Being in the right place at the right time allowed an Alberta photographer to capture surreal snaps during an Icelandic volcanic eruption.
Christopher Andres, a Banff native, was helping run a photography workshop in Iceland.
Andres, along with another leader and 12 workshop participants, woke up in the early morning hours of February 8 when their bed started shaking.
“I was trying to go back to sleep at 5:30 a.m., and shortly after that my alarm started going off.”
The photographers were forced to immediately evacuate their hotel near the Blue Lagoon.
“When I came out of the hotel, I saw a big orange light in the distance,” Andres said. “As soon as we turned the first corner from the hotel, we were greeted by a large lava fountain 80 feet high, maybe 150 feet high.”
(Courtesy of Kristopher Andres/@Kristopherandres)
“It was just heartbreaking to see these things. It gave me such a strong sense of how big the mountain was, and then when I realized that it was actually about two kilometers away from us, It was even more surreal.”
The workshop was evacuated to another hotel before the opportunity was available, which was not listed in the travel brochure.
“As soon as the weather cleared, we headed to what we thought would be the best shooting spots and spent the next four hours shooting.”
Police and local media teams were also stationed at the group’s scene.
The group was aware of the possibility of a volcanic eruption. Two days earlier they had heard sirens being tested for emergency response.
“When the siren went off, there was a distinct feeling of, ‘Is this real?'” Is this really happening? So I called out to everyone there and said, “…Is this true? “I thought. ”
(Courtesy of Kristopher Andres/@Kristopherandres)
Group photos will stay with you for a while, but nothing beats them.
“It was just one of those surreal moments,” he said.
“How do you recreate this? How do you get another chance at a time like this? So you just have to make the most of it.”
(Courtesy of Kristopher Andres/@Kristopherandres)
Andres said he had visited Iceland several times and thought the timing would be right for a volcanic eruption.
