The sun, out of Africa

Location: Somewhere on the road in Namibia
Date: 19 April 2001; 5.45pm
Camera: (analogue) Canon 500N with slides and scanned

I have always been fascinated by the photos of African skies. There are such a variety- always either beautifully layered with clouds or blood-red sunsets tanning the landscape. It must be its weather system- large areas of dryness with seasonal deluge. In any case, I was not disappointed during my swing across the southern part of the continent as I have seen beautiful sunsets, misty mornings and many instances of the sun hiding shyly behind clouds. The sky is truly one of the attractions of Africa.

Enjoying the sun rise above the clouds- Mount Semeru, Java, Indonesia

Location: At the summit of Mount Semeru, Indonesia (7°59'7.19"S 112°59'9.64"E)
Date: 18 July 2008; 6.15am
Camera: Canon 400D with Sigma 17-70/f2.8-4.5

One of the reasons people trek up to mountains is to enjoy the fabulous scenery and amazing sunset or sunrise. Mount Semeru is one of those places, as it is the highest mountain in Java. The sunrise at the top the peak is stupendous as one is virtually above the cloud covers. Often, depending on the direction of the sun, one can see his/her own shadow being casts on the clouds floating below them. Of course, one of the added excitement to trek up to the peak of Mount Semeru is the challenge (not easy to climb a volcano due to the deep ashes) and the adventure of standing beside a constantly-erupting active volcano. In fact lately it has been so actively erupting that the relevant authorities has banned any trekking to its summit.