'It’s like looking at another world’: Veteran videographer still in awe of destructive beauty of volcanoes

Record ID: 1700913

  • Title: 'It’s like looking at another world’: Veteran videographer still in awe of destructive beauty of volcanoes
  • Date: 3rd December 2022
  • Summary: PAHOA, HAWAII, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 3, 2022) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) VIDEOGRAPHER, MICK KALBER, SAYING: "I had been shooting video and film at that point for probably 12 or 15 years, and it was just ridiculously hot and, you know, that’s uncommon and it doesn't happen all the time. It depends on how close you are and how much lava is happening, but that's disturbing. And, you know, there's the mental gyrations that you go through a lot. Below me there’s 2,000 degrees (Fahrenheit / 1,250 degrees Celsius) of hot lava (and) I hope we stay in the air. You know, we're flying in a vehicle that has jet fuel in it, you know. If we go down in, in this stuff, you know, we’re toast. So, there's a lot of different things that go through your mind. But, you know, fortunately, since I'm a shooter, I'm distracted, I'm thinking about focus and framing and all the other things. And so, I kind of, I’m detached a little bit from the real danger of what's going on there."
  • Embargoed: 17th December 2022 23:17
  • Keywords: Hawaii MAUNA LOA Mick Kalber Volcano aerials eruption helicopter
  • Location: MAUNA LOA AND PAHOA, HAWAII, UNITED STATES
  • City: MAUNA LOA AND PAHOA, HAWAII, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Disaster/Accidents,North America,Earthquakes/Volcanoes/Tsunami,Editors' Choice
  • Reuters ID: LVA004425803122022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The lava flowing from Hawaii's Mauna Loa, the world's largest active volcano that erupted earlier this week, is a attracting visitors keen to see the "once in a lifetime" spectacle.
    For veteran videographer Mick Kalber, the extravaganza is just as mesmerising as it was the first time he saw it decades ago.
    The 74-year-old originally from Peoria, Illinois, has been documenting the eruption of Kilauea Volcano since it roared to life in the mid-80s. Mauna Loa’s latest eruption has brought Kalber out of retirement and back onto a helicopter for what he reckons must be around the thousandth flyover of his life.
    "I've been doing this for almost 40 years now. So I can’t say it's old hat because it's always exciting,” Kalber told Reuters from his home in Pahoa, between helicopter flights over Mauna Loa.
    Reminiscing the thrill, the fears and risks taken over his long career, Kalber related an almost cathartic experience of witnessing over and over a phenomenon that, as opposed to hurricanes or fires, is both destructive and creative.

    “It's a dichotomy. It's this combination of ugly, beautiful, devastating, creative, you know, light, dark... it's kinda a microcosm of life itself,” he said.

    Kalber credited his gutsy approach to the job on his “overwhelming desire to document what's happening," and on his focus on the technicalities of the shooting.
    "Most of the time I was alone. And so, yeah, there was that feeling, it was like going into the war zone. And I enjoyed that, that surge of adrenaline, if you will... I just described to you some of the times that were frightening, but that was the exception to the rule. You know, most of the time it wasn't benign, but it was a calculated risk," he said
    After the eruption on Nov. 27, the lava initially moved quickly down steep slopes. Over the past day, it reached a flatter area and slowed significantly, moving at just .025 miles per hour (40 metres per hour).
    The United States Geological Survey (USGS) says many variables influence exactly where the lava will move and at what speed. On flatter ground, lava flows spread out and "inflate" – creating individual lobes that can advance quickly and then stall.
    “That's anybody's guess,” said Kalber when asked to speculate about the volcano's immediate plans. “So, it's slowed down. But the top of the, the vents at the top are still putting out an enormous amount of lava. So, you know, who knows? We'll find out eventually."
    He is planning on flying over the eruption again in the coming days.
    “I'm really glad I got to see it, you know, while I, before I leave the planet... It's a really beautiful thing to see. And I've been very blessed,” he said.
    Mauna Loa rises 13,679 feet (4,169 metres) above the Pacific Ocean, part of a chain of volcanoes that formed the islands of Hawaii. It last erupted in 1984.
    (Production: Temis Tormo, Ariel Wee)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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