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What does it look like when the Earth exhales?
In The Breath of Creation, photographer Mital Patel captures the exact moments when molten lava collides with ancient ice, when fire spills from the ground, and when vapour rises like breath from the Earth itself.
This series, recognised with the Photographer of the Year at the 2025 London Photography Awards, documents the very nature of Earth without overdramatising it.
Patel travelled to three of the most active volcanic sites in the world: Fagradalsfjall Volcano in Iceland, Fuego Volcano in Guatemala, and Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii. Each location presented a different challenge. In Iceland, lava moved against glacial surfaces, producing thick plumes of steam.
The ice didn’t melt in seconds, but it held, cracked, and hissed. Patel stood with his camera ready, waiting for the moment when shape, light, and movement came together.
What Patel observed was the interaction of distinct natural forces. Heat met cold, movement met stillness. At Fagradalsfjall, glacial ice held its form while lava pushed forward, creating tension shaped by physical extremes. At Fuego, volcanic activity followed a consistent rhythm with cycles of build-up, eruption, and pause. In Hawaii, the surface of Kilauea became the subject, with lava expanding and shifting in slow, deliberate patterns. The terrain changed continuously under internal pressure, recording the Earth’s ongoing process of renewal through motion and heat.
The surface glows, cracks, and folds in ways that look almost slow. But nothing is still.
There are no tricks in these photographs. No artificial lighting. No digital noise. Just the elements as they are, captured with precision, respect, and clarity.
Patel’s approach reflects a background rooted in environmental photography. His process begins long before the shutter clicks; studying the terrain, reading light, understanding the rhythm of each site. It is a method built on patience, where timing matters as much as composition.
Rather than pursuing dramatic moments, his focus stays on the physical conditions as they are, without visual manipulation or enhancement. The images that result are grounded in presence. Each frame is shaped by observation and clarity, offering an unfiltered view of volcanic activity as it unfolds in real time. There is no staging, no interference - only documentation of land in transition, recorded with precision and restraint.
Is it dangerous? Certainly. But that is not the focus. The focus is movement. Pressure. Heat. Steam. Stillness. And the fact that these forces continue without pause, whether or not they are seen or acknowledged by those observing.
The Breath of Creation presents a focused study of volcanic landscapes in transition. The series invites attention to detail, encouraging a slower form of looking. Each photograph documents the process of geological change, showing the formation of new terrain through heat, pressure, and movement. Through careful composition and timing, the images reveal the ongoing activity of the Earth’s surface and the physical conditions that shape it.
That’s photography with a point, and that’s what makes this series stand out, securing Patel the 2025 London Photography Awards' Photographer of the Year title.
Explore more from his winner's page here.
Credits
Entry Title: The Breath of Creation
Photographer: Mital Patel
Winning Category: Nature Photography - Volcanic
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