A Final Frame
On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted with explosive force, killing 57 people. Among them was Robert Emerson Landsburg, a 48-year-old photographer from Portland, Oregon. He had been documenting the volcano for weeks. That morning, less than four miles from the summit, he raised his camera as a wall of ash raced toward him at hundreds of miles per hour.
Mount St. Helens Awakens
Seismic activity began in March 1980, drawing scientists and photographers to the area. Landsburg returned repeatedly, noting a growing bulge on the volcano’s northeastern flank. He camped nearby on May 17, writing that he felt “on the verge of something.”
At 8:32 a.m. the next day, a 5.1-magnitude earthquake triggered the mountain’s north face to collapse. The blast released 24 megatons of energy and sent a pyroclastic flow outward at 400 miles per hour.
His Last Moments
Landsburg had parked near the South Fork of the Toutle River, outside the restricted red zone. He began shooting photographs as the eruption unfolded.
Realizing escape was impossible, he removed the finished roll of film, sealed it in a canister, buried it in his backpack, and shielded it with his body inside the car. When the ash reached him, he died almost instantly from asphyxiation.
The Film Survives
Rescue teams found Landsburg’s car on June 4, 1980. His film was intact, protected from the heat by his actions. Developed within weeks, the photos revealed the eruption’s progression, each frame showing the ash cloud looming closer. National Geographic published the images in January 1981.
They remain among the most striking records of the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption, captured in the final seconds of a photographer’s life.
On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted with devastating force.
Photographer Robert Landsburg was just four miles away.
As the ash cloud raced toward him at hundreds of miles per hour, he raised his camera and captured his final shots…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/P0SzJ1Lk5f
— Fascinating True Stories (@FascinatingTrue) October 13, 2025