“I realized acutely how small and unsignificant we are, compared to the awesome power of natural forces,” says Valdimar Leifsson, an Icelandic filmmaker who captured those mesmerizing scenes at the Holuhraun eruption on Tuesday night. “Everything changes when night falls,” he says. It surely does.
“The heat emanating from the lava is much more visible during the night,” says Leifsson, who also captured the lava eruption at Fimmvorduhals, which preceded the Eyjafjallajokull eruption in 2010. “This eruption is more magnificent, the fissure is much longer, as well as the volume of the lava. “Standing close to the margin of the lava field, one realizes the unbridled force of the eruption.”
The Holuhraun eruption is, in effect, in the middle of nowhere, deep in the highlands of Iceland´s interior. Leifsson says it is a rather unique experience, not only to be present, but also to get there. “It takes three to four hours to get to Holuhraun eruption from the nearest farmvillage, Modrudalur. One sees almost nothing but black sand, and at times, you have to rely on small roadmarkers. It´s like being alone on the moon,” says Leifsson.