Black and white view across the crater rim of Cinder Cone, its cinder slopes curving away, Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Black Grit

Cinder Cone, Lassen Volcanic National Park, California

The first volcano I ever climbed. Neither of us had seen anything like it — a cone of loose black grit with a crater bitten out of the top, and a trail that takes back half a step for every one you give it. I photographed the rim as geometry rather than as a place, and pulled the colour out afterwards. There was hardly any there to lose.

Nikon Z 7_2 · NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S · 63mm · f/11 · 1/125 · ISO 100

June 28, 2026

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