Pele's Pond

Edition: 300 | Metal Print | Various Sizes

Metal Print is a dye sublimation process where the ink is infused into a special coating on the metal which produces a glossy and vibrant end result.

Pele’s Pond Pele, the Fire Goddess in Hawaiian mythology, is said to reside at Kilauea Volcano. At the summit of Kilauea sits Halemaumau Crater. The caldera is said to have been formed during an epic battle between Pele and her younger sister. From 1865-1924 a lake of molten lava was present in the crater, and it was the dominant visitor attraction on Hawaii Island. Except for brief eruptions in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the crater was quiet until 2008, when the Overlook Crater, at the bottom of Halemaumau Crater, filled with molten lava. This lava lake was hidden deep within the crater, and visible only by a webcam perched at the edge of the pit, until April, 2015, when the lava lake rose hundreds of feet and spilled over the edges of the Overlook Crater. The lava was visible from public areas at the summit for just over a week before sinking out of sight again. To obtain a sharp photo of the lava lake, the photographer hiked through a closed area at night to reach the edge of the caldera. The following day, part of the crater wall collapsed and fell into the lava lake, triggering an explosion that threw hot lava all over the area where the photographer had been standing a few hours earlier. In May, 2018, as lava drained from the volcano summit to feed new eruptions in the east rift zone, the lava lake began to drop precipitously, triggering numerous earth-shaking collapses and explosions. This photo was created by merging a single photo of the lava lake with five photos of the night sky, to encompass the entire Milky Way.

037803   reg: VAu 1-236-696  capture: 05/02/15