21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Giants Colliding

In 2021, in La Palma island (Spain), the Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted, leaving hundreds of homes, streets and backyards sepulted under the lava. The night of the 26th of October, a very violent electric storm (the biggest since the 60s) passed right over the volcano. In the picture, we can see a lightning from said storm right next to the active volcano. For more than 6 hours I followed the storm to capture both natural phenomenons on the same frame. During the dates of the eruptions, thousands of photographers were on the island to take pictures of the volcano, but none of them where up that night to capture it next to the storm.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 10.2021
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: La Palma, Spain
Camera: ILCE-7M2
Copyright: © iñigo gonzalez portillo