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EXHALE: Pacific on top, brewing underneath. This is Mt. Bromo, a picture of zenlike calm about 3 months before it started spewing ash last year.

EXHALE: Pacific on top, brewing underneath. This is Mt. Bromo, a picture of zenlike calm about 3 months before it started spewing ash last year.

Mar, 2018

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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this image back in 2017 during my first phototrek in Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park, East Java, Indonesia. I had joined a group that patiently staked out starting midnight at a high vantage view deck (which gets filled up with tourists by early morning) to shoot the night sky and then, sunrise which illuminates over Bromo town and the desertified crater valley, where Mt. Bromo, a still active volcano, is located along with a cluster of other mountains.

Time

This scene happened just around sunrise. Seen here is Mt. Bromo surrounded by a "sea of clouds" while it is also spewing a bit of its fiery inner power. The high elevation of Bromo makes it possible for the sea of clouds to form over the entire caldera or crater valley, making it appear like the volcano is floating. By mid morning, the clouds rise up to reveal the desertified area of the entire national park.

Lighting

Sunrise hits the volcano on its left side; so the image is purely ambient lighted from the left /eastern side. The golden light from the sunrise enabled me to shoot the volcano with a high clarity and definition of its texture and tone, where the sunlight hit the slopes. The variation in the tones of the clouds below simply follows the conversion into black and white of the different hues from white to orange/pink and grays. where the light is minimal.

Equipment

I shot this image with a Fujifilm Mirrorless system - Fujifilm XPro 2 + Fujinon 50-140 mm lens. The

Inspiration

I wanted to portray Mt. Bromo in a different light - a sleeping fiery volcano amidst the pacific, serene, and comforting embrace of the sea clouds. To be able to shoot this beautiful irony in such a setting gave me my "money shot" for the day. This is a unique rendition but no less beautiful, of a resplendent scene, that is often shot as a wide panoramic landscape showing the cluster of volcanos/mountains bathed in hues of orange, red and yellow. The simplicity of the black and white tones make the image more serene and mysterious.

Editing

Yes, I used photoshop to convert the original colored raw shot into B&W. I added some global adjustments - clarity and dehaze - the to reveal the texture and emphasize the tonal contrast. This is a single shot only.

In my camera bag

As a travel photographer who shoots a variety of subjects and visual stories, I always carry at least a couple of mirrorless camera bodies and a variety of lenses to fit the purpose at hand. I prefer to not have to change lenses in the midst of action. More often than not, I attach an ultrawide lens to one body and a telefoto to the other. In some cases, where i know I may be doing more street photography, I also bring an extra camera with a fixed 23mm lens. My system is entirely Fujfilm. For landscape/fine art long exposure shooting, I have a complete set of filters that I add to the menu. A tripod is a must for landscape shooting only; otherwise I shoot handheld.

Feedback

Bromo national park is a vast location that is photogenic any time of the day. Sunrise, sunset, night, astral, and noontime shooting are all possible with endless possibilities for choices of subjects - landscapes, temples, human, ecosystem, crater rim, and nature. But it requires proper planning on where you want to be at a certain time and consequently, decision on what gear to use is also important. Bromo town, where accommodations are located is about an hour away by 4-wheel vehicle ride and a bit of hiking in sandy terrain (or horseback riding) is necessary to find the perfect spots for shooting. To get the best "overlooking" view of the park with the volcanoes/mountains perfectly located in front of one's lens, one can hike to the summit view (Kingkong Hill) which is a bit treacherous, especially when the soil is dry. One would benefit from having a local guide.

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EXHALE: Pacific on top, brewing underneath. This is Mt. Bromo, a picture of zenlike calm about 3 months before it started spewing ash last year.

Behind The Lens

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