“It’s amazing that this camera survived a volcanic eruption” – forthcoming documentary tells the valiant, yet tragic, story of a photographer’s last act

On May 18, 1980, Mt. St. Helens, a 9,677-foot stratovolcano in Washington state, US, erupted violently. The blast sent a pyroclastic flow, a destructive avalanche of gas, ash, and pumice, racing outward at an estimated speed of 670 mph and temperature of 800°F (400°C). Photographer Robert Landsburg, from Portland, Oregon, was just four miles away when the eruption occurred. Jill Dutchess, Landsburg's niece, discussed her uncle's final moments in the forthcoming documentary, 8:32.

Landsburg, a professional freelance photographer, raised his Nikon F2 Photomic camera loaded with Kodachrome 64 film as the pyroclastic flow engulfed him. In a last-ditch effort to protect his work, he rewound the film into its case, placed his camera inside his camera bag, and lay directly on top of it. Dutchess remarked, "It's amazing that this (Nikon F2) survived a volcanic eruption," noting that ash was found inside the lens.

Landsburg's final act paid off, as seventeen days after the eruption, his body, camera, and film were discovered. The negatives were developed, and the photographer's last images were published in the January 1981 issue of National Geographic.

Landsburg's dream of becoming a National Geographic photographer was fulfilled posthumously. The documentary, currently in development by award-winning filmmaker Marq Evans, focuses on Landsburg's valiant final moments and the frightening series of images he captured during the eruption. Evans stated, "Bob's last act was a photographer's act.

He made the pictures, protected the film, and trusted it to outlast him." He expects to complete shooting for the documentary by the end of the year, with the film set to be released the following year.