Tree of Life

Liquid rock glows in the dark, spewing from the belly of the earth. In 2022 when the volcano at Fagradalsfjall in Iceland began erupting, I received a flurry of text messages and calls. One hour later I was on my way to the volcano with gas mask, food, warm clothes, hiking gear, and camera equipment packed. As a photographer and filmmaker I spend as much time as I can trying to document these landscapes, both for the sake of beauty, and to tell the story of their importance to life on Earth. While I had my drone in the air, filming the lava one evening, my freind noticed a new outflow breaking over the large pool of lava (bottom of image). I abandoned what I was filming and flew over to witness one the most impressive moments in the birth of new land that I have ever seen, resembling a tree. People often think of volcanoes as destructive forces that bringing death and destruction, but they also create new land. Volcanoes are not just an earthly phenomena, and are found in our solar system and across the cosmos, on both planets and moons with molten cores. They are creators and destroyers, reshaping of the very land we stand on, and the life blood of our planet. Photo taken in compliance of local law and regulations.