British photographer, James Appleton from Cambridge, has spent the past seven years capturing the volatile landscapes of Iceland - and was rewarded with shots of an erupting volcano and the northern lights. He says: "I became aware of the Fimmvörðuháls volcano through a friend of mine who is an Icelandic vulcanologist. I knew immediately I had to try and get out to see it. On the plane flying over to Iceland I had in my mind's eye the perfect image I wanted to see, which was exactly this combination of an erupting volcano and the Aurora Borealis. I never dared to hope it might actually happen, but seeing it for real put all the hairs on the back of my neck up. When I saw the photographs come through the camera I was jumping around with excitement."

JAMES APPLETON/BARCROFT