Etna XIII

About the »Etna« photographic series

In mid-2001, one of the most unusual and complex eruptions in 300 years occurred on the Sicilian volcano Etna, with three simultaneous eruptions at an altitude of 2500 to 3300 metres. The eruption at »Piano del Lago« was certainly the most impressive. In just a few weeks, a new, glowing mountain called »M2« was created here.

During these dramatic days, dozens of international television stations broadcast the spectacular images of the erupting Etna in real time. At the height of the eruption, Patrick Samuël spent five hot days and nights in a row at the new volcanic cone. He remembers:

The volcano was closed by the authorities. So I decided to ascend it from Sapienza in the dark. Well, it was more like stumbling up for hours through rugged lava fields to reach the eruptive zone.

With alpine equipment, 12 liters of water, rye bread and some cheese, I spent five straight days and four nights at an altitude of around 2500 meters at the foot of M2. Up there, as close as possible to this blazing mountain, I was alone.

It was literally breathtaking. The strombolian activity was constantly increasing, the ashfall was intense, the toxic gases, the non-stop tremor, earthquakes, the constant deafening explosions, the lava flows that were constantly changing direction and threatening to trap me and many, many lava bombs were rather threatening.

The stagnant lava fountain reached up to 700 metres in those days – and that for hours. The explosiveness was unusually high for Mount Etna. It was hot during the day, but nights were very cold at this altitude and I warmed myself on the lateral moraines of the glowing lava flows.

Those days were probably the most intensive experience of my life.

Samuël was convinced he had taken many spectacular photos in the analogue slides format. But already on the flight back from Sicily to Switzerland, he noticed a discrepancy in the settings of his camera.

The film rolls had ISO 1600, but the camera was set to ISO 100. An oversight with consequences.

All the pictures were massively underexposed and useless.

In 2023, more than 20 years later, Samuël made digital copies of some of these very dark slides – and was surprised by the results. The images remind him of the old film technique »nuit américaine«, which is used to simulate night shots.

All the photos in this collection are unprocessed raw shots. They reproduce the dark and explosive atmosphere of these nights in an unfiltered way.