The whole week had been upside down because of a project I’d been working on for a soon-to-open men’s clothing store in Iceland. The following Friday night I finally found myself in the store’s opening party celebrating a great workweek and enjoying my long awaited night off.

I bumped into an old friend and for a classic catching-up-conversation we were discussing our hobby’s in life. Bringing up photography he asked me why I hadn’t photographed Iceland’s newest national pride: Holuhraun volcano. After a short conversation I realized my privilege as an Icelander having this volcano in my backyard and also my shame in not putting in any effort to photograph it.

The volcano is really popular amongst adventurous outdoor enthusiasts but the Civil Protection Agency evacuated the area around Holuhraun volcano due to concentrations of gas reaching dangerous levels. The police and the Coast Guard patrol the area but people are still desperate to get near the crater. Despite getting caught trying to enter the evacuated area before, three men disguised as an Icelandic geothermal research team gave it a second try and actually got to the crater. It wasn’t long until the Special Task Force’s helicopter came and showed them their way out, leaving them with an empty wallet and a prosecution.

The night was coming to an end and all I could think about was how much I wanted to photograph this volcano.

Believe it or not, in a late-nigh after party I got a phone call from my friend offering me to take an empty seat on a plane leaving for a sightseeing tour around Holuhraun volcano the next morning…

THIS WAS KIND OF A NO-BRAINER.

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