiian Volcano Goddess, was in an extremely good mood. So I was in for a real treat. On Kilauea mountain glowing lava ran down the flanks and high on the mountain lava was glowing inside the Halema`Uma`U crater. But in the end it is the lava that flows in the Pacific ocean that really is spectacular. It is quite an adventure to photograph lava for five days on the edge of a dangerously unstable lava field, right on Madam Pelé's doorstep. Especially if in the back of your mind you know lava is flowing through tunnels just below your feet, explosions make chunks of lava fly and the air is filled with a mix of toxic volcanic gasses and sharp lava needles called Pele's Hair. And oh, I also missed a massive bench collapse by just a few hours. These five days on the edge The Goddess showed of her best side with lava fountains, explosions, steam plumes, bombes, red hot lava streams, and even small water spouts. I survived and I had my shots. Hawaii Big Island really is volcano lovers heaven.   Kilauea lava meets Pacific ocean Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   End of Chain of Craters Road Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Ash and steam Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008 Lava Explosion Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Lava finger Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Glowing lava spatter Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008 Self portrait with backup camera Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Lava Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Coastal lava fountain Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008 Lava fountain Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Lava dripping in sea Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Lava finger Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008 Volcanic Fog (VOG) and sunset Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Lava, steam and sea Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Glowing hole in the Halema`Uma`U crater bottom Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008 Lava flows through forrest to sea Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Lava fingers Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Steam cloud Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008 On the edge (photo credit: Leigh Hilbert) Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Lava fountain Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Tourists viewing Kilauea Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008 Lava dripping Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Lava missiles Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Temporary floating pieces lava Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008 Lava fountain Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Lava finger Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Lava breaks through newly formed crust Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008 lava! Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Lava fireworks Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Tephra jet Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008 Photographer leigh Hilbert Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Dubbel play Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Lava explosion Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008 Flow Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Tephra jet Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   From a distance Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008 Solid tephra jet with pieces of lava and ash Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   lava shoots up Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Orange steam cloud and lava fountains Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008 Lava Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Creation of land Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Lava hand Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008 Battle between fire and water Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Tephra jet Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Purple steam cloud Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008 Halema`Uma`U steam plume Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Lava fountain Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   liquid lava shoots up Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008 Lava fountain Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Halema`Uma`U crater in the Kilauea caldera Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Steam plume and lava at night Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008 Steam plume and water spout Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Glowing pit inside the Halema`Uma`U krater Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008   Hands full of lava fingers Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008 Glowing pit inside the Halema`Uma`U krater Hawaii, Big Island, USA, 2008