Lava is a many-splendored thing.
Volcano couple in love with lava
Dicing with death ... Steve O¿Meara shoots lava up close on Kilauea volcanoDONNA & STEVE OMEARA/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC STOCK/CATERS NEWSsourceNOW that's what you call an explosive relationship — a couple who have spent their lives photographing active VOLCANOES.
Donna and Steve O'Meara have been researching and photographing the deadly natural formations since they first met in 1986.
They even spent their second date in a helicopter witnessing an eruption of the world's most active volcano, Kilauea in Hawaii.
Not content with watching the violent volcano from a distance, the daredevil duo decided to marry on top of it — and later MOVED there with their dog Daisy Duke.
Donna, 55, originally from Boston, US, said: "We spent our second date hovering over Kilauea, and we've been inseparable ever since.
Fiery family ... Donna, Steve and their dog Daisy DukeDONNA & STEVE OMEARA/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC STOCK/CATERS NEWS"The following year we got married at the summit of Kilauea. We wore formal wedding attire, but made sure we put our trainers on in case we needed to run.
"After the minister married us we put our footprints in the ash. Lava has probably gone over it now, but it's romantic to think our footprints are up there somewhere."
Together the couple have visited more than 100 of the world's active volcanoes, taking stunning images of spectacular eruptions and fountains of lava.
They also research the volcanoes and predict when they are likely to erupt, in a bid to save the lives of those living close to them.
Spectacle ... the glowing vent in Halemaumau, the summit crater of Kilauea volcanoDONNA & STEVE OMEARA/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC STOCK/CATERS NEWSSteve, 54, is working on the theory that the cycle of the moon can be used to predict when a volcano will erupt.
He said: "We want to create colour-coded calendars, days showing the lowest and highest volcanic activity."
Remembering his first visit to a volcano, before he met Donna, Steve said: "I followed the flow of the lava and found myself on a small piece of land totally surrounded by molten lava.
"Luckily I had recently spoken to a local native in Hawaii who told me, once the lava is ten minutes old you can walk on it.
"It is dangerous and we are always cautious, you have to be — one moment of stupidity could cost you your life.
"If you get too close to a volcano, you could actually see your blood boil; you would literally burn from the inside out."
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