Congratulations to Nick Selway of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, whose photograph earns top honors in OP’s World Wonders Photo Contest. Prizes include $1,500 cash or a D-SLR camera, a Tamrac Aero Speed Pack 85 Dual Access Photo/Laptop Backpack, a Duggal 16x24-inch print of the photo and a Gitzo GT2541 carbon-fiber tripod with GH2780QR head.

Selway has been photographing the Kīlauea Volcano at least twice a week for the past five years. To reach this spot, it’s a six-hour, round-trip drive, plus another hour of hiking. When Selway reached the coastline on this April morning, the lava was exploding 70 to 100 feet in the air, he estimates.“When photographing lava, there’s about 10 minutes of time when the light is just perfect,” Selway says. “All the elements came together that morning—the light, the exploding lava, the misty steam plume and the steaming lava rocks glowing on the beautiful black sand beach.”

Canon EOS 50D, Canon EF 17-40mm ƒ/4L USM, Induro tripod