Photographer Captures Dreamy Photos of Volcanic Eruption During a Rainstorm

Iceland’s famed Sundhnúkagígar volcano is erupting, and photographer Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove captured incredible photos of a rainstorm hitting the molten-hot lava, creating ethereal steam and fog around the volcano.

Since December 2023, the Sundhnúkagígar crater row on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula has erupted nine times, drawing scientists, tourists, and creatives alike into its hypnotic orbit. With each fiery surge from the Earth’s crust, the landscape changes before our eyes, reshaping terrain, rewriting boundaries, and reigniting the imagination.

Among those who have returned again and again to this volcanic frontier is Belgian-born, Iceland-based photographer Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove, whose stunning drone footage and still imagery of the July 2025 eruption capture more than volcanic activity. They reveal the raw narrative of a planet in flux, told through the lens of someone who has built his life around documenting nature’s most powerful phenomena.

Sundhnúkagígar: Where Fire Meets Rain

Now, with the July 2025 eruption at Sundhnúkagígar, Van Nieuwenhove returns to the fire with a new perspective. With years of eruption experience behind him and thousands of aerial hours logged, he brings a seasoned, intentional eye to the volcanic theater. His drone footage has gained attention not just for its technical mastery but for its cinematic emotion.

“The most rewarding aspect of capturing an image is not the image itself. It is being there in the moment. The images are just the cherry on top,” Van Nieuwenhove says.

That philosophy drives every aspect of his process. He avoids excess editing, shoots with minimal gear, and focuses on capturing moments as authentically as possible. His current kit includes a Canon R5 Mark II, DJI Mavic 4 Pro drone, and just a few select lenses. His approach is stripped down, yet powerful. Every decision, composition, color, and framing is driven by instinct, tempered by preparation.

“In the field, things are intuitive. But the preparation is where most of the work happens. I spend an obscene amount of time scouting, researching conditions, and keeping a mental list of locations. Sometimes I visit places multiple times before I ever share a photo,” he says.

At Sundhnúkagígar, Van Nieuwenhove has battled wind, rain, and unstable terrain to bring home his signature footage. One of his most memorable recent moments came not during a lava burst, but in the quiet aftermath of a storm.

“I had just flown my drone to film the crater when a torrential downpour hit out of nowhere. My last battery was nearly empty, and I was ready to call it a day. But as I flew back, I saw something incredible: the rain hitting the hot lava field was creating this immense steam cloud. I had one last partially charged battery. I took a risk, flew back out, and found myself surrounded by this incredible white veil of rising steam. I filmed until the battery hit ten percent. My heart was racing. It was one of the most unforgettable moments of my life.”

A Minimalist’s Vision in a Maximalist Landscape

Despite the intensity of his subject matter, Van Nieuwenhove’s artistic vision is rooted in restraint. He avoids including human elements in his imagery unless absolutely necessary. His goal is not just to create pretty pictures, but to foster connection.

“I want people to go out and see these things for themselves. I want them to feel inspired to explore, to respect and protect nature. What you see in my work is real. I am not creating fantasy. I am showing what’s there—what you could see too,” he says.

Van Nieuwenhove’s focus on drone photography has led him to explore more vertical compositions and panoramic techniques, offering viewers a rarely seen perspective of Iceland’s changing landscape. His images provide scale without exaggeration, intimacy without intrusion.

“Gear matters, sure. Good autofocus, longer battery life, they all help. But if you miss the moment, none of that matters. The story matters more than the specs.”

From Belgium to the Lava Fields of Iceland

Van Nieuwenhove’s path to becoming one of the most recognized volcanic photographers in Iceland was far from conventional. Raised in Belgium, his early connection to photography began in childhood, sparked by the discovery of an old analog Canon AV-1 camera in his family’s attic. That moment of curiosity, paired with formative travels to places like South Africa, Canada, and Norway, planted a deep respect for the natural world that would later define his career.

“Learning how to use that old SLR caused me to be fascinated by photography,” he recalls. “I was also fortunate enough to travel with my parents to unspoiled and sometimes distant countries. Those travels, together with the many National Geographic and BBC Earth documentaries I loved watching, developed my admiration for nature tremendously.”

In 2012, inspired by the ethereal landscapes featured in the Sigur Rós documentary Heima, Van Nieuwenhove visited Iceland for the first time. He hiked the now-famous Laugavegur trail, and something in him shifted. It was not just inspiration. It was displacement. A sense that he was meant to be somewhere else entirely.

“It felt as if I was not where I was supposed to be. That’s always been very hard for me to explain. I just knew I didn’t feel at home in Belgium anymore. That feeling only grew stronger with every return trip to Iceland.”

By 2016, after nearly a dozen visits, Van Nieuwenhove made the leap. He sold all his belongings, left his job in IT, and bought a one-way ticket to Reykjavík with only a few suitcases and a desire to live closer to the landscapes that had moved him so profoundly.

“I didn’t want to be that person who looks back later in life wondering, ‘What if?’ The worst that could happen was I’d have to go back. So I gave it a shot,” he says.

Eruption as Catalyst: A Creative Reawakening

Despite his bold relocation, Van Nieuwenhove’s journey into professional photography did not follow a straight path. The pandemic in 2020 brought tourism to a halt and creative momentum to a crawl. Like many in Iceland’s travel and photography scene, he faced both personal and professional uncertainty.

“I didn’t shoot as often as I wanted. I couldn’t find the energy to continue the constant upkeep of my social media. It felt like I was in a kind of photographic creative block.”

Then came March 2021. The eruption at Geldingadalir changed everything. The raw, accessible lava flows of that event reinvigorated not just Van Nieuwenhove’s lens but his entire purpose as a visual artist.

“It was the wildest photographic rollercoaster of my life. The eruption brought me back to life creatively. I gained increased interest in my work, launched my own photography business, and even released my first book, New Earth. It became a sort of love song to those experiences,” Van Nieuwenhove explains.

Beyond the Lava: Looking Ahead

Having now documented over a dozen eruptions in the Reykjanes region since 2021, Van Nieuwenhove’s challenge is not finding fire. It is finding new ways to interpret it. With every new fissure comes a new opportunity to show audiences how alive the Earth truly is.

“This is not a one-time event. It is a marathon of creation. Each eruption brings something different. Each has its own character, its own sound, its own rhythm. I want to keep telling those stories,” he says.

Looking forward, Van Nieuwenhove plans to expand his teaching, which currently includes a Drone Masterclass, offering more workshops that bring aspiring photographers into the field and into the fire. He is also interested in exploring more long-form visual storytelling, perhaps through film or future publications following along the lines of his first book on the 2021 Fagradalsfjall volcanic eruption in Geldingadalir.

“The volcanoes are the surface story. What I really care about is helping people reconnect with nature, through awe and through understanding. If my images can do that, then I know I am on the right path,” Van Nieuwenhove says.

Where the Earth Writes in Light

As Sundhnúkagígar continues to smolder and shift, Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove remains on the front lines, not as a thrill-seeker, but as a patient interpreter of natural change. His lens does not sensationalize. It documents. It honors. And in doing so, it invites viewers into a deeper relationship with the landscapes that shape us all.

For Van Nieuwenhove, Iceland is no longer just a place. It is the medium, muse, and message. Through his work, we are reminded that even in the fire, there is focus, purpose, and there is something undeniably human in the way we look toward the flame, and choose to remember.

Image credits: Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove