Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

A landscape like no other, from high altitude to sea level. Dense rain forests. Vast, barren lava fields. Unique plants and animals. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was all this and more as I discovered when I spent a month as artist-in-residence photographing the incredible land and sky above. Weather changed on an hourly or even minute-by-minute basis. Forecasts became irrelevant so the best plan was to head into the park—it would be clear or not. When it did clear, one of the darkest skies on Earth was visible. Witnessing the forces of nature during October 2024 was a remarkable experience that I tried to record.  

Here is a visual diary of my time in the park and surrounding area. The images start in late September and go to late October. I arrived a few days early to scout out locations to photograph a partial solar eclipse and got messages from colleagues telling me that Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) should be visible in the pre-dawn sky. This started an almost monthlong quest to photograph the latest celestial visitor to our solar system.

Thanks to the National Parks Arts Foundation for administering the residency and to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park for supporting artists in the park.