© 1999 William Neill
When I was in college, and first became enthralled with photography, I frequented the local used book store in search of photography books. When I had some spare cash, I added a new book to my small but treasured collection. One of the first books that I discovered was "The Creation" by Ernst Haas. I was fascinated by the imagery, but even more so by the creation of the book itself. The process of bringing images and concept together in a meaningful way was most intriguing. There were ideas within, and the whole was far more powerful than the parts. This book provided a moving experience that celebrated the Earth as a grand gift, that upon seeing the magic as revealed by Haas, made me more fully appreciate nature.
From the inspiration of Haas's book and others, I knew I wanted to create my own photography books someday. What I didn't understand was the depth of imagery needed to make such a project work. It was one thing to make a few strong photographs on a subject, but yet another to accumulate a body of work that was both extensive and strong. Ideas, within which a group of such photographs could resonate, were still harder to come by.
Resonance is what "The Creation" had for me. The American Heritage Dictionary states that something is resonant if it has "... a prolonged, subtle, or stimulating effect beyond the initial impact." This is the quality I wanted in my imagery, and hoped for in my books &emdash; for the viewer to feel resonance with the magic and mystery of nature.
The subjects that have drawn my attention throughout my career are those that, when pared down by the process of composition, reveal the landscape's essential forces. Images of these forces might show the erosion in the sandstone of a slot canyon, or geologic plate tectonics seen in the uplifted strata of the Himalayas. This trend in my work was reinforced recently when I started work on a new book project. It involves illustrating these very forces with images that show how events in the natural world leave traces of their passage behind. The editing process showed that I had most of the book already in my files! The creation theme appeared repeatedly in my images, and I now realize the influence of the book.
My travels have taken me to many wonderful sights, some serene and some monumental. Probably the most awesome sight of all was on the Island of Hawaii. I watched creation in action as lava turned to stone as it poured into the sea.
I photographed the lava flows at the fading light of sunset, experimenting with various exposure times. At the beginning of my session, while there was more light, I worked with faster shutter speeds at around a quarter of a second. This effect blurred slightly the motion of the waves, and conveyed the action before me. The ground trembled with geologic energy! As darkness came, I used slower exposure times of several seconds. As seen in the photograph shown here, the long exposure times enhanced the glow of steam as it was painted orange by the lava. The dark steam clouds, blown away from the lava, also were blurred in an intriguing way by the slow shutter speed. There was just enough light left to have a sense of the landscape, and just dark enough to bring out the glow of hot lava.
The image here was one frame from many rolls on 35mm film. A stiff offshore wind kept me from using my 4x5 camera, but also provided the benefit of blowing the acidic steam clouds away from my camera and me. The 35mm format allowed the use of my telephoto zoom and motor drive that proved essential on this subject. I was not in a place where I could maneuver much, especially by moving closer! The zoom lens used on my 35mm camera proved a distinct advantage over using my 4x5.
The action of wave and lava changed constantly. Given the limited amount of good light, the motor drive allowed me to record many variations and combinations of waves cresting or pulling lava down the beach as they receded, or of the steam clouds shifting within the scene. In fact, only one other image I made of the lava flows made it to the top of my edits. In spite of all the frames I exposed, this other image captured a surging wave at just the right instant at just the right shutter speed. Many frames were very good, but these two images I've described were the best thanks to the speed of using 35mm format. Haas himself took full advantage of the 35mm format's strengths, and was the master of capturing ephemeral moments in nature.
I do not recommend that you try photographing this close to the lava flow. I worked with permission, and the guidance of a very experienced, local professional cinematographer/volcanologist. The volcanic cliffs are continually breaking off into the surf. I was at this site two consecutive evenings, and a huge shelf of hardened lava on which I stood the first evening had disappeared the next day!
When I review the photographs I made of the lava flows, I am refreshed with the memory of that powerful experience. I remember my heart pounding as I exposed roll after roll as sunset turned to darkness. It was a seminal and energizing event for me. I recall Haas's own beautiful lava images in "The Creation," when he photographed a new island formed from a volcanic eruption in Iceland. He wrote of his own experience, "It was as if we were watching a very fast and small-scale creation of the world." I see that Haas's work helped lead me where I wanted to go, and to know that it was possible to get there. Creation is the inspiration, and the process of creating images of Creation, the sustenance.