Wildscapes winner: The Cauldron by Sergey Gorshkov (Russia) On 29 November 2012 Gorshkov received the call that he had long hoped for. Plosky Tolbachik – one of two volcanoes in the Tolbachik volcanic plateau in central Kamchatka, Russia – had begun to erupt. 'I’ve gone to the area many times but it had been 36 years since the last eruption,' he said. 'So I dropped everything and went.' The only way to approach it was by helicopter, but extreme cold (- 40°C) meant Gorshkov had to wait until it was warm enough for the helicopter to take off. Flying towards the volcano, the cloud of ash, smoke and steam was so thick that he couldn’t see the crater. But every so often a strong wind blew the clouds away and he could see a 200m-high fountain of lava spouting out of the crater, and fast-flowing, molten rivers of lava running down it – some of these would travel for miles, sweeping away everything in their path

Photograph: Sergey Gorshkov/2013 Wildlife Photographer of the Year