The Beautiful Side Of A Disaster - Eyjafjallajokull

A dark ash cloud looms over the Icelandic south coast April 17, 2010. (REUTERS/Ingolfur Juliusson)Lightning streaks across the sky as lava flows from a volcano in Eyjafjallajokul April 17, 2010. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)View seen from a road leading to the Eyjafjallajokull volcano as it continues to billow smoke and ash during an eruption on April 17, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images)The first of 3 photos by Olivier Vandeginste, taken 10 km east of Hvolsvollur at a distance 25 km from the Eyjafjallajokull craters on April 18th, 2010. Lightning and motion-blurred ash appear in this 15-second exposure. (© Olivier VandeginsteAs banal as this may sound; Nature is the greatest artist. 

It's amazing how despite the fact that we are accustomed to seeing such imagery, through films and TV, we still stand in absolute awe when it's the real thing! Literally breathtaking (and show-stopping).

For more and much larger images go here.