When Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980, photographer Robert Landsberg was documenting the changes in the volcano from just a few miles away. Realizing that he couldn’t possibly outrun the approaching ash cloud, he kept shooting for as long as he could before using his body to preserve his film:
He managed to rewind the film back into its case, replace his camera in its bag, put the bag in his backpack, and then lay himself on top of the backpack in an attempt to protect its contents. Seventeen days later, Landsberg’s body was found buried in the ash with his backpack underneath. The film could be developed and has provided geologists with valuable documentation of the historic eruption. [#]
The photos were published in the January 1981 issue of National Geographic. Many people might think of saving their precious photos in the event of a house fire, but how many photographers would think to use their bodies to protect their photographs?
shodty on March 31st, 2018 at 21:40 UTC »
This is my great uncle, after whom I am named. Or rather, I believe we were both named after someone even further up our lineage. (I'm Robert A Landsburg, he was Robert E Landsburg). Also, small gripe, but it's "burg" not "berg".
Here is an Imgur album I made of some of the artifacts we have memorializing the event. My dad has a whole box of articles, pictures, letters, magazines, newspapers re: the eruption and Robert's death. I posted this the last time it was posted to Reddit. This will probably get buried, but hope some of you enjoy :)
https://imgur.com/a/a9yo0
TooShiftyForYou on March 31st, 2018 at 17:03 UTC »
The landslide caused by the eruption was the largest in recorded history travelling at 110 to 155 miles per hour. All the water in nearby Spirit Lake was temporarily displaced by the landslide, sending 600-foot-high (180 m) waves crashing into a ridge north of the lake. Thousands of trees were felled and mats of them still remain floating nearly 40 years later.
donfelicedon2 on March 31st, 2018 at 16:15 UTC »
His name becomes Landmountain if you directly translate it from Norwegian to English.
EDIT: Turns out I don't quite understand the meaning of the word "irony"