Did you take these from a helicopter, Monika. If so, that even makes them more impressive. As a geologist I was able to get a guided tour from the head of the Volcano Observatory and watched it from ground level. What an experience. Yours are every bit as good as mine and I even used a tripod. BTW, #4 has beautiful pahoehoe structures.
What does it cost to do the helicopter tour? How far in advance to you have to make reservations?
Douglas, yes, they're from a helicopter. There are a couple of options for photo lava tours. The least expensive is if you join Bruce Omori from
Extreme Exposure Gallery on his weekly (Thurs) flights. Bruce is a local lava photographer, does work for
Paradise Helicopters, so I think that's where he gets a discounted weekly flight. To join that is $500 for an hour. The most expensive is to charter, which, according to the Paradise page is $1674/hour, but I'm pretty sure that doing it through Bruce it was less. There can be 3 passenger photographers, so you can split the cost with some friends. If you head out & have to turn back because of the weather, there's no charge. There is also the option of staying out longer if you do a pre-dawn flight (usually 1/2 hour maximum) as long as the pilot is back for the 1st tour of the day.
How far in advance you need to reserve varies e.g. I just confirmed for Thursday today (Monday). Sometimes there isn't an open seat for a week or 2. I'd recommend flying 2x, so you can learn from the 1st time.
You didn't ask this, but the lenses I took were a 70-200mm and 72mm equivalent. Previously, I took a 24-70mm, then a 35mm equivalent. Last one was the 72mm equivalent. Shutter priority, high speed burst mode.
