Ash cloud from Eyjafjöll crater, seen from about 30km from Eyjafjallajökull (Police didn't allow to get closer on the 17th)
Video footage of Eyjafjöll ash cloud
MVI 4552 - 2010-04-17 from Peter Vancoillie on Vimeo.
Ash cloud of Eyjafjöll at sunset. The volcano had been quiet till this moment, just for sunset. Just before I started taking video a beautiful lightning bolt went down from the clear spell under the cloud, just to the right of the ash column. This was the furthest lightning bolt from the crater I've seen. Still unhappy with the fact I didn't capture it.
Also: notice the spall vortex cloud
Video footage of Eyjafjöll volcano at sunset
MVI 4626 - 2010-04-17 from Peter Vancoillie on Vimeo.
Close-up of the funnel cloud (vortex)
Short video footage with a close-up of the funnel cloud, casting a shadow on Eyjafjöll volcano ash cloud
MVI 4627 - 2010-04-17 from Peter Vancoillie on Vimeo.
Ash cloud after the sun set. Tension was rising with the approach of dusk on how much lightning we would see from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption ash cloud
Shortly before dark, the police moved away - we thought. Just like everyone else, we moved closer towards Eyjafjallajökull on the road from Hvolsvöllur to Þórsmörk (Thorsmörk). We could only get about 8km closer to the volcano, where we ran up against the police again. Luckily there was a good meadow right at the blockade with a great view towards it. Even though it was only 8km it was worth because we were still quite far to shoot at 200mm (with a fullframe camera). The unfortunate part was that the drive towards there and the set-up of the camera's was the best light for video: enough ambient light and just dark enough for lightning. By the time I could start doing video again it was too dark for ambient light. The video show the lightning bolts but you can't see the ash cloud. And a much highter ISO speed wasn't helpfull either: too much noise.
High ISO speed footage showing ash cloud of Eyjafjallajökull eruption with lightning bolts
2010-04-17 - MVI 4677 from Peter Vancoillie on Vimeo.
Video footage of Eyjafjöll ash cloud lightning at the eruption spot just above the crater. The ash cloud and volcano are invisible, but it shows how active the lightning was in real time. Later at night we saw even more active lightning shows, but I concentrated on shooting stills as I didn't have enough light to expose the ash cloud anyway.
2010-04-17 - MVI 4870 from Peter Vancoillie on Vimeo.
First lightning stills, with many more to come at different settings and exposures
A large lightning bolt coming out at the SW side of Eyjafjöll's ash cloud. A crop from it made it up front on National Geographic home page for 2 days
Close-up crop from the photo above
Going to National Geographic's home page on April 21st showed this :)
Detail from a photo where a lightning bolt comes out at the NE side of Eyjafjöll's ash cloud, casting shadows of one ash cloud on the other
Very similar lightning bolt following the previous one, lighting up the glacier at Eyjafjallajökull's north side
Multiple sparks and lightning bolts from Eyjafjölls ash cloud
An unfortunately unsharp photo with a short but bright lightning channel lighting up the ash cloud at the volcano crater mouth
One of my personal favorites: dozens of sparks and lightning bolts going in and out of Eyjafjallajökulls eruption ash cloud
A closer view of dozens of sparks and lightning bolts going in and out of Eyjafjallajökulls eruption ash cloud
Another magnificent bolt sparkling around the volcano crater mouth
A closer view of the magnificent bolt sparkling around the volcano crater mouth
Long exposure showing multiple lightning bolts at the Eyjafjallajökull volcano crater mouth
Closer view of the multiple lightning bolts at the Eyjafjallajökull volcano crater mouth
This photo was published exlusively in the May 2010 issue of the London Times' monthly scientific magazine Eureka
Relentless lightning sparks from Eyjafjölls volcanic ash cloud in this 300 seconds exposure
Overview of dozens of small lightning sparks at the crater mouth and an upward directed lightning channel from Eyjafjallajökull ash cloud
Closer view of dozens of small lightning sparks at the crater mouth and an upward directed lightning channel from Eyjafjallajökull ash cloud
Extreme crop of the upwards directed lightning channel from Eyjafjallajökull ash cloud
Extreme crop of the crater rim with excessive lightning from Eyjafjallajökull ash cloud
I took a few more shot of the Eyjafjöll eruption at 400mm (70-200mm 2.8 at 5.6 with Canons 2x extender) but even though the photos have a better resolution, the contrast and sharpness suffer dramatically. On top of that, I have to either double the exposure or the ISO speed, taking it from 800 to 1600, increasing noise to a level that even on a 5DMkII is too high.
Another shot (cropped) @ 400mm of Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption
Eventually the clouds that slowly pushed their way eastward took the view over the volcano away for the next few days. Unfortunately we had to stop taking pictures, and later on the volcanoes activity decreased dramatically, and no lightning showed up anymore.
