As the sun descended during our first evening at Mount Bromo, I took the opportunity to try out some long exposure shots as the clouds of ash blew over the Sandsea Caldera. This particular one was taken with an exposure of 2.5 seconds at f/11. Much work has been done (including merging two separate processes of the same RAW file) to achieve the final “high dynamic range effect” here.
On our third day at the Mount Bromo area, we had the chance to travel across the Sandsea Caldera on jeep. The landscape was almost something out of Star Wars itself: a desert of fine, grey volcanic sand and ash dotted by clumps of vegetation which has somehow managed to thrive in these barren conditions. I took advantage of the distortion effect from my wide-angle lens to capture the above shot. Mount Bromo is smoking in the distance on the left while the dormant volcano Mount Batok stands on the right.
This picture is also my entry for Photo Friday’s challenge on “Four”. Do vote for me if you like this picture! 🙂
It may look sunny in this picture, but the temperatures up at Mount Bromo are generally quite cool and can be downright freezing especially before the sun rises. One of my memorable experience during the visit there include having to trudge up the mountain in the cold darkness while avoiding horse dung that have been left behind 😛 These tourists on the other hand decided to take the easy way on horseback after sunrise. Their sacrifice: no glorious sunrise to enjoy. Our gain: interesting subjects to shoot! 😀