Today post is the third of five continuing the Danakil Depression trip review (from the perspective of a photographer) and talking about the part of the expedition that was of most interest to me: Visiting the Erta Ale volcano and lava lake. Lots of pictures and some video (although please forgive the constant howl of the wind). You may also be interested in part 1 and part 2 of the review.

Days 5 – 6

As both days were spent in a very similar vein – at the lake – I won’t bother with a day-by-day breakdown.

You’ll be very well rewarded for making pre-dawn starts. It does help if there are like-minded people on the trip – and I was lucky to have a shooting partner on mine – but I suspect that being this close of a volcano means that wild horses wouldn’t keep you away!

Probably my favourite shot of the lake. [Click to enlarge!]
(17mm, 1/10sec @ f/9.5, ISO 100, stacked ND grads)

As you arrived late at night your first dawn is also the first time you’ll get to see the landscape around the lava lake and there are a couple of close-by high vantage points – a good one can be seen in the above photo on the right, the wide angle of the image making it appear more distant than it is. The lake is roughly ovoid and is approximately 65 metres in diameter making a wide angle lens – 17mm on a full frame body – pretty much ideal.

From the nearby hill you get a good view of the landscape around the lava lake. [Click to enlarge!]
(35mm, 1/2sec @f/8, ISO 100)

The lake you see is the top of magma column 47 kilometres tall and is in a constant state of flux as the convection currents within the magma column bring molten rock to the surface and the centimetres-thick crust gets swallowed back below the surface. Whilst you are now standing right next to an erupting volcano, the geology of the region means that there isn’t a capped magma chamber and therefore there isn’t a significant amount of pressure build-up. The result of this is that Erta Ale spends much of its time gently simmering away with constantly changing patterns of orange moving across its surface. But it does go though cycles of increased activity and on the second day we were there the lake had entered some kind of prolonged activity whereby periods of simmering were followed by the ‘fountaining’ of lava resulting in spectacular shots. We did try and work out an interval between the fountains, but soon gave up just happy that there were several of them per hour. So it is worth being persistent and visiting as much as you can which I’m sure that you will, but I mention this as not only did one couple leave after the first day (presumably because they had seen enough and become bored) but one of the guys interested in photography and geology also returned to the base camp after the same day stating that “it won’t get any better than this”.

Much of your time at the lake will be spent watching and waiting and so keeping the gas mask to hand and having at least two litres of waters is important as, not only is the sun pounding down upon you from above, the heat coming off the lake’s surface is intense.

The lake surface is a constantly moving mass of boiling, molten rock. [Click to enlarge!]
(85mm, 1/750sec @ f/4.5. ISO 100)

Erta Ale can have moments of breath-taking wonder… [Click to enlarge!]

Even when the lake is just simmering away, there are little bursts of activity as gas in the magma upwell escapes and I and the others spent a lot of time during the daylight hours attempting to capture the interesting shapes. The problem is that you really can’t predict where or when the gas will escape and as the event can last for as little as a second – often less – you have to keep alert. I found having two cameras really handy, a full-frame body with a 17-40mm lens and a cropped body with a 100-400mm lens, as that way I could quickly zoom in capture details when gas was escaping whilst keeping the 17-40mm set up for more usual landscape shots. The 100-400mm lens was overkill and 200mm would have be more than enough.

Your biggest issue will be the heat haze produced by 1200°C lava. Don’t underestimate how many shots it will ruin… [Click to enlarge!]

First, shoot lots! I took over 1000 shots and I ran out of memory cards, having to resort to my emergency 4GB ones and borrowing a card of someone. The rule is simple: take enough shots and some are bound to be usable. I’m not suggesting a blind ‘photograph the hell out of it’ approach, but even with the composition set up, the heat haze will be the wild card. Shoot the same scene enough and, as the wind changes direction – even for a moment – the heat haze will shift allowing usable shots to be taken.

Second – and really an extension to the bit above about changing wind direction – I think shooting into the wind likely resulted in more heat haze and hence more unusable shots. Of course, the composition will determine which direction you shoot for landscape work but if capturing close-up abstract shots of the orange against the black crust, moving around the lake’s edge may help a bit.

Third, you’ve got three nights and two days up here and then you’ll be gone so make every minute count. One of the benefits this expedition has over the others I could find (certainly in 2014) is that you have access to the lake in various lighting conditions – night time, day time, dawn and dusk. The other trips only give you a single night – great for abstracts, not so good for landscapes.

When night falls the two-colour nature of the landscape takes over. [Click to enlarge!]
(55mm, 1/15sec @ f/4.5, ISO 200)

The expedition doesn’t really provide a schedule of events for these two days which is ideal for photographers but perhaps less so for non-photographers. Saying that there are other things to see, the most notable of which is a hornito – or lava dome – in the nearby second crater. For our visit the hornito was simply steaming away although it also has periods of fountaining activity that can be impressive. At an altitude of 600 metres you’ll have some panoramic vistas too. But I suspect that the lava lake will be your focus.

Although quietly steaming away when we visited, the hornito is known to fountain lava too. [Click to enlarge!]
(105mm, 1/250sec @ f/4.5, ISO 100)

OK, so this was a staged shot for a bit of fun – and he loved my sunglasses. But seeing three of the military in position for real on the second day at the lake was a sobering experience and a reminder that this is still a hotly contested area. [Click to enlarge!]

Four of us on the trip and as close to an eruption as we’ll ever want to be! [Click to enlarge!]
50mm, 2sec @ f/4, ISO 400

Two Afar military guards stand on watch as night falls. [Click to enlarge!]
(47mm, 1/15sec @ f/8, ISO 100)

Well, who wouldn’t. But after visiting the Bolivian Altiplano in 2010 and Iceland in mid 2014, both of which are overflowing with volcanoes, why did I – and why may you – want to visit Erta Ale? After all, it is not exactly the most convenient volcano to visit.

The answer for me was simple although perhaps hard to explain but in essence I want to see landscapes that show the scale and power of nature on a vast and unbelievable scale. And, of the elemental forces of nature, the volcano best represents just how immense and powerful nature can be. But to really appreciate the majesty of a volcano I wanted to see an eruption, I wanted to see lava flowing and I wanted to have the experience of being as close to this process as I could get whilst having a reasonable chance of surviving. The problem is that volcanoes don’t really erupt on demand and so trying to plan a trip to one isn’t an easy task.  But it can be done.

Erta Ale has the distinction of being one of only six known persistent lava lakes on the planet and although not the biggest (that would be Mount Nyiragongo the Democratic Republic of the Congo – or DRC), it is the oldest having been in permanent motion since 1906. For me, the key part here is persistent.

Staring into the abyss. [Click to enlarge!]
105mm, 1/500sec @ f/8, ISO 100

So, if you want to have as much guarantee as possible that you’ll see an active volcano ‘doing its thing’ then Erta Ale is really your only option. But you better be quick. Small-scale tourism to the area has been increasing year after year despite the uncomfortable conditions and high cost. However with the construction of a road to Dalol now complete one of the main obstacles for mass tourism – access to the area – has been removed. Erta Ale may still require effort to get to, but it is no longer, as National Geographic have described it, one of the most remote places on Earth.

This may be great for the local economy but as more tourists arrive, the safety aspects of an unprotected hole full of molten rock will obviously become a concern and I can see safety barriers being erected. And that it not really something that will enhance any landscape photograph.

The lava lake at dawn is surrounded by a fragile lava landscape with its own unique beauty. [Click to enlarge!]
(20mm, 1/15sec @ f/8, ISO 100)

You can spend hours watching the lake’s surface constantly shifting, separating and reforming. It is almost hypnotic, or that could just be the gas! [Click to enlarge!]
(35mm, 1/10sec @ f/5.6, ISO 100)

Today’s post continues the review of the 13 day expedition to the Danakil Depression in northern Ethiopia. If you’ve missed it, part one can be found here.

Before talking about the third day it is probably a good time to mention an aspect of the trip that, if you travel alone, you have no control over: The people you travel with. Travel with the right people and the problems that arise can even be fun. Conversely travelling with people who aren’t enjoying themselves can really ruin the experience.

Being a solo traveller I am used to being dumped pretty much wherever there is space for me and I’m generally OK with that. Most of the people I meet travel as couples or in groups and so obviously they want to stay together which leaves spaces here and there that solo travellers then fill. So, perhaps because we were native English speakers, I ended up with an American couple, who even by day two were showing signs of perhaps realising the conditions that they had expected and the conditions they were experiencing were somewhat different. After a day in the 4WD with them being short with each other, followed by awkward silences, I asked to be moved to another vehicle. I can’t criticise them for being bothered about the sanitary conditions – if that is what the issue was – the conditions were getting worse, and they did manage to stay on the trip for a few days more, when the sanitary conditions became as bad as they can get. But I didn’t want my trip ruined by a bad atmosphere. They problem is that when you ask to be moved like that, you’ll likely cause offence.

Anyway, back to day three…

Day 3

Day 3: Logia to Lake Afdera

A new event occurred after breakfast. Enku – our guide – made a point of getting us to all take rehydration salts. Over the past couple of days we have been slowly descending from Addis at about 2,500 metres altitude to Logia at 900 metres. But today will see us descend even further and the relatively cool temperatures – somewhere between 25°C and 30°C will increase as we descend. In retrospect this is one of the most critical things to remember on this trip – keeping hydrated is very important and water will not be enough, you will need rehydration salts. You’ll likely be given the ones we were which, whilst I didn’t mind the taste too much, others were less keen on. In any event buy your own before travelling as you’ll really need to keep taking them until you return to the highlands on day 10.

Today you’ll pass through Logia and soon after turn off highway 2 and head north to Lake Afdera (as local maps refer to it), a journey of 200km. This has only recently become a modern tarmac road – another sign of Chinese investment. The most immediate change is that the huge number of transport trucks drops sharply.

Once off route 2, the roads are much quieter, so much so that whilst lying down to take this shot some of the others were in the middle of the road dancing to the radio… [Click to enlarge!]

Again we arrived close to the end of the day. Leaving earlier (at the time we had planned) would have made a difference as it would have given us time to scout out locations for sunset. As it was we had to rush around to find something. Here there are large man-made salt fields where saline water is left to evaporate and catching the sunset in these would likely be an interesting composition, but you may be short on time to find one – a composition that is. The shoreline by the lake may be more interesting although standing on the shore facing the lake puts you looking east and so the sun unfortunately sets behind you, but on the plus side that does mean sunrise will be good. There are a couple of jetties out into the lake so silhouettes are an option.

Tonight we exchanged rooms for tents on the banks of the lake which was wonderfully picturesque but had its own challenges not least of all it meant that you will see, hear and probably feel mosquitoes. Mosquito repellent is a must. The second challenge is that, you are now below sea level and, at an elevation of -102 metres, you will have gone from the relatively temperate climate at Logia to a hot and humid one. There are natural hot springs close by and you can take a refreshing dip in them to cleanse yourself, but as soon as you get back out you’ll feel the heat again. Mixed groups need not worry; there are conveniently two hot springs and so there’ll be a ‘his’ and ‘hers’. To be honest it is worth taking a dip even if you do get all sweaty again immediately afterwards. If you’ve never bathed in naturally heated water it is an experience to keep with you – it is not just hot water but rich in minerals too. The men may also be sharing the hot spring with local salt workers and due to my timing I ended up sharing it with the Muslim workers who were cleansing themselves for evening prayers. Doing this will likely make you feel less like a tourist. It will also introduce you to the wonders of the volcanic nature of the Danakil region. In the movies volcanoes bring destruction and chaos, however they also bring life and fertile lands.

After a long day in the 4WD you’ll be in time for sunset. [Click to enlarge!]

You’re going to need a head torch as both hands need to be free. The torch will serve a double duty in both allowing you to see where you are going and what you are about to stand in (remember that your little group is not the only one who needs to answer the call of nature – there will be others too). It will also act to warn others who may inadvertently approach on a similar mission to you that you are already ‘on site’. You’ll also have to become used to the squatting position – not a natural position for many Westeners – and so finding something to prop yourself against may be useful. Make sure that you bring toilet tissue, moist wipes and some kind of anti-bacterial hand lotion as there will be nowhere to buy these. And, perhaps the biggest challenge is the mental one; accept that for most of man’s history this is how the ‘act’ was done. Also, console yourself that no matter how discomforting you may find this, if you limit yourself to once per day, you will only have to do it five more times.

And just to reiterate the point: If the above description of going for ‘a poo’ in nature is at all horrible to you, remember that you are paying a lot for the privilege. The good news is that everyone else you’re with will be having the same feelings as you.

But, finally you are truly away from civilisation. Here, nature rules supreme.

The accommodation may get more basic on day three but you can’t fault the view! [Click to enlarge!]

Day 4

Day 4: Lake Afdera to Erta Ale base camp

Today is the first day where I found a dawn start really worthwhile. As mentioned the sun rises on the opposite bank of Lake Afdera to which the tents were set up and it was literally a case of get out of the tent and enjoy the sunrise. Some people love sunrise photography so do not, but I did like the abstracts that could be created by not including any manmade feature, such as the jetty. Long exposures work well as the lake will have ripples upon in – despite being dawn the land is already heating up and so a wind is developing.

Sunrise at the lake offers a few frantic minutes of great opportunities… [Click to Enlarge!]

Today also marks the day where you swap the tarmac roads for dirt tracks. Up until now the roads have been really very well maintained. From talking to the drivers this may simply be because many of them are relatively new: The road from Lake Afdera to the main Ethiopia-Djibouti route 2 is still shown as a compacted rock road on many maps. It is a comfortable road to drive along, but it isn’t universally loved as many see it as a reminder of the continued Chinese investment in Ethiopia – something everyone I spoke to seemed to be concerned about.

You will feel the heat and for us joy was found in the simple pleasure of having the 4WD windows open when moving whenever we could although as the day progressed this became increasingly difficult. The track we were following to get to the base camp at Erta Ale was becoming less a rocky gravel track and more volcanic ash with the result that the car in front was creating vast clouds of fine volcanic ash. So windows were closed and we relied on the air conditioning to provide some semblance of cooling.

After a while you turn off the relatively flat ash desert and onto the lava escarpment of Erta Ale itself. The lava lake is approximately 60-70 metres in diameter but the volcano itself is around 30km at its base. It is here that you learn why mankind invented the 4WD. I think it is safe to say the shooting from the vehicle with the aim of keeping horizons straight at this point is futile, but good luck.

From what I gather trips up to the summit of Erta Ale all follow the same basic process. You arrive late afternoon as the sun is beginning to lose its strength and swap the 4WD vehicles for camels. In our case, perhaps because we had 13 days worth of possessions with us, we began the process of dividing or items into what we needed to take up to the lave lake and what we could leave behind at the base camp. The ascent involves a 7km trek and a climb of approximately 500 metres, which isn’t really that arduous but even in late afternoon the heat is still above 30°C and most of us weren’t used to such temperatures. As a result the ascent is usually made after dark although this does have its own reward in that you get to make the trek in pitch black across ash plains, razor sharp lava inclines and, well I really don’t know what else as it was pitch black.

It was all very Blair Witch. We did make occasional stops for water and to let people catch up and when we did we turned off the head torches. It was phenomenal: An eerie, windless silence under a billion pin pricks of light. When nature puts on a show, she really does it in style. Again, a bit of time invested in learning how to spot the north star and night sky photography would be rewarded here.

The night-time climb to get to the summit base camp may have been an experience, but it was nothing compared to our first sight of the volcano… [Click to enlarge]

There’s a simple rule at Erta Ale: All visits out to the volcano’s lake must be accompanied by (at least) one of the Afar military. This is mainly for your protection, although at least for the first night, it also shows you the way. It also means that, should an accident happen, there is someone who can go for help. Speaking of accidents there are several risks that you need to be aware of.

First, between you and the lake is approximately 300 metres of lava field which looks, forgive the pun, rock-solid. It is not. Erta Ale is a very gassy volcano and so the resulting lava is surprisingly light and very brittle. As you walk over the lava you hear this somewhat disconcerting crunching sound. Over the next couple of days there will at least one incident where you’ll put your foot through the lava and you’ll be glad of wearing a good, strong, walking boots when you do; to protect against sprains and nasty cuts.

Second, this is an active volcano and despite its apparently calm appearance it is a bubbling lake of molten rock. If you are lucky you’ll get to see some Strombolian eruptions – the classic fountain of lava – but whilst beautiful they come with the risk of lava bombs. You only have to read my recent post on my selfie to see this.

Third, whilst the gassy nature of Erta Ale can give some photogenic eruptions, the gas is mix of poisonous gasses, predominately hydrogen sulphide. Short exposure can be handled by holding your breath, but for any real photographic work you’ll need a gas mask. Yes, you will look silly and yes it makes breathing harder, but when you see others have to abandon their shots you’ll be grateful for that mask.

The final point worth mentioning is really an extension of the first one. This is not a tourist attraction, it is an active volcano. There are no safety barriers, no warning signs to indicate danger and – again, forgive the pun – in the heat of the moment it is easy to get too close to the edge. Don’t. The edge is very unstable. Over the years there have been few deaths due to the edge collapsing. Again, this is a benefit of a properly organised expedition – a knowledgeable guide who will keep you safe.

So off we headed into the inky darkness. There is no real way that I can explain the experience of meeting your first volcano and would probably make it sound rather underwhelming if I tried, but I think my best description so far has been that it was like the sound of nature ripping apart very slowly – an odd mixture of a deep bass with a kind of fizzing high-pitched sound. It had a similar creaking sound as an iceberg make as it thaws – nature under extreme stress – albeit the noise was octaves lower. It is a disquieting sound that leaves you feeling that you are in the wrong place.

The remainder of evening – we were they until about 1:30AM – was spent getting used to being this close to a volcano. I think it is a good idea; the photography is limited to capturing abstracts of the bright orange lava against the black centimetres-thick cooling surface, but for me the biggest thing I got from the evening was to get ‘being awestruck’ out of the way.

Anyway, at some point you will have to return to the camp so make sure you get some sleep – you have to be back at the lake before dawn at around 6AM!