'Mount Batur Sunrise' Photo

Photographer’s Note

My 600th shot here on TrekEarth...

The 01:00am wakeup call comes through and I get myself ready to meet my guide at the hotel reception for the 1hr drive to the base of 'Mount Batur', an active Volcano on the island of Bali. We start our climb at about 3am in the pitch black with nothing but the aid of torches and the help of our local guide 'Gaday' (or G'day as we joked with him about the Australian connotation).

The first half of the climb was quite gradual, but the second half became quite steep and you really had to be sure footed. Thankfully I had brought a thick fleece and my photography gloves for the top as it really was quite cold with the wind chill. Gaday and the other guides prepared breakfast for us, but the only thing I had on my mind was getting my shots...

More photos to come...
- Dan

macondo, ChrisJ, chpp, hispic, InasiaJones, subhendu_bagchi ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

delpeoples (6240) 2009-08-31 2:57

Hi Dan, brownie points for the 1am kick-off. But little green smiley for this outstanding bit of photography. That haze is so beautiful and conveys everything that is miraculous about early morning. Well worth the early start, congratulations, Lisa.

macondo (13141) 2009-08-31 2:58

Hi Dan.
Beautiful sunrise photo, with very good details realised in the large foreground area despite the back-lighting. I love the slight mistiness and the sheen on the water. There's a slight vignette effect, too, which looks good.
Many, many years ago, it was somewhere near this spot that two friends and I 'negotiated' what we thought was a launch trip across to the base of the volcano. Finally, the fellow, who spoke no English except numbers, led us down the hill to the shoreline. There, we discovered to our mingled dismay and mirth that the boat was a tiny dugout canoe with one paddle. We reneged on the deal. Whatever photos I took seem to have got lost in the proverbial mists of time, but it's good to see Mt Batur again.
Regards,
Andrew

PeTRo_S (216) 2009-08-31 3:18

Nice shot friend i like this landscape and colors,great work

regards Petros

ChrisJ (70335) 2009-08-31 4:57

Hi Dan & congrats on your 600th!

I've been across Java 3 times, but still haven't seen Bromo, so tfs. A superb sunrise with good sharpness, saturation & high pov. Well done!

singuanti (15240) 2009-08-31 6:26

Hey Dan,
That's insane getting up at 1 AM! But the results were worth everything you went through. The low-lying fog and clouds give your shot some cool atmosphere. The foreground and volcano are perfectly placed and of course the colors are spectacular. Awesome shot Dan!

Steve

danydan (146) 2009-08-31 6:39

Bonjour Dan,

Voici une belle image avec une exposition bien maîtrisée grâce notamment à l'utilisation d'un filtre gris neutre dégradé

Le cadrage est également judicieux.

Bien vu ;-)

Salutations

Daniel

manudautriche (412) 2009-08-31 10:08

Hi Dan,cette photo est superbe car les couleurs sont magnifique avec des dégradés de rouge et la brume qui envoute se décor matinal donne une image parfaite.ciao

chpp (3995) 2009-08-31 14:19

hi Dan
excellent shot, i love the tones and the low clouds in the shot. excellent composition, light and depth
TFS
C

Wandering_Dan (3257) 2009-08-31 14:35

Hi, Dan -

Magnificent shot well worth the early (!!) wakeup. Great diagonal lines as well as powerful light.

Best,
Dan

hispic (7399) 2009-08-31 20:05

Hello Dan,
Magnificent work for your 600th post on TE. Amazing beautiful tones at dawn, and mist on the crater lake has been mysteriously rendered.
It was worth having woken up at 1 am. Congratulations!
Regards, Hisashi

InasiaJones (20483) 2009-09-01 1:00

Hi Dan,

A sunrise or sunset shot is nothing if it doesn't proposed a context to appreaciate it.

The landscape you have opted to present is magnificiently exotic. The presence of heavy fog in the valley cranks up your shot and provide a wonderful aura.

I like the mood, the depth and the colours, all done under a brilliant exposure management - not obvious when shooting against the light. Kudos for the extra effort to get up there at such an early hour.

600th shot! That's what I call dedication.

Congratulations!

Andre

subhendu_bagchi (3209) 2009-09-01 1:12

Namaste Dan,
magnificent colours. The layers of colours are great. Nice composition with perfect exposer. Great scene of dawn. Tfs. Have a nice day.
Subhendu.

alive (928) 2009-09-01 2:53

Olá!
Great photo.
The soft colors and the excellent clearness result here in an excellent work.
Parabéns.
luis(portugal)

BilboCA (734) 2009-09-01 22:17

Hi, Dan,

To begin, let me record an observation. TE seems to have parallel almost independent universes. I've only been active for a few months, but during that time would encounter many of the same people, both in the work I chose to critique and in the ones I received. Your photos of Bali caught my eye. Skimming the list of those who have critiqued this shot and also your list of favorites, I recognize almost no one (only exception: Kath Featherstone). It's interesting and to me remarkable that it works out this way. But maybe I've just not been involved long enough...

I visited Bali only once, for almost a month, on honeymoon in 1978. And I don't remember this volcano. (We did, however, climb Gunung Agung.) Even though I don't recognize the view, your photo brings back pleasant memories, so thanks for that!

This image looks a lot like my home in Northern California. The mountain could be Mt. Diablo (volcanic, but now dormant, and shorter at 1200 m instead of 1700). The dry grasses in the foreground are reminiscent of our local summer conditions and low lying fog in the morning is also a common feature.

I like how you have composed this shot, with the gentle diagonal sweep of the foreground guiding the viewer's eye to the mountain in sharp silhouette.

The bright light on the left half of the horizon balances nicely with the dark mountain on the right.

The colors are very pleasant and appear quite realistic for dawn conditions.

Regards,
- William