Mt. Bromo, Indonesia

This is the Bromo Tengger Caldera that formed about 820,000 years ago in Central Java, Indonesia. That must have been one incredible light show! It is part of the Ring of Fire that encircles the Pacific Ocean, and it’s one of the most active volcanic areas in a country with 129 active volcanoes. I have been here several times, always at predawn and sunrise, and it never fails to take my breath away. I shot this with a 70mm focal length lens, and my settings were 1/25, f/11, and 250 ISO. I used a tripod, set the camera to daylight white balance (to capture the rich red/yellow tones of the sun’s first rays), and underexposed the image by 2/3 f/stop to underscore the mood of this dramatic landscape. I’ve never been here for an eruption, but I know it’s spectacular beyond words. That’s on my bucket list.