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Videographer
Mick Kalber shares his prespective on the shooting of
VolcanoScapes 1999. |
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“On
a trip to the ocean entry in early 1999 we are most fortunate… in
fact, we are blessed. As we
approach the ocean entry that night from about a mile away we see
wild explosions. My heart races… I’ve been trying
to capture this kind of activity at the ocean’s edge for over
fifteen years. I know this is my chance. The activity
continues as we scramble over the pahoehoe lava toward the water. Flashes
of red, yellow and orange light up the sky in front of us… the
hike takes about thirty minutes, but seems like hours.
Maybe
five minutes before we arrived, the explosions stop. I’m
devastated… damn! We’re too late again! We
missed it. I dejectedly set up the camera and started taping
the early morning sunrise over the glow
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of
the ocean entry. It’s
very pretty, but its beauty is somewhat lost on me… this is
not was I had bargained for.After
about ten minutes of calm… boom… boom!! a
deafening crack and a blinding flash of light! Boom, boom!!! Lava
shoots into the air in huge sheets, spraying volcanic debris everywhere! I’m
stunned! I roll immediately, but the light is so red hot it
takes me awhile to adjust my camera to the proper exposure. I’m
shooting at a time of day when the lens would normally be wide open
or very close to it. Instead, the light from this amazing eruption
was so bright that my aperture is almost completely closed!
The
ground shakes with the continual percussive explosions… the
sound is deafening… lava blasts one hundred-fifty feet in the
air… rocks the size of grapefruits frequently fall in front
and to the side of us… we are right at the edge of the fall
line… as close as we can be without being hit. I am confident
we are safe until I see the earth crack and start opening even closer
to us. I’m ready to run, but kept on shooting while I
watch what happens. The new crack explodes several times, but
eventually slowly closes down. |
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Wave
after wave of some of the most amazing formations I have ever seen
appear before my lens. The steam explosions throwing sheets
of lava into the air as they violently force their way out of the
lava tubes that fed the Pacific Ocean. I call them “shrouds,” because
they billow white hot, then quickly turn various shades of yellow,
orange, red, magenta and, finally became a black veil before disappearing
in the early morning light. I am so excited to have been capturing
this activity I have to stop myself from screaming. It is one
of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my life. Hollywood
could not create a better effect than this... this is the Goddess
Pele at her very best! A
few early morning visitors are on hand for the display… their
eyes as big as saucers. “Nothin’ like
that in Kansas!” I hear one of them exclaim.
No
doubt about that. The activity slowly dissipates as the sun
rises… Pele has given us another gift… a truly magnificent
volcanic display.
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Available in VHS only both
NTSC and PAL
order now
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VolcanoScapes
1999 on VHS |
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Tropical
Visions Video Inc.| 62 Halaulani Place | Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Contact by email | >
