For capturing Mt. Stromboli together with my friends Jochen Schweizer and Tobias Böck we climbed this nonstop active volcano in a period of strong frontal northwinds. The crater was totally overcast and the wind made it unflyable up there. In the evening, the storm decreased and the thick fog opened its gate a bit. We inflated our mountain gliders.
The wind was still strong enough to carry us, so we took off straight into the deep black north slope of the volcano. The clouds disappeared and the active crater revealed itself. In a 40km/h breeze Jochen Schweizer and I soared up in this infernal scenery. We are used to doing aerial photography together, so we flew in formation from the beginning.
I shot this from a solo glider – that means piloting hands-free, just by shifting your weight. It was breathtaking scenery. To hear the nonstop thunder that came out of the thick smog in the crater was something else. It was scary, I swear! For me, it was clear I had to expose this shot in black and white. It's still the truest look; true like the elements in this photograph – fire, water, air. In between these forces of nature there's some lost human being flying. Or is he searching for something he cannot find down on earth?
