May in Iceland, at night, the sun is still high in the sky and does not set until nearly midnight.

Photographer Ottavio Giannella flies with his X1D II 50C from Italy to Frankfurt and then on to Keflavík Airport in Iceland. He makes a 40-minute drive to the valley of the Reykjavík Peninsula and a two-hour walk to his destination, the Fagradalsfjall eruption site.

Fagradel has been dormant for over 6,000 years. In March of 2021, after more than 40,000 small earthquakes, the mountain fractured open, erupting and pouring out thousands of years of pent-up volcanic activity.

As soon as Ottavio learned the news, he knew he had to go. After all, this was the first volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula in nearly 800 years. Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland, is just over 40 kilometres away, meaning it could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the eruption up close.

Iceland has a relatively relaxed volcanic safety policy; even vacationing tourists are allowed to watch the event from a safe distance. Nevertheless, people still need to pay attention to the information the local security department releases in real-time and are recommended to carry sensors and breathing masks to prevent exposure to toxic gasses released by the volcano.

Volcanos are particular subjects. A photographer must tune in to the evolving characteristics of the volcanic activity, especially the timing and intensity of each eruption. "When it was much less explosive and more 'sweet', you could use slower shutter speeds, while later, to capture the explosions, you needed very fast times and fairly small apertures to have a nice depth of field and greater detail."

When hot lava erupts from the Earth, the temperature can reach thousands of degrees Celsius. The bright flashes of lava are captivating to the eye and also vie for the camera's attention. The exposure poses a great challenge when shooting.

"It's a fast and very bright scene, with a very dark ground. You need to have the right light and shadow metering to be able to capture every detail of such a varied subject."

Ottavio came prepared. He shot with his X1D II 50C camera and three lenses: an HCD 24 wide-angle lens, an HC50 II standard lens for panoramic and medium shots, and an XCD 135 telephoto lens for close-up details. Despite photographing a dynamic, high-contrast landscape, Ottavio made a bold decision. "I decided to get the image without making any shots to edit in HDR. I wanted to immortalise the real movement of this scene with every single splash of lava. "

Observing every movement of the volcano, Ottavio stayed on site from sunrise to sunset. At eleven p.m., the sky turned to a glow, almost as if a volcano had also ignited it. A couple sat down beside one another and gazed at the sight of a millennium. Ottavio spotted the scene and captured it on X1D II 50C."It was very romantic. I wanted to take this wonderful scene with me. It was surreal, like watching a loving couple in front of a fireplace."

At four a.m., the Icelandic sky lights up once more. The volcano had been active all night, and the sun, after a short rest, rose above the hills. At first glance, it might almost be mistaken for another waking volcano.

The Fargradale volcano was active for six months until it died down towards the end of September 2021. With its ancient fumes, the vast expanse of lava reshaped the surface and revealed the Earth's inner vitality: awe-inspiring, shocking, and strangely amazing.

"It was fantastic. It makes you fully understand how the rock formations that make up our planet are created. It was like stepping back millions of years and seeing everything being created in a natural and almost inexplicable way."

COMPACT. POWERFUL. ENHANCED.