Most tours to the volcano are day tours, which always surprises me since the scenery is much more dramatic after the sun goes down. Even billowing steam looks more sinister as darkness begins to fall.

The best part, of course, is that the lava itself becomes more visible as the sky darkens.

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Midnight

By late in the evening the sky is pitch black and nearly all of the crowds have dispersed. Several times I have visited this magical place at night and found myself the only one there to enjoy this awesome spectacle.

Volcano activity in Hawaii is said to be the work of the goddess Pele. When I first got this picture back from the developers, I couldn't help but notice the resemblance to a human foot. The foot of Pele, perhaps?

The picture below is one of myself, as near to the flowing lava as I dared to venture. During this 20 second timed exposure, it was difficult to keep perfectly still given the fact that 2,000 degree lava was roaring into the ocean nearby.