Fimmvörðuháls

Generally I put the name of the photographer as the tile of the post but ‘James Appleton’ is pretty much the most whitebread name ever, whereas Fimmvörðuháls looks like a word you’d end up with if you passed out onto a Scandinavian keyboard.

Regardless these are two amazing phenomenon and they really tap into what separates photography from other artistic pursuits- the element of chance. If you’re a painting matte backgrounds for a sci-fi film set on a distant planet where scenes like this are common then your only limitations are your technical skill and your imagination. Whereas if you’re a photographer and you actually want to get this photo you have to wait for the opportunity and then gamble on getting to the right place by the right time.

And, like the up-close-and-personal wildlife photos featured previously, there’s a back-story for these photos that involves gigantic brass balls because any place this geologically active carries a real risk of sudden surges in volcanic activity, toxic gases, cave-ins, steam pockets and all manner of nasty natural occurrences.

Read more at the Huffington Post.