CALDERA BLANCA
I have to admit that the Canary Islands are a place I've truly come to love. Of the seven islands in total, I've so far had the chance to visit five. Each one is different and each has its own inimitable magic. Even though many people see these islands merely as somewhere Western tourists go to warm their bodies during the winter months, they are in fact places where you can spend a genuinely active holiday and, on top of that, wonderfully enjoy photographing many incredible locations.
Of everything I've seen so far, the island that captivated me most as a photographer was Lanzarote. It lies farthest to the north, and most of its surface is made up of volcanic lava. They say there's so much lava on the island that every person on Earth could take home a full 50 kg. Because of this, you'll feel more like you're on another planet than on an island near Africa. Today I'll tell you about an enormous extinct volcano called Caldera Blanca. Its diameter is a respectable 1,150 m, and even at that size its rim has remained almost perfectly round. Its formation dates back roughly 3,000 to 5,000 years, and because it's surrounded on all sides by lava fields from the years 1730–1736 (which are, of course, still dark), the white Caldera Blanca really does shine out strikingly against its surroundings.
You'll enjoy the sight of Caldera Blanca even from a distance. From one side it resembles a strange, wrinkled hill; from elsewhere its shape more readily calls to mind a classic volcano. But be sure to set off on the fascinating walk up. A small path leads here that takes you all the way around the crater. My wife and I wanted to head to the top the very day after arriving on Lanzarote, but when we asked for a map at the Timanfaya National Park, the weather-beaten local guide told us we could go up that same day, but that I should count on the wind blowing my wife away. „Sir, if you want to get rid of your wife in style, then go ahead and go today…“
So we decided to leave it for another day and hoped the wind would die down. In the end it took two days, and then we were able to set off up. From the very start it was a fascinating spectacle, and because the wind was still blowing quite hard and the clouds were literally racing over the island, the scenery changed from one minute to the next. Do watch out for the strong wind, because in places the trail is fairly narrow. But there are countless spots to photograph here, and because the crater looks a little different from every angle, you'll surely shoot and shoot. I did exactly the same.
Tip 1: If you want to shoot long exposures at places like this, or make time-lapse videos from a tripod, definitely be prepared for it to be no easy task in strong wind. Spread the tripod legs out really wide and set them as low as possible. Tuck the tripod behind some outcrop or rock, stand next to it on the side the wind is coming from – in short, do everything you can to shield the camera from the wind as much as possible. It's also a good idea to weigh the tripod down with a rock or your backpack for maximum stability.
Tip 2: Don't rush. If the clouds are travelling across the sky as fast as I experienced, hold your position for a while and wait until the crater is interestingly lit. Or, in situations like these, create a time-lapse video – it'll look really striking.
Gear: At places like this you'll appreciate a wide-angle lens with a polarising filter. Stop it down to at least f8.0 and focus on an interesting composition. I also often bring a 35 mm lens, which I use to shoot panoramic frames. True, it means extra work on the computer, where you have to stitch the individual photos together, but the result is often superb, because you create a truly enormous photograph.