fissure 8

  • Fissure 8 and the Lava River

    Lava fountains out of the crater that fissure 8 created from the Pahoa volcanic eruption on Hawaii.

    An aerial view of Fissure 8 spewing magma violently into the air and into a massive lava river headed to the ocean in Kapoho. I couldn’t believe my eyes when we flew over this newly formed cinder cone in the middle of the Leilani Estates neighborhood. It was surreal and frightening. Almost overnight thousands of peoples lives were uprooted and their future made unknown. My heart goes out to all those effected by the lava flow.

    Buy a Print

    Check out the Volcano Photography post

  • Kapoho Ocean Entry By Helicopter

    An aerial view of the lava entering the ocean and creating small explosions along the coastline of Kapoho Hawaii.

    Buy A Print

    From the doors off helicopter of the Paradise Helicopter Tour I was able to shoot this unobstructed view of the lava as it enters the ocean along Kapoho. You can’t see it in this web version of the shot, but in the large printed file there is an explosion in the upper part of the image where the ocean collided with the hot lava that sent lava rock and particles flying rapidly in the air. I love this image because of the design quality of it like the diagonal line of the coastline parted by the smoke and ocean waves. There are hidden surprises throughout the shot like the explosion, and the red hot lava, as well as the ripples in the water. It’s just a raw look and feel of the energy that exists when these two natural forces meet.

    © Christopher Johnson