A Volcanologist On Mount St. Helens 13 Hours Before Eruption.

For scientists out on the field, gathering of important data in the pursuit of knowledge amidst hazardous environments is part of the job. One such scientist is 31 year-old volcanologist David Johnson who happened to be in the vicinity of Mt. St. Helens in the days leading to her eruption in 1980.

Johnson was the first to report of the volcano’s increasing activity, during which he took this snapshot 6 miles away from the base of the mountain. Despite that distance, the doomed scientist was killed by the powerful lateral eruption that happened merely hours after the photograph was taken.