473 - Volcán Masaya
I’d say this adventure was the perfect sequel to my pit of hell escapade out in Guatemala. Except today’s hole was Bigger, Badder, and Full of Molten Lava™. Brought to you in part by Lava Boi, Inc.
No, but seriously our adventure today was at Volcán Masaya in Nicaragua. A volcano created specifically for the lazy (or disabled...) You can simply drive right up to the top of the crater, walk over to the ledge, and look down. Boom. Lava. An easy enough adventure for a cripple, eh?
Nope. The volcano gods had other plans in mind.
However it was an easy ten minute drive to the top of the crater, so we started in high spirits. And at first glance, it seemed like a relatively straightforward place to shoot. There was a massive fence surrounding the crater where I presumed the lava was. A decent amount of tourists in the area, but there was so much fence it didn’t look like an issue. I hobbled over and took a look down.
A MASSIVE dark pit, complete with smoke, white perfumed edges, and a subtle red glow. Absolutely incredible. I reached for my camera, but realized something was missing. The lava. The goddamn lava. I couldn’t actually see it from here- just a glow. It appeared to be just out of sight due to the massive foreground in front of the fence. If I was only about 10 feet higher, I’d have the perfect view.
I took a look around, and saw just that. Two raised platforms. It was as if someone had the same problem as me. But it also happened to be where all the tourists were standing. Great. Nothing like waiting in line behind 20 greedy vacationers all trying to get a shot of lava. (I guess I can’t talk…) The sunset colors began to shine as I took this notion in. Double great.
I wobbled my way over to one of the overlooks, and decided it was time to employ one of the dirtiest tricks in the book. A lesson taught to me by my epileptic buddy back in University. “If you’re disabled, you mind as well use it to your advantage…” The words echoed in my head like a broken record. See, I wasn’t fond of this trick. But I didn’t have time to debate the ethics of disability and society. The sun was setting over one of the most beautiful volcanoes in Central America, and I had to make a decision now.
As I climbed up the stairs in my crutches, I made quite the scene. Naturally, people moved out of the way- and I gleefully took position right up front. I made it just in time to snag a shot of the crater and it’s beautiful, red sky. I guess this broken foot was paying off in more way than one.
But I still couldn’t see the lava from this viewpoint. Were they simply toying with people's emotions here? Or was the volcano on lunch break?
I looked at the other overlook, realizing it might be the key to success. There were multiple tourists waiting for their turn at the front behind me, and I didn’t want to overstay my gimpy welcome. So I left the overlook.
By the time I made it down, the sunset colors had drifted off, and darkness began to fall upon the land. I hobbled along the entire .1 mile long fence, looking for any other opportunity to snag a shot of the lava. After about 15 minutes of searching, I found a spot. Kind of… I had to put my camera on a tripod balanced on the fence, held up with my arms. It was sketchy as hell.
But I pulled through. One molten lava shot, exposed to perfection.
I went back to the van vaguely satisfied. I had one incredible shot of the volcano, and one incredible shot of the lava. If only they could be combined…
I shook my head. You can’t have your cake and eat it too, as my dog used to say.
And I’m not going to lie- it took me about 5 days to even look at the photos on my computer. I was scared. I knew neither were that great on their own.
But eventually I got to the point where I had to take a glance. I could only put off the inevitable for so long.
One of the best things about shooting 5 days a week is that it forces you to make decisions about your photography. If I didn’t edit photos within a week of a shoot, I’d fall behind, fast. And when edits can take hours to do, falling that far behind is a non-ideal situation for me. I like feeling like a shoot is complete as soon as possible, so I can edit my memory of it into the scene. I don’t like feeling like I still have demons from months ago to conquer.
Thus, I opened the files with a fresh green smoothie in hand, ready to do the impossible. And as you can probably guess, I decided on trying my hand at compositing. My goal was to sample the lava and it’s glow from the second photo, and add it into the first full volcano/sky pic. They were two completely different scenes, and it was going to be hard
Turns out, I could do it:
“Storm’s a Brewin’”
Taken on Sony a7rIII + Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8
[ISO 500 ~ 17mm ~ f/8 ~ 1/40s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
Sometimes I surprise myself with my Photoshop ability. But I guess weeks of binge watching tutorials because my foot was broken paid off. I came to a realization. I would never have this shot if I didn’t break my foot. I wouldn’t have been able to guilt trip my way to the front of the line in time, and I wouldn’t have the editing knowledge to combine the two shots.
Strange how life can put you down a pathway that seems to be a net negative, but it can be a net positive if you simply look for it…
Anyway, you’re probably wondering how I did that blend. Without going into too much detail, it involved extensive knowledge of luminosity masks, blending paint, and trial and error. The biggest lesson here for me was learning to use the combination of a Soft Light blend mode and a low Fill brush. Fantastic for brushing color into clouds, or in this case, the glowy, red smoke.
Oh yeah, and I added a small lightning shot in the backdrop, taken from a shoot in Las Angeles. Always got something in the back pocket ;). Fun fact, there actually was lightning there in the distance, I just didn’t capture it in a shot.
One concept I’ve never fathomed before Photoshop was the ability you have to manipulate compositions. It’s worth learning if you’re like me and don’t like going to the same places twice. You go once and piece together what you have like a scrapbook.
That’s it for this shoot. On the next adventure I battle the waves of a tide pool in my crutches. I’m a smart one, aren’t I?
I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.
Want to see my progress? Check out the Adventure Map.
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