Blackburn first became interested in the possibility of an eruption at Mount St. Helens in March 1980, when a series of earthquakes rocked the volcano. Having already climbed the mountain, he was intrigued by the situation and was eventually assigned to document the activity of the volcano for his outdoor skills and his meticulousness. By May, he had begun camping out at the volcano as a joint project to take pictures of the volcanic phenomena for The Columbian, National Geographic, and the United States Geological Survey.