No photo will ever be the same – every eruption is always evolving.
Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove
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The first time Jeroen stood at the edge of a volcanic crater, he wasn’t thinking about Instagram likes or gallery prints. He was thinking about the wind.
It was whipping sideways, thick with rain, and his drone was giving him warnings to turn back. But Jeroen kept flying. Not because he was being reckless, just because he’d learned over the years how to read the weather, the terrain, and his equipment all at the same time.
That moment pretty much sums up how Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove approaches photography. He’s based in Iceland and shoots volcanic eruptions, but he’s not some fancy scientist with a degree. Instead, he just followed what interested him – watching BBC Earth as a kid, teaching himself about volcanoes, figuring out how to fly drones, and turned it into a way to document some of the wildest places on earth.
In our 250th episode, Jeroen walks through some of his most insane adventures, how he gets ready to photograph eruptions, why he doesn’t use presets for post processing, and how teaching workshops reminds him why photography is awesome in the first place. He also talks about dealing with burnout, learning by trial and error, and why the same Icelandic crater still catches him off guard after 200 visits.
Here’s what we cover:
- How Jeroen figures out when to trust his gut versus when to plan everything out for wild landscapes
- What it’s actually like to shoot volcanoes and why every eruption is completely different
- Why he runs drone workshops in terrible weather and what people really learn from that experience
- How growing up in crowded Belgium made him crave wide open spaces and quiet
- Learning everything on your own, from volcanic science to telling stories with pictures
- Why sometimes the best photo doesn’t need any editing – just good light and timing
Whether you fly drones, shoot landscapes, or just want to know more about the crazy places on our planet, this conversation has something for you. Enjoy!
Q: What kind of preparation do you need to go and photograph a volcano?
Jeroen: The best way to explain that is to go back to 2021, when I was about to photograph my first eruption. I had been waiting for something like this ever since moving to Iceland. It ended up being a small eruption in the mountains, no one got hurt, no ash, not a lot of gas, basically a dream scenario. I had a go-bag ready with food, water, a gas mask, and a GPS communicator. I brought all my gear, not knowing if the eruption would last an hour or six months. It was about being ready for anything and pushing myself to find unique compositions as the eruption constantly changed.
Q: Did you have to go through any kind of formal education to understand volcanoes before you photographed them?
Jeroen: No, I never finished high school or went to university. I’ve always felt I didn’t fit in the system, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t smart. I just enjoyed learning things that interested me, like volcanology. It’s a very new science-less than 50 years old. Most people don’t realize that. I read a lot of scientific papers and follow new discoveries, especially since recent eruptions in Iceland have proven that much of what we thought we knew was wrong. I’m not a volcanologist, but I share what I learn with others through my social media.
Q: What advice would you give photographers who are looking to follow a similar path as you?
Jeroen: The number one thing I’ve learned is it benefits you far more to figure out when to be and where to be than how to make it look like you were supposed to be there. I spend a lot of time understanding the areas I want to photograph-so I know when the best light or color will be. When you do that, sometimes the photo barely needs editing. Landscape and wildlife photography isn’t about shortcuts; it’s about showing up again and again, in different lights and conditions, until you truly understand a place.
🔗 Connect with Jeroen
🧭 What We Talked About
🎼 Early Journey / Origins
- Jeroen’s fascination with nature began early, sparked by BBC Earth and National Geographic documentaries.
- A childhood obsession with volcanoes was inspired by two pioneering French volcanologists.
- His first camera was a Canon AV-1, followed by a Canon 550D during a pivotal trip to Iceland in 2012 – this marked a turning point in his creative path.
- Moving from Belgium to Iceland gave him a deep sense of exploration and solitude, a sharp contrast to the dense, populated environment of his upbringing.
📖 Philosophy / Vision / Storytelling
- Jeroen rejects the use of presets, insisting that each image deserves individual attention.
- He views photography as a way to respect and reflect the uniqueness of nature: “Every scene deserves its own vision.”
- He sees familiar landscapes like puzzles or Rubik’s Cubes, always evolving, never solved – returning over 200 times to a favorite crater location just to see it in a new light.
- Describes drone photography as both an artistic challenge and mindfulness practice.
🔁 Practice, Teaching, Platforms
- Hosts drone photography workshops, often under adverse weather, turning them into opportunities for real-world adaptation.
- Teaching grew naturally from his passion: “I love to see people’s faces when I take them to these places.”
- Emphasizes experiential learning over theory, inspired by his own struggles with traditional education systems.
- Maintains a broadcast channel and shares real-time updates and insights about volcanic activity and landscape photography.
💬 Advice, Creative Strategy, or Challenges
- Jeroen’s top advice: “Know when to be and where to be” – study the landscape and return to the same place under different conditions.
- Advocates for field-based learning, iterative visits, and embracing changes in light, season, and perspective.
- Urges photographers not to rely on editing as a crutch: “If a photo is not good to begin with, you can’t turn it into a great one.”
- Encourages experimenting with creative limitations. For example, only using a telephoto lens or avoiding the “obvious” composition.
🌍 Influences, People, Brands, or Places
- Inspired by two unnamed French volcanologists who documented eruptions before 1991.
- Places explored include:
- Iceland (home base and spiritual creative center)
- Patagonia
- Greenland
- Svalbard
- Antarctica
- Favorite Icelandic locations include the highlands, and the iconic Kirkjufell mountain.
🔮 What’s Next for Jeroen
- A return trip to Antarctica in 2026 – this time with a refined vision and previous experience.
- Plans to explore lesser-photographed regions of Greenland, hoping to uncover untouched visual stories.
- Continues to share insights on volcanology, aiming to educate the public while documenting real-time natural phenomena.
