Astro Shots and Time Lapse from East Java

[jiahao1986]

Hi folks,

Went to East Java for the infamous Mt. Bromo and Kawah Ijen during the Nat Day weekend. Here are some astro related stuff.

Time Lapse:

Totally four footages, too lazy to redo a English version, please bear with it

Footage 1: Blue sulphur flames burning and milky way setting taken on the rim of Kwah Ijen Crater Lake.
Footage 2: Reddish airglow outburst the same night.
Footage 3: LMC and SMC, plus some startrailing effect against Bromo landscape.
Footage 4: Sunrise at Bromo

Please watch in 1080p for the best quality : )

[jiahao1986]

Kawah Ijen, Blue Flames and Milky Way:

The biggest surprise of the trip was no doubt the STARRY sky atop Kawah Ijen Crater Lake. The milky way there doesn't lose to that of Australia. Another phenomenon is the blue sulphur flames in the sulphur mine down near the lake. It was an AWESOME experience to see the ghostly bluish flames burning and the milky way shining above.



More photos of the lake and blue flames:

[shirox]

nice!

[jiahao1986]

Bromo, LMC and SMC:

We chose to go up to the famous viewing platform for Bromo before midnight, with the main purpose to avoid the HEAVY crowd near sunrise hours. That proved to be a very smart decision. We had the place to our own. Though the sky quality was not as good as that of Kawah Ijen, it was still enjoyable to see the Bromo landscape in subtle moonlight. LMC and SMC were hanging high, and looked amazing with the company of the wonderful volcanic landscape.



The sky was even full of meteors since it was only one day before the Perseids peak date. You can go back to the time lapse video and look for meteors in Footage 3.

The crowd started to come after 4am, and became nightmarish around sunrise time. Below is a 'Little Planet' effect photo to demonstrate:



Then morning-sun-lit Bromo landscape was still mesmerising, though we didn't have the luck to see a sea of cloud below, we still managed to capture some minor eruption of Mt. Semeru in the background to compensate:



Overall a very fruitful trip, 3 nights no sleep! Sure to visit again. Highly recommended.

[Gary]

Amazing! Like watching NatGeo HD. Thanks for sharing! World Class!

[cataclysm]

Wow! This is unreal! Simply incredible! Thanks for sharing

[acc]

Wow great photos, thanks for sharing! Often we overlook these amazing places nearer home...

[rcj]

you're going places Jiahao! Enjoying every bit of your images!

[yltansg]

Inspiring pictures!! Thanks for sharing Jiahao!

[starfinder]

Excellent stuff as usual... world class!

Especially like the timelapse compilation. Majestic and mysterious.

I didn't know sulphur burns blue until you told me.

Java has such amazing landscapes. I want to go there for the volcanoes again, soon! It's something of a waste that Java is not well known or popular as a destination for scenery. Completely underrated, I think. The first time I saw a poster with the classic Bromo scene I thought it was merely an artist's painting from the imagination. It's that amazing: volcanic cones within a volcano's caldera with yet another perfect volcanic mountain for the backdrop.