I assume you got better! What
else did you learn?
I was learning how to climb; I was
learning how to be a professional
storyteller; I was studying volcanoes
through my degree in natural resource
management; I learnt the language. I also
made photo tours to Vanuatu to get to
know the Benbow volcano better and
then, much later on, I made connections
with scientists through shooting the
campaign for the EOS 5D Mark IV. And
ÀQDOO\,ZDVDEOHWRJHWHYHU\WKLQJLQ
place to go down into the volcano... The
ÀUVWWLPHGLGQRWZRUNEXWWKHVHFRQG
DWWHPSWZDVVXFFHVVIXO,ZDVWKHÀUVW
woman to go down into this active
volcano, which has the biggest emissions
of gases of any volcano worldwide. I
realized my childhood dream more than
15 years later. I live by the motto, ‘Don’t
dream it, do it’. That’s really important
for me. I hope I can inspire others with
my story to achieve their own dreams.How many volcanoes have you
visited and photographed?
It depends on what you mean by active
volcanoes. I mean it’s probably something
between 15 and 20 volcanoes, but I’m not
really a volcano collector you see! To me
it’s much more important to understand
DVSHFLÀFYROFDQRDQGWKHQEHDEOHWRJHW
the access to the people, to the scientists,
who work around it to better understand
everything about the volcano itself. It’s
not a numbers game at all.VOLCANO SLEEPOVER
Ulla spent three nights on the Benbow volcano before making
her descent into the fiery crater...Ulla’s first attempt to descend inside Vanuatu’s Benbow volcano in 2014
had to be called off when it started to rain. The rain mixed with volcanic
gases making the water acidic as it poured over the crater, threatening
to dissolve their ropes. A year later she returned with Basti Hoffmann
and volcanologist Thomas Boyer. After scaling the upper reaches of the
crater, the team camped on a ledge and spent three nights in their
sleeping bags while wearing gas masks to protect them from the fumes.
This shot shows the ever-present red glow and gas emissions from the
volcano blanketing their campsite. Eventually conditions were deemed
stable enough for the team to make a successful descent.STORY BEHIND THE SHOT
The Canon Magazine 67
ULLA LOHMANN
04