Further Information

My story

I am completely nuts about volcanoes. I am a geographer and I wrote my BS thesis on volcanic eruptions in the Reykjanes peninsula and possible lava flows in the area that I have become to know quite well. The 2021 eruption in Geldingadalir was therefore like Christmas, New Year's and two birthdays in my eyes, and resulted in 30 hikes to the eruption site and over 10.000 photographs. I simply could not get enough of this magnificent scene. Shortly after the eruption ended I published a photography book containing 112 of the best photos from Geldingadalir and I used Karolina Fund to finance the printing.

I am very proud of the previous book, especially because of the spectacular photos, but I kept the text quite short to allow the pictures to be fully appreciated. I have long wanted to write more about my travels, focus more on enjoyable, amusing or scary moments and explain better what forces are at work in volcanic eruptions.

When the eruption started in Meradalir in 2022, I immediately started laying the foundation for the next book with frequent trips to the eruption site and thousands of photos. But the eruption was too short to fill a whole book, even with the additional material about Geldingadalir. After the eruption ended at Litli-Hrútur this year, I had even more beautiful and amusing photos and a built up need to share the amazing experiences of viewing an eruption up close.

The status of the publication

As of today (September 7th), I have already selected all the photos for the four chapters in the book and the Icelandic text is nearly completed. The first three chapters, about the eruption in Geldingadalir in 2021, Meradalir in 2022 and at Litli-Hrútur this year, have already been submitted for proofreading. The last chapter is nearly done, but in it I will discuss the lava field as it looks today. In some cases I have photos taken at the same spot at different times during and after the eruptions. These are interesting to compare and discover the everchanging form of the landscape.

After the text has been reviewed, I will translate it into English and finalize all the photos that have already been selected and roughly processed. I expect to complete the book in about two to three weeks at most. I have already contacted printing houses and received offers for printing the books, the calendar, the aluminium and canvas prints. The printing houses are on standby so that the orders can be processed and shipped quickly. I need to order a minimum of 100 books to get a favorable price, which is why I decided to finance the project with the help of Karolina Fund again.

More about the book

Below are the main points about the new book. Further down the page you will find screenshots of selected pages from each chapter as well as maps displaying the location of each photo in that chapter.

· The new book contains 160 photographs in colour on 140 pages.

· The book is 23 x 23 cm in size, the same as the previous book, so they will fit well together on the bookshelf or on the coffee table.

· Each chapter is preceded by a map showing the location of all the photos in that chapter. The book may serve as a guide if people are planning to hike up to the eruption site. It fits well into a medium-sized backpack.

· At the beginning of each chapter there is an introduction that sets the mood for further reading.

· I describe each photo in the book in some detail, tell the story behind it or explain why it is otherwise interesting or entertaining.

· The geological concepts in the book are not of the more complex type, but I do explain them briefly if necessary.

Title of the chapters, number of photos and a screenshot from the book

Geldingadalir 2021: Additions (35 photos)

Meradalir 2022: A convenient but short tourist eruption (35 photos)

Litli-Hrútur 2023: An eruption for the experienced (48 photos)

The lava field today (42 photos)

The maps at the beginning of each chapter

From left to right: Geldingadalir 2021, Meradalir 2022, Litli-Hrútur 2023 and The lava field today.

The wall prints

You can order wall prints from both the books to the right. It would require too much space on this page to list all the 272 photos from the books but here are examples of photos that would be very suitable for large prints.