Indonesia has 130 active volcanoes, more than any other country. This dramatic landscape shows Ijen Crater, at 9000 feet, spewing sulfur dioxide into the air. Sulfur can self-ignite and it burns with a blue flame. At night, with a local guide you can walk a rocky trail down to the edge of the green lake and see the eerie flames coming out of the ground. The sight is truly unbelievable. During the day, workers break through the rocks to reach molten sulfur. When the thick liquid comes in contact with air and solidifies, they carry about 200 pounds of sulfur rocks 600 feet up to the crater rim and then down the mountain to waiting trucks. At the bottom of the crater, you can be standing in clear air and breathing normally, and then the wind changes and suddenly you're engulfed in noxious sulfur dioxide. A gas mask is a must. I took this shot with a 14mm lens, and the settings were 1/800, f/16, and 400 ISO.
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