Ring of Fire

Original photograph, “Ring of Fire”
Gelatin silver print, 1991

A person stands at the edge of the Kupaianaha lava lake at Kilauea in Hawai'i—one of the most active volcanic complexes on Earth.

This photograph was taken in 1991 during the filming of the famous IMAX documentary Ring of Fire. The iconic silver suit was the unmistakable trademark of legendary French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft. Driven by an obsessive, lifelong love for both each other and the earth's fiery core across two decades, it is overwhelmingly likely that Katia is the figure beneath the visor—photographed here by Maurice himself.

Tragically, this image captures one of their final moments close to the fire. In June 1991, Katia and Maurice were killed together by a sudden pyroclastic surge at Mount Unzen in Japan. The photograph and the story behind it are a haunting, beautiful artifact of courage, devotion, and love—and a reminder of the fragility of humanity against the raw power of nature.