Mount Etna is Europe's most active volcano, and rises more than 3km above the East coast of Sicily. During a research trip to the volcano's summit, in July 2012, I captured this image of a violent "strombolian" eruption - where violent explosions within the volcano shake the ground, and shower blobs of fresh lava tens of meters into the air. A rare break in the thick clouds of volcanic gas, which make working on Etna's summit so challenging, revealed the true power of the eruption long enough for me to take this shot.